Protecting Colonial Seabirds with Conservationist Dave Grant

SEABIRDS - SANDY HOOK’S SENTINELS OF THE SEA.

WITH EDUCATOR AND CONSERVATIONIST, DAVE GRANT.

Because they rarely visit land, except while nesting on our beaches and isolated oceanic islands, seabirds are a remarkable and threatened group of animals that we only occasionally encounter.

Vulnerable to pollution, overfishing and other human activities, their populations have been crashing worldwide. These noble creatures, inhabiting challenging and unique environments, demonstrate many fascinating survival techniques and behaviors, and are important indicators of the health of our oceans, so are worthy of our attention and protection.

To learn more, we will visit the largest and most famous albatross colony in the world - Midway Atoll - then will return to Sandy Hook for an update on our own local colony of seabirds.

Our program leader Dave has presented teacher-training materials in every coastal state and overseas. He is currently the Conservation Director at the Shark Research Institute in Princeton, NJ, and is the former Director of the Brookdale College Ocean Institute at Sandy Hook. When not teaching or researching, Dave spends his summer breaks working as crew, lecturer, and scientist-in-residence on NOAA expedition vessels and on winter breaks on expedition cruises in Antarctica.