WRIGHTSVILLE BEACH — Each week during summer, volunteers with the North Carolina Coastal Federation set out through the marsh, collecting specimens for “Touch Tank Tuesday.”
The program, held every Tuesday at the Fred and Alice Stanback Coastal Education Center in Wrightsville Beach, is an interactive way to educate people, especially children, on the importance of coastal environments.
Now in its fourth summer, the free program runs from June through August each year, and allows participants to get a real hands on experience with some of our area’s aquatic neighbors.
According to Jessica Gray, Coastal Outreach Assistant for the Coastal Federation, the program runs hand in hand with its mission of working to instill children with a sense of ecological responsibility by showing how “cool” the nature of this cooperative ecosystem can be.
“The Coastal Federation, what we do, is work to protect and restore water quality and coastal habitats,” Gray said. “So, this is a way to show what we’re doing, and why we’re doing it. It allows people to see what actually comes from our local habitat.”
An educational experience
According to Gray, what people don’t always understand is the symbiotic nature of our coastal inhabitants. Many of these animals are co-dependent on one another, meaning they need each other to survive.
One of the main things the Federation works toward is the restoration of living shore lines and oyster beds, which help to clean water and maintain a healthy environment around them.
According to Gray, a single oyster filters up to 50 gallons of water a day.
In addition, many small animals use these living shores for homes and nurseries, allowing for a safe place for animals at the base of the food chain to live and grow. Various species are on display each Tuesday, allowing people a view of these animals in a natural environment.
In the shoreline habitat, hermit crabs scuttle through the sand, sifting out small organisms as they move along. In the next aquarium over, brittle stars can be seen slowly moving among red and green algae, searching for a safe place to feed.
In the larger tanks, staff has set up miniature oyster reefs, where participants can view the ecology of the habitat formed around them. Each display has several placards, explaining what is inside, and what the animals do for their natural surroundings.
In one tank, a large blue crab and a tulip whelk work the sides of the habitat for food, and small fish dart in and around the the bivalves looking for shelter.
But the main attraction is the big tank, where everything from mussels, clams, and anemones, to decorator crabs and sea squirts can be found. Each week things are different, as certain species move off the shoreline, and others move in.
At the end of the day, the volunteers release these animals back where they found them, allowing them to return to their natural habitat.
The program offers other interactive family activities, like a microscope exhibit, where kids can get up close and personal with organisms like sea cucumbers and starfish.
“When you get this sort of hands on experience, you’re more inclined to be conscious of water quality and what goes into the water,” Gray said.
Touch Tank Tuesday will continue each Tuesday, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., through the end of August. For more information, visit nccoast.org/event/touch-tank-tuesday-2017.
For the latest goings-on at the Coastal Federation, and to find out how you can get involved, visit its website at nccoast.org, or follow them on Facebook.
Get in touch with Reporter Cory Mannion: follow him on Facebook, Twitter, or send an email at cory@localvoicemedia.com.
