2023 Green Eggs and Sand In-Person Workshop

During the full and new moon events in May and June, thousands of horseshoe crabs come ashore to spawn, primarily in Delaware Bay. It is also during this time when migrating shorebirds descend upon the beaches to rest and feed on the horseshoe crab eggs before continuing onto their breeding grounds. This interaction between horseshoe crabs, shorebirds, and humans is what lays the groundwork for the Green Eggs & Sand (GE&S) workshop.

The GE&S workshop is a two-day workshop focused on understanding the issues, the science, and the management of the horseshoe crab/shorebird controversy. Workshop participants learn from top researchers and natural managers in the field, as well as get to participate in a horseshoe crab count.

Educators and natural resource managers from Delaware, Maryland, and New Jersey developed the curriculum, and designed it for use with middle and high school students. It is broken down into four modules that introduce students to the lives of horseshoe crabs, their extraordinary history, ecological niche, interrelationships with other species, and the challenges of managing horseshoe crabs.

At the end of the workshop, participants take home the activity-rich GE&S curriculum package and video that have been correlated to the national-learning standards in science, social studies, math and language arts.