GENERAL INFORMATION and OVERVIEW
New Jersey Audubon Society and the National Park
Service’s New Jersey Coastal Heritage Trail Route have
embarked on a unique partnership project called Preserving
Oases along the Flyway. The focus of this project is to
monitor nocturnal songbird migration and to identify key
stopover sites in New Jersey that migrating birds use as
they travel between their winter homes in Central and
South America and the breeding grounds in temperate North
America. Funding for this program comes from The National
Park Foundation’s Park Flight program, who through a
generous grant from American Airlines®, identifies
opportunities to connect national parks in the United
States to parks and protected areas in Mesoamerica.
This partnership involves a great variety of national
and international government agencies, not-for-profit
environmental and conservation organizations, and academic
institutions. It is truly a collaborative effort to bring
attention to the needs of these amazing songbirds.
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SCHOOLS IN ACTION
New Jersey teachers have expressed that the most
effective teaching includes curriculum materials that
reflect New Jersey-specific information as well provide
opportunities for students to participate in learning
experiences that reflect relevant issues. Curriculum
development, coupled with teacher and student education,
provides a powerful way to introduce this audience to the
wonder of migration and the resources that researchers use
to monitor nocturnal migration. It provides not only
teachers, but students with the knowledge, skills, and
experiences to connect the needs of migratory songbirds to
the actions that people take within their communities.
During the Fall 2003, three New Jersey high schools are
involved in the Preserving Oases Along the Flyway
project. Students will learn how to interpret weather
maps and radar images to predict and verify migratory
events. They will gather real-time acoustic data that
helps research scientists determine the songbird flock
composition. In addition students from the three schools
will have the chance to interface with each other through
an online discussion board as well as with NJAS research
associates.
Click here to learn more about
Preserving Oases along
the Flyway – Schools in Action
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