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If you truly love nature, you will find beauty everywhere. ~Laura Ingalls Wilder
Get f to Know Us
The Many Facets of The Wetlands Institute By Executive Director Lenore Tedesco of The Wetlands Institute Connecting kids to nature in Summer Nature Programs.
Scientists monitoring marsh health.
The marshes connect us to the coastal way of life.
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or many islanders, The Wetlands Institute is a place that’s “always been there.” Some will know us as the place that saves the terrapins. Others, for the summer nature programs enjoyed by their children or grandchildren, or for the fall Wings ’n Water Festival of years gone by. Chances are that the full range of the institute’s efforts are not wellknown or understood. The Wetlands Institute of today is a dynamic research, conservation, and education organization with a distinctive focus on our coastal and wetland resources. We are a year-round operation with 19 fulltime staff members, and in the spring through fall our numbers swell to more than 50 employees. As a nonprofit, we rely on our more than 1,400 members from more than 40 states to support our efforts and we serve more than 17,000 visitors each year. Private philanthropic support underpins our work, along with competitively won research grants. A core tenet of our mission is to connect people with nature so that they understand the value
Research team at newly restored marsh where dredged sediment lifted the marsh.
Seven Mile Times June 2024
Beach steward at Stone Harbor Point
and benefit of our natural resources, but also so that they can be voices for their stewardship and agents for change. We have always known that the natural world is a place of peace and harmony and that those who are connected to it reap rewards throughout their lives. Providing places and opportunities for people of all ages to make that connection is at the heart of what we do. Visitors to the Institute may join us year-round for self-guided exploration of our marsh boardwalk and trail system, up-close encounters with the animals in our aquarium, or through guided programs and activities out in the marsh and along Scotch Bonnet Creek. Members of our education team offer badge-earning programs for scouts, and our rigorous homeschool program provides excellent science programs for families and groups. Throughout the school year, formal education programs for school groups dominate the education schedule with more than 14,000 children from the tri-state area experiencing the marsh and beach ecosystems on field trips, or through encoun-
ters with animals of the coastal systems with traveling programs at their schools. Others learn about these fragile environments at public outreach programs at libraries and festivals. Training tomorrow’s environmental scientists and educators is an important way to ensure a bright future. The Luing Family Internship Program is an immersive undergraduate internship program that enriches all of us as well as the program participants, and has done so for more than 30 years. Our work extends well beyond our education programs and visitor services. We are a distinctive organization because we house our research, conservation, and education programs under one roof and work diligently to have our efforts be collaborative and integrative. Our applied research programs work to understand and rehabilitate our coastal environments and help at-risk wildlife. Our research programs inform the best conservation practices that we then implement through our staff efforts, as well as significant volunteer-led efforts. The issues and solutions are then integrated into our education programs.
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