Learning in the Field

Masonboro.org is seeking volunteers for its Island Explorers program for New Hanover County 5th graders.

Conservation group Masonboro.org started its Island Explorers program in 2013, and since that time has taken more than 13,500 students to the island to learn about its ecology. At stations in the marsh, sand and surf around the island, students learn about barrier island ecosystems.

A volunteer nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving the island, Masonboro.org partners with New Hanover County Schools and the N.C. Coastal Reserve on the Island Explorers program. Part of Masonboro.org’s mission is protecting public access to the island and getting locals invested in its future. While fostering an awareness of the local environment, organizers hope they are also inspiring students to care about science.

Masonboro Island is a nearly 8-mile-long undeveloped barrier island between Wrightsville Beach and Carolina Beach, and it is only accessible by water. Popular with nesting sea turtles and surfers, the island is managed by the state as part of the National Estuarine Research Reserve System.

The Island Explorer program is a free, science-based, hands-on field trip for New Hanover County School 5th-graders. Its goal is to create an opportunity for students to make real-life connections to the science they are learning about in the classroom. Students are immersed in the abiotic and biotic factors found in the specific ecosystems found on Masonboro Island. The curriculum is fully aligned with North Carolina’ 5th grade science objectives and was developed through a partnership with the N.C. Coastal Reserve, Carolina Ocean Studies and New Hanover County Schools and funded by Masonboro.org.

Students also learn first-hand what a precious resource Masonboro Island is to the community, creating the next generation of North Carolina coastal stewards.
Volunteers are always needed. Click here for more information about the trip and ways in which volunteers can help.

Below are the duties and dates.
● Volunteers typically arrive by 9:30 am to Carolina Beach Yacht Basin at 100 Carl Winner
Boulevard in Carolina Beach; free parking passes are provided.

● Volunteers can expect to hike roughly 2 miles (round trip) on the island.

● Volunteers typically return to Carolina Beach by 1:15 pm.

● Volunteers assist students with life jackets and boarding.

● Volunteers move gear to and from the island stations.

● Volunteers distribute water to students on the boat and on the island.

● Volunteers manage the netting of crabs lured in by the students at the tidal creek
station.
● Volunteers remind students of the scavenger hunt boundaries at the beach station and
help find natural treasures from the beach.

● Volunteers pick up litter.
Dates and school listed:
10/15: Bellville Elementary
10/16: Mary C. Williams & New Horizons
10/17: Murrayville
10/22: Anderson & Island Montessori
10/23: Anderson & Wilmington School of the Arts
10/24: Bellamy
10/28: Penderlea Middle School
10/29: Winter Park & Freeman
10/30: Eaton
10/31: Carolina Beach
11/4: Virginia Williamson & DC Virgo
11/6: Virginia Williamson
11/7: Blair
11/8: Sunset
11/12: Forest Hills & Friends School of Wilmington
11/15: Wrightsboro
11/22: Castle Hayne

For more information visit masonboro.org.