Green Eggs and Sand: A Collaborative Effort of Scientists, Teachers, Resource Managers, and Stakeholders in Educating About Limulus polyphemus

Abstract

The highly successful Green Eggs & Sand (GE&S) project is a joint effort of educators, scientists, resource users, and managers engaged in building a unique workshop/field experience, a wealth of educational video, and a series of associated activity-based learning modules, centered on the current horseshoe crab/shorebird phenomenon and management controversy on Delaware Bay. Over the past 8 years, more than 800 teachers, non-formal educators, scientists, resource users, and managers from 20 states and 3 foreign countries have taken part in GE&S workshops, which are now offered up and down the Atlantic coast each spring around lunar event peak times for horseshoe crab spawning. These workshops are intensive, spanning 2–3 days, and feature a mix of hands-on field experiences, presentations by experts, and demonstration of curricular components. This article provides a case-study overview of how GE&S was developed and implemented, with an eye to how this approach might be adapted and modified for use elsewhere.