“Birding by Boat” combines so many joyful activities: spending time on the water, observing nature, and learning new information while being in community. A recent two-hour trip out of Tuckerton Seaport in Ocean County, at the New Jersey shore, was sponsored by the Southern Ocean Birding Group. Josh Gant, who is vice president of the SOBG and also president of the Atlantic Audubon Society, led the educational tour. Participants learned about the birds along Tuckerton Creek and Barnegat Bay, as well as the importance of protecting habitat for today’s wildlife and future generations.

New Jersey is the most densely populated state in the nation, and it’s common to find pristine, natural areas right next to dense development. The trip passed by the nearly 6,000-acre Great Bay Boulevard Wildlife Management Area, where the casinos of Atlantic City can be seen rising in the background.

Tuckerton Seaport https://tuckertonseaport.org/
Southern Ocean Birding Group https://southernoceanbirdinggroup.org/
Sandra Levine Productions https://sandralevine.com/

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Margaret (Peggy) Swarbrick, Ph.D. has spent a lifetime developing and teaching about “The 8 Dimensions of Wellness”, a framework she originally designed to help people struggling with mental health and addiction challenges, and trauma. Her work has been endorsed by the US Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, and has been widely adopted by corporations, schools and universities, and other organizations across the country.

Dr. Swarbrick is the associate director of the Center of Alcohol and Substance Use Studies at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey, and is the director of ScarletWell, a holistic, public health-focused mental health and wellness initiative.
She also serves as director of the Wellness Institute at Collaborative Support Programs of New Jersey.

An occupational therapist, Dr. Swarbrick explains how making small changes within the 8 dimensions - such as improving social support networks, and doing meaningful work - can help anyone lead a happier, healthier life. The 8 Dimensions of Wellness are physical, intellectual, environmental, emotional, financial, social, spiritual, and occupational. The process includes examining what you are already doing well in each area, and expanding and adding to those good habits.

For more information visit https://newbrunswick.rutgers.edu/scarletwell, or Collaborative Support Programs of New Jersey at https://cspnj.org.

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Every May and June, along the Delaware Bay, trained volunteers with reTURN the Favor help horseshoe crabs stranded on their backs by righting them and pointing them towards the water. These crabs, whose eggs are critical to the survival of migratory shorebirds, would otherwise perish if they were unable to right themselves on their own.
Scientists say horseshoe crabs have been on the Earth for some 400 million years - before the dinosaurs. Millions of crabs come to the Delaware Bay every year to spawn. Many species of birds, turtles, and fish feast on the crabs nutrient-rich eggs every spring. The crabs' population has fluctuated over the years; New Jersey has protections in place now to help the number of horseshoe crabs continue to grow.
The Wetlands Institute in Stone Harbor, New Jersey, oversees a coalition of groups that form reTURN the Favor. Lisa Ferguson, director of research & conservation at the institute, explains how the program works, and why it’s important. ReTURN the Favor volunteer Caroline Behnke leads a walk in Villas, New Jersey, where participants eagerly help the crabs.
Special thanks to Shane Godshall of the American Littoral Society and Glenn Wagner for contributing images for this story.

reTURN the Favor https://returnthefavornj.org/
The Wetlands Institute https://wetlandsinstitute.org/
Sandra Levine Productions https://sandralevine.com/

Watch "Still Time for Joy" as a video podcast on YouTube @SandraLevineProd