Delaware Bay

Show your support for conservation and display a youth sign at your business. You will help people learn about the Bayshore while supporting local youth in their efforts to take action.

The Bayshore community loves its shorebirds and horseshoe crabs, arriving on the beaches every May. Visitors also come from near and far and we want to make sure local businesses see the benefit of these visitors. The May on the Bay Business program will encourage birders, horseshoe crab enthusiasts, and volunteers to bring their business to locals, while also teaching newcomers about this amazing phenomenon.

To become a May on the Bay Business it is as simple as displaying a free sign with local youth art at your business. It can be inside or outside. We will then post on our website, blog, newsletter, and social media highlighting participating businesses showing their support for conservation of shorebirds and horseshoe crabs. This is the pilot year and as the program grows we hope to offer additional benefits.

Why become a May on the Bay Business?

For more information:
Email: lchamberlin@manomet.org or Phone: 302-922-0682

Show others that you share the beach with shorebirds, horseshoe crabs, and wildlife. Displaying a wildlife sign will also help your neighbors join in the effort and encourage visitors to respect the area.

Signs are made by local school students after they learn about the Delaware Bay ecosystem. A selection of signs are installed on the beaches, but can be displayed in public spaces, businesses, or yards. Join us to help raise awareness and share important conservation messages about shorebirds and horseshoe crabs.

This project was developed in collaboration with NJ Audubon who have a similar project on Atlantic ocean beaches.

To request a youth presentation or to display a sign contact Laura Chamberlin.

Show others that you share the beach with shorebirds, horseshoe crabs, and wildlife. Displaying a wildlife sign will also help your neighbors join in the effort and encourage visitors to respect the area.

Making a difference on the Delaware Bay is as easy as rescuing a stranded horseshoe crab. Horseshoe crabs often become stranded, overturned, or impinged behind natural and man-made structures and need a little help to get back to the Bay.

For New Jersey beaches, go to reTURN the Favor for guidance on how to work on closed beaches, collect data, and participate in an event.

If you have a group that wants to volunteer, please contact Laura Chamberlin.

Consider adding a volunteer trip into your vacation plans. Many of our Bayshore Stewards and reTURN the Favor volunteers come from out of the area, using vacation time to take action.  Contact the project coordinators to learn about options for your visit.

Don’t forget to check our Resources for several tools for planning trips including finding other things to do, where to stay and eat, and other helpful tips.

Good conservation starts with a better understanding of the horseshoe crab population. Volunteers are needed on Bayshore beaches to tag and survey crabs to collect additional data for the management of horseshoe crabs and habitat.

Through May and June, there will be 12 horseshoe crab tagging and survey events on beaches in New Jersey. Find an event or check out www.horseshoecrabtagging.org

Since 1990, horseshoe crab spawning surveys have been conducted on in Delaware and New Jersey. Volunteers are always needed to participate in one of their 12 survey nights in May and June. Learn more at www.horseshoecrabssurvey.com

Your generous support of Celebrate Delaware Bay will be used for on-the-ground action projects on the Delaware Bay like horseshoe crab rescue, horseshoe crab survey, beach stewardship, and youth sign projects.

Make a donation.

Celebrate Delaware Bay is a project of the Executive Office of the Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network and Manomet, Inc.