Share This Campaign:
Our Marine Conservation Center on Long Island was devastated by Hurricane Sandy, but we're not giving up!
Nature can be a beautiful and a terrible thing, and we've learned both of these lessons at the Ernst Marine Conservation Center (MCC) in the past few months. 'We' are The Ward Melville Heritage Organization, a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) corporation on the North Shore of Long Island. We create and teach educational programs for students of all ages at the MCC, located at our 88-acre wetlands preserve. The MCC was nearly destroyed by Superstorm Sandy in late October, and we are struggling to rebuild this "living classroom" for the community. Everyone at our organization works hard to preserve this special place: WMHO's Youth Corps, their families and friends, and community members plant spartina annualy to prevent erosion of the coastline, and remove invasive species like pepperweed from the area to prevent it from spreading. But our love and hard work couldn't prevent a natural distaster, which is why we need YOU to help us rebuild!
Here's What We Need:
We have already raised funds to gut the entire building and install new flooring, insulation, and sheetrock ... but we still have a long way to go! Here's what we still need funding for:
- Carpeting for the classroom floors
- Vinyl flooring for the bathroom
- Heating and air conditioning units
- Trim work
There are tons of awesome perks as a great big THANK YOU for helping us to preserve our marine classroom. Receive gratitude in the form of thank you letters from our elementary school-aged Salt Marsh Explorers, wetland-themed tees and mugs, and even distance learning programs LIVE from the MCC!
This is Who You're Helping:
By helping us to rebuild, you're supporting marine education for students on Long Island and all over the world. In addition to our on-site programs at the MCC, we offer distance learning programs that connect classrooms to our incredible, unique estuary with LIVE interactions. Imagine what it feels like to introduce a live horseshoe crab to a student in Minnesota who had never even HEARD of a horseshoe crab (much less seen one!), then telling him that these creatures are older than dinosaurs ... by supporting the MCC, you're supporting amazing moments like this.
These Are Ways You Can Help:
Contributions are the best way to help us rebuild and get back to teaching and learning, but there are also other ways you can help us! You can:
- Contribute to the rebuilding of our amazing MCC
- Don't clam up about our campaign: spread the word through Facebook, Twitter, and email
- Visit our website to learn more about WMHO and all of our education programs
On behalf of all of the students, educators, community members and activists, and the fragile ecosystem we are all fighting to preserve, thank you! We think you're pretty amazing (and the happy herons do, too).
Team on This Campaign:
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Lori AndrewsDevelopment Director
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Meghan PipeOutreach Manager