UCC campers dive into a day of marine biology

Last week, children from the Uniondale Community Council Summer Camp spent a day of educational fun at the Jones Beach Energy & Nature Center.

The interactive, all-expenses-paid workshop was hosted by a partnership between Jones Beach State Park and NY Sea Grant, a Cornell University program that conducts and supports academic research into marine issues affecting New York state, and specifically Long Island.

In 2018, NY Sea Grant partnered with the Jones Beach Energy & Nature Center to launch Marine Camp, a one-day, hands-on workshop for children. Participants learn about seine net fishing and do some beachcombing. They learn about marine and beach wildlife, and attend an interactive indoor educational seminar on electricity, solar energy and marine biology at the center.

Reaching underserved children is a major goal of the Marine Camp.

“For many of the kids that participate in the program, it’s one of the only opportunities they have to learn about the wonderful marine life that’s right in their backyard,” Antoinette Clemetson, a fisheries specialist for NY Sea Grant, said.

Ricardo Castillo, 4H Program Manager of the Cornell Cooperative Extension, one of the camp’s main sources of funding, explained that transportation is usually the biggest barrier for students who want to attend.

“Since most of the camps we serve come from underserved communities, a $300 or $400 bus ride is an obstacle,” Castillo said. “We’re able to circumvent that by providing them a reimbursement through the Cornell Cooperative office.”

The state program combines the efforts of community volunteers and Cornell University staff with the financial resources of the county, state, and federal governments.

UCC campers, who are mostly Black and Hispanic, have attended the Marine Camp almost every year since the program's inception. After a hiatus amid the coronavirus pandemic, the program is now back in full swing, and serving UCC and many other camps throughout Nassau County.

“A lot of these kids never had this type of experience, so this is a great opportunity for them,” Yvonne Dailey, UCC Summer Camp director, said. “Later, as they’re getting older and figuring out what life path and career opportunities they might want, they know they could be a marine specialist, an oceanic engineer, whatever their heart desires.”

Opening the way to racial and ethnic diversity is especially important in the field of marine biology. According to a 2023 report by Zippia, a job website, 71.5 percent of marine biologists are white, 10.3 percent are Asian, 8.9 percent are Hispanic and 3 percent are Black, while only .7 percent are American Indian or Alaska Native.

Another report, “No progress on diversity in 40 years,” by researchers Rachel E. Bernard and Emily H. G. Cooperdock, for Nature.com, details the limited racial diversity among those who earn doctorates in earth, atmospheric and ocean sciences across the country. According to the report, from 1973 to 2016, an average of 86 percent of Ph.D. recipients in those fields were white.

The Marine Camp and other programs help to help change those statistics. “I hope this camp will spark these kids to do more like this and think outside the box,” Daily said. “This is a great opportunity for them to extend their STEM program to learn about marine life. I’m proud and happy that we are able to provide this service for these kids, so they can explore and enjoy the great big open ocean.”