Save the Beaches Educational Program
Essay Contest

The Essay Contest is a yearly event that is part of the STB Beach Education Program.
Below are the links to the Yearly Winners! Good Reading.

Sunset on the South Shore, Time to Think about It.

At the end of the Fall 2004 Save the Beaches Educational Program the students were given the opportunity to enter an essay contest. The subject was: How Does a Coastal Storm Affect the Barrier Island?

110 fifth grade students from Babylon Grade School submitted essays. Five winners were selected from the entries.
The winning essays are printed below.

Katie Dowling - Mrs. Gillespie's class

It depends on how severe the storm is, it can leave semi permanent changes to the ecosystem of the island. The main function of a barrier island is to protect the coast line from storm damage. It does that by slowing down the winds with the grasses in the dunes and protects the main land from the impact of the crashing waves that happen during a coastal storm.

A storm can leave behind permanent changes, like erosion and changes in the animal life that inhabit it. In a storm if the wave action exceeds the dunes it can push sediment from the dunes landward creating an over wash. This changes the barrier island landward. This is dangerous and permanent because if it continues we will not have a barrier island to protect our shore.
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Amanda Trapani - Mrs. DeFeo's/Mrs. Ketchum's class

A coastal storm can affect a Barrier Island by flooding the island and washing away the sand dunes. Sand dunes are important because they save the beaches from being blown or washed away. A coastal storm has strong winds which can blow things into the water and cause it to become polluted. Then when the tide comes up, the beach becomes polluted. Coastal storms can also destroy homes and trees. It can also hurt people who are on the islands. It can even kill people.

After a coastal storm is over it can cost millions of dollars to fix up the islands again. New sand dunes would have to be formed, homes rebuilt and trees planted again.

This is why we need groups like Save the Beaches to help take care of our beaches so they are always there to enjoy!
Unfortunately we never know when a coastal storm may hit.
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Katie Lydakis - Ms. Mielenhausen's class

Introduction Swish, swish, swish the waves come rushing to the shore. You can see the horizon splitting the sky from the sea. Sand goes into your toes and a gust of wind blows your hair wild. The air smells like salt with the sun bursting with light. This is how the beach is on a calm summer's day.

What Can Waves Do? Crash, crash! Waves can swallow up the entire beach when it is a stormy day with waves crashing onto the shore. They can also change the shape of the beach by currents generating erosion. The materials move from one beach to another by the winds making more waves.

Sand, Sand, and More Sand!! Sand is everywhere. Sand movement can build up dunes and is joined to the beach because of coastal erosion. It can also take away sand. During heavy storms (hurricanes) sand is uplifted and the shape of the beach changes. During calm storm seasons, sand is put back in its proper place allowing the beach to grow. Sometimes when a lot of sand is moved a new barrier beach is formed.

Water We all enjoy the cool water but sometimes it can damage our beaches. Sea level can rise because of too much rain. During coastal storms, waste water from sewage treatments are affected, polluting our sea. Runoff or excess water can damage our beaches, so try to keep our beaches clean!!!

Dunes of Sand You see dunes all the time and you might think they are just there. Dunes are a lot more. Dunes support beaches and the primary dune. Primary dunes are generated by slow build up of sand. They support what is behind it. Sand is moved on the tops of the dunes by (waves) water movement. Tall grass is found on the dunes. Many more plants are found on the secondary dunes which are farther away. Plants also support beaches. Now when you are at the beach think about and notice the dunes.

Swish, Swish, Splash!!!! Waves, Water, Sand and Dunes are all affected by coastal storms on barrier beaches. Do coastal storms really affect barrier beaches? Yes they do!! Maybe next time you go to the beach take a look at everything and you might see something you never found before like this! Splish, Splish, Splash!!
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Anthony Castagnaro - Ms. Zwerlein's class

The Barrier Beaches of Long Island are located south of the mainland. The Great South Bay is the body of water that separates the mainland from the Barrier Beaches. To the south of the Barrier Beaches is the Atlantic Ocean. There are State Parks (Robert Moses, Captree and Jones Beach), Town Parks (Overlook, Cedar and Gilgo Beach) and communities all on the Barrier Beach. I live in one of those communities called Oak Beach.

The Barrier Beaches are a natural protector of the shores of Long Island. This is because they are between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mainland. If a hurricane came up the coast of the U.S. and was going to hit Long Island, it would hit the Barrier Beaches first. During a hurricane the ocean water levels rise and the Barrier Beaches keep the high water from flooding Long Island. If there was no Barrier Beach, Long Island would be flooded all the way to Sunrise Highway.

The Barrier Beach is also at risk of being damaged by a hurricane. The strong winds and rough water can cause erosion, which is when the sand of the beaches gets taken back into the ocean. That would leave little or no beach. The houses on the Barrier Beaches could be destroyed or damaged like in the 1938 hurricane. The Barrier Beach could be flooded, or a breach could happen. That is when the Ocean water cuts through the land making a "river" to the other side destroying everything in its way.
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Adam S. Marrone - Mrs. Schultheis's Class

What are coastal barriers?
Coastal barriers are unique land forms that provide protection for different aquatic habitats and serve as the mainland's protection against the impacts of severe coastal storms and erosion. Located at the connection of land and sea, the powerful physical factors responsible for shaping coastal land forms are tidal range, wave energy, and sediment supply from rivers and older, preexisting coastal sand bodies. Changes in local sea level also affect coastal barriers.

Five things about coastal barriers:
Coastal barriers are subject to the impacts of coastal storms and sea-level rise and are, in different ways, dangerous for permanent human use and occupancy;
Coastal barriers help protect the mainland from the impact of storms;
Many coastal barriers protect and maintain productive loose sediments;
Coastal barriers are subject to wind and waves;
Coastal barriers include aquatic habitats which the non-wetland portion of the coastal barrier protects from direct wave attack.

Coastal barriers protect natural resources
Coastal barriers protect the aquatic habitats between the barrier and the mainland which contain resources of scientific, recreational, natural, historic, and economic value. Together with their nearby wetland, marsh, inlet, and near shore water habitats, coastal barriers support many different organisms. Millions of fish, shellfish, birds, mammals, and other wildlife depend on barriers and wetlands for feeding, nesting, nursery, and resting habitat.

Coastal barriers and severe storms
Barrier islands are constantly changing, They are influenced by the following conditions:

Waves - deposit and remove sediments from the ocean side of the island.

Currents - long shore currents that are caused by waves hitting the island at an angle can move the sand from one end of the island to another. For example, the offshore currents along the east coast of the United States tend to remove sand from the northern ends of barrier islands and deposit it at the southern ends.

Tides - move sediments into the salt marshes and eventually fill them in. The sound sides of barrier islands tend to build up as the ocean sides erode.

Winds - blow sediments from the beaches to help form dunes and into the marshes, which contributes to their build-up.

Sea level changes - rising sea levels tend to push barrier islands toward the mainland.

Storms - have the most dramatic effects on barrier islands by creating over wash areas and eroding beaches as well as other portions of barrier islands.

Under normal weather conditions, only aquatic habitats right next to coastal barriers are exposed to direct wave attack but major coastal storms many times affect the entire landward aquatic habitat. This habitat survives major storms because coastal barriers receive most of the ocean's energies. Storm waves break on the barrier beach, leaving a smaller wave to travel into the wetland. At the same time, the wetland stores storm flood waters, reducing the flood pressure on the mainland. Without sand beaches protecting many bluffs and terraces, damages from violent storms would be much greater. Sand acts as a brake on the waves. The main danger to beaches and barriers is not serious storms but a steady loss in the sand supply caused by dams on streams.
Low lying barrier beaches survive severe storms with little as long as there is a supply of sand available to restore the beach. A serious storm is a short-term event, repeating the annual cycle of changing width and slope of the beach within a few hours. The entrance to a bay and/or river mouth may be relocated, but this sometimes also happens without storms.
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2005 Essays

Affect of Trash on Nature at the Beach

The fifth grade students who attended the 2005 Fall Educational Program were given the opportunity to enter the STBF Essay Contest. The subject was: How does trash left on the beach affect nature? What will you do (or not do) to prevent trashing a beach?

The STBF judges agreed that all of the essays were very good and it was difficult to select winners. The winning essays are printed here and the authors each received a Barnes & Noble gift certificate at a presentation at Babylon Grade School in December.

Jack Curcio with Bud Maaser from STB and Mrs. Schultheis

Jack Curcio – Mrs. Schultheis’ Class

I don’t know why people trash beaches. That’s really mean. They can kill birds, animals, and even plants. Maybe if everyone realized what is being done to our future, they would stop.

Trash on our beautiful beaches looks disgusting. Anything that will not break down is harmful. Birds can get caught on balloons, plastic can holders, and sludge from garbage. All animals, including humans could get cut on sharp things. They can eat something that they shouldn’t and get sick or even die. If the beaches get too dirty, the animals might not stay there. If this happens the balance of nature could be lost.

Plants need a clean environment to stay healthy and grow. Animals need plants to eat. If they are destroyed the animals could starve. The plants in the ocean could be affected too. The fish could get sick and die from the bacteria in the water. People could get sick if they eat the fish that are sick.

The things I would do to prevent the beaches getting trashed is to make sure I don’t litter. I could ask my mom to bring a bag for us to keep garbage in while we sat on the beach. At the end of the day I could bring that bag to the trash can or bring it home. I think this is a good idea because if people get lazy they would only have to make one trip to the garbage when they leave.

Now that I know how important clean beaches are I will try to educate my family and friends about this. When you think about it, it is a very easy solution to a very big problem.

The field trip was a really good experience because it taught me what littering can do the environment at the beaches. Now the whole fifth grade knows also. It would be great if everyone could go on this field trip and learn to appreciate our beautiful beaches.
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Carolanne Murphy with Bud and Mrs. Ketcham

Carolanne Murphy – Mrs. Ketcham’s Class

On September Twenty Eighth our class went on a field trip to Cedar Beach. We did different activities. First we went clamming, second, we went fishing. Third, we learned about safety on the water, and finally we picked up trash and learned about beach pollution.

I learned that if you leave trash on the beach, it will damage the nesting areas for the piping plovers. It also can stop the plants from growing. If people don’t pick up garbage on the beach, then all that trash could really add up. Who would want to lay on the beach in trash?

Trash in the water can affect the animals because the animals can choke on the trash. The animals wouldn’t be able to breathe in the polluted water. Some people might think a little trash in the water isn’t bad, but they are wrong. If everyone in the world threw their trash in the water, the water would be all full of garbage.

I can save the beaches by picking up trash other people leave on the beach. I will do this not only on the beach, but everywhere else.

Sierra Duca with Bud and substitute teacher

Sierra Duca – Ms. Zwerlein’s Class

Trash left on the beaches affects many plants and animals. Many people think one little piece of trash won’t do anything. The problem is a lot of people think the same thing, so more and more trash is carelessly left on the beaches, hurting beach life.
Trash left on the beaches hurts animals and plants in many different ways. Sometimes trash gets blown in to the dunes where animals hide, live and breed. These animals can get caught in plastic bags and other trash and get strangled. Some of these animals that live on the beach are endangered, so even if we are not trying to hurt the animals we are.

Trash can also get blown in the ocean or bay where fish and other sea animals live. It can also hurt them because fish and other wildlife can get tangled and stuck in the trash that is blown from the beaches.

Matt Finelli with Bud and Mrs. Gillespie

Matt Finelli – Mrs. Gillespie’s Class

Trash left on the beach greatly affects nature. It could kill animals or hurt them badly. Here are some things that can happen to nature because of trash left on the beach.

Trash left in the dunes tremendously affects nature. It can cut up and hurt animals that live in dunes. That wouldn’t be good because animals wouldn’t be able to lay their eggs in the dunes. Garbage left in the dunes can clog up all of the nesting sites. The garbage could cut down or kill the plant life in the dunes, causing the dunes to blow away. If the dunes blow away, the ocean will just keep on coming closer and closer up on the land. (The dunes act as a barrier to keep the water from rising too far up on land.) Finally, if you litter in the dunes, you can get in trouble because it is against the law.

If you litter on the beach, you could hurt animals such as birds and fish. People could get hurt too. If you litter a plastic 6-pack holder, that is very dangerous to birds and fish. If a fish swims over to see what it is, it could get caught in it and choke. If it doesn’t choke, it could get caught in it and tire itself out. If a bird gets caught in it, then it tries to fly, it can injure its wing and not be able to fly even after the holder is off. Pieces of metal, tin cans, and broken glass can hurt animals and people. Cigarette filters can also choke animals. If we litter on the beach, we will destroy it. It won’t be safe or fun to go there anymore if we trash it.

If we litter in the water, it can ruin sea life. For example: if we litter in the water, it can kill the smaller animals. If we kill the smaller animals, the next animal on the food chain would die. Then so would the next, and the next, and the next. It would go on and on until it reached us. Then we wouldn’t be able to have sea food anymore. If we litter in the water, it would wash up on the shore line and we wouldn’t be able to go in the water without getting cut.

Shannon Hopkins with Bud and Mr. Rossi

Shannon Hopkins – Mr. Rossi’s Class

Trash left on the beach is affecting nature. When I am an adult no one will want to go to the beach because it will be full of trash. So I will not litter. I will keep the beaches nice and clean. I will throw my trash in trashcans. If there are no cans, I will take my garbage with me. I will make sure that my friends don’t litter also.

Trash can hurt the animals that live at the beach. They can step on a piece of glass or something sharp. They may also eat something they shouldn’t. If there is trash it can attract animals that don’t usually live at the beach. Then there will be too many animals. Animals make nests in the dunes. If there is trash in the dunes, the animals may not want to breed. The beach will be a disaster.

People wouldn’t want to go to beaches if they are dirty because it wouldn’t be relaxing. I know that I wouldn’t want to go there. I would want to have a nice clean beach, wouldn’t you? I know I had a good time at the beach so I would want to have my children and other people’s kids to also have a relaxing and clean beach to enjoy. If you see garbage just pick it up and that’s what I will do.

Irina Feig with Bud and Ms. Trujillo

Irina Feig – Ms. Trujillo’s Class

Trash left on the beach is extremely dangerous! Leaving trash on the beach can kill or harm other people or animals. I think that soon, all the beach animals will die out if no one cleans their trash and other people’s trash! The beach needs a lot of help and glass in people’s feet won’t help! I think most people should learn to clean up after themselves and other people!!!

Trash is not healthy for animals or people. Glass is very dangerous and so is drifting wood. People should care more about the environment and clean! Everybody needs a safe, clean, non-toxic environment. If we all cared more about the people and animals that live at the beach, the beach would look waaaaay better!

WHAT I CAN DO OR NOT DO:
I think a sign banning glass, plastic, or metal objects and NO SMOKING should be put up.
I will clean everything that should be thrown away.
I will always remind other people to throw away their own garbage.
I will make sure the place on the beach that I was at is cleaner than it was! Beaches should not have glass!

HOW I WILL PREVENT TRASHING THE BEACH:
The beach should be a nice place to visit.
It should not have glass or other trash washing up on the shore.
People should cut the plastic can holders before throwing them away, so fish can’t get caught in it.
Fishing lines should be thrown away in the garbage instead of the ocean, so fish won’t get tangled in them.
People should learn to respect the beach!
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