Dear Friends of Sandy Hook,
Spring feels like it's just around the corner at this time of the year. We all know the saying, March is in like a lion, out like a lamb. Regardless of the weather, Sandy Hook is your park for all seasons, so come on out despite whatever Mother Nature has in store for us.
We hope you will plan to register and join us again for Hunt the Hook in honor of National Park Week in April. We will be bringing you a fresh set of clues this April and a wonderful prize basket for the winner.
The park has also made upgrades to apply for your 2022 fishing license which has to be done online this year. See the link below!
In the meantime, work continues at the group campsite and preparations for summer programs like Stars Astronomy and Yoga on the Beach are underway. We look forward to seeing you at the beach!
The Staff and Board of Trustees of the Sandy Hook Foundation
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Save the Date to Hunt the Hook!
A Scavenger Hunt
April 9 - 13, 2022
WHAT: HUNT the HOOK In early celebration of National Park Week. The Sandy Hook Foundation is pleased to present a scavenger hunt (of sorts) for all ages, meant to engage and inspire the public within the park in a safe, fun, and (slightly) competitive way.
WIN the GRAND PRIZE for YOUR TEAM:
- One Sandy Hook Summer Beach Parking Pass Voucher Valid Memorial Day - Labor Day 2022
- $100 Gift Certificate to The Lusty Lobster, Highlands, NJ
- Swag Basket from Sandy Hook Foundation
NEW this year, Team Leaders can invite friends, family and co-workers to join and fund raise for your team, to benefit SHF.
WHERE: Your home and Sandy Hook Unit, Gateway National Recreation Area
WHEN: Now through 4/7, register your group with one $15 donation; 4/8, 5pm Clues posted on The Sandy Hook Foundation website, or emailed to you upon request; 4/9 - 4/13 - You have 5 days, from dawn to dusk, to decipher clues, find the locations on Sandy Hook, and provide proof through submission of photos or sketches that depict the answer; 4/13, 5pm - Final answers and photos submitted; 4/15 Winner notified! In the event there are multiple teams with winning answers and proof, a raffle will take place to pull the winning name
WHY: Have fun, explore, and learn more about your National Park during National Park Week
HOW: Decipher the clues, determine which location on Sandy Hook is the answer, go to the location and take a picture with your HUNT the HOOK sign. Submit your answers (submission details provided upon registration).
* Clues best suited for 8+ years or with an adult
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Save the Date to for STARS Astronomy Program
Stars of Sandy Hook
Join park rangers and the S.T.A.R. Astronomy Society to observe the waxing gibbous moon (77% full), Mercury in the western skies, and a variety of constellations.
Wednesday, May 11
8 pm - 10 pm
Lot E
Scopes and experts will be on hand. No reservations required, open to all. For questions please call 732.872.5970
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Fishing this Year at Sandy Hook
Fishing permits go on sale TODAY via REC.GOV
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Other Park Partner Programs
Virtual Zero Waste Workshop with the
American Littoral Society
Join this workshop that will teach you how to live a more sustainable lifestyle and reduce the amount of daily waste that ends up in landfills. Visit the Littoral Society's website HERE for more information.
Spring Equinox Walk with the
American Littoral Society
It is called the equinox because it’s one of two days in the year when daylight and darkness agree to equally share the 24 hours in a day. Celebrate the equinox with an early evening walk on the Hook. Free.
Building 18 - American Littoral Society
Sunday, March 20
5:30 PM – 7 PM
Visit Littoral's website HERE to make a reservation. ♥ 2 miles.
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Volunteers Needed to be Shorebird Ecology Ambassadors (SEA) with the National Park Service
Sandy Hook's new Community Volunteer Ambassador (CVA) intern is Lloyd Crawford, who is pleased to announce an exciting volunteer opportunity to help protect the endangered species - the Piping Plover.
In 1984, the piping plover was listed as an endangered species in New Jersey and a federally threatened species in 1986. Piping plovers spend their breeding season, between March 15 and August 31, on the New Jersey shore. They nest above the high tide line on sandy ocean beaches and their nests consist of a shallow scrape in the sand where females can lay up to 4 eggs. The chicks hatch within 25 days and feed in the intertidal zone of Sandy Hook’s ocean beaches.
There are many threats to piping plover survival, including habitat loss, human disturbance, and predators such as fox, raccoons and gulls, and human disturbance. With less than 8.000 piping plovers left globally, this federally threatened shorebird is an integral part of what makes Sandy Hook special.
Please consider joining the park’s team as a Shorebird Ecology Ambassador (SEA) and sharing this opportunity with other potential volunteers, so we can help preserve and protect the Piping Plover and other threatened and endangered nesting shorebirds. Volunteer opportunities include assistance with shorebird protection projects (Installing symbolic fencing/signs), monitoring beach use and nesting sites, educating beach users about dune & beach wildlife & habitat, and staffing an information booth in the beach plazas.
Gateway is getting ready for another season of piping plover protection, and we need your help! The park will have a VIP training session on Tuesday, March 15 at 6pm.
On March 19 & 20, the park will be having its first SEA-VIP open house. Volunteers will assist rangers with installing symbolic fencing perpendicular to the shoreline in response to the returning nesting shorebirds. If interested in this opportunity, and future opportunities to protect Sandy Hook’s shorebirds, please contact Lloyd Crawford at lacrawford@nps.gov.
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The Sandy Hook Foundation Named Charity Partner for Jersey Shore Half Marathon
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The Sandy Hook Foundation (SHF) is pleased to be named as the official Charity Partner of the 2022 Jersey Shore Half Marathon, produced by the Shore Athletic Club, (Shore A.C.). During registration, participants will have the option to make a tax-deductible donation to The Sandy Hook Foundation through the event website, to support our work within the park. The Foundation will also be present on race day.
For questions or more information about the Jersey Shore Half Marathon, contact race coordinator Erin O’Neill. Both groups look forward to seeing you at the beach on Sunday, October 2, 2022.
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March in the Park
Get Ready to Roll on Sandy Hook's M.U.P
For those of you ready to trade in your boots and the cross-country skis for a warmer weather adventure, plan your visit to ride, walk, or run the MUP at Sandy Hook this spring. The Sandy Hook Foundation has invested in the installation of six bicycle repair stations along the seven mile paved trail. The path is shared by runners, cyclists, hikers, and skaters. Exercise equipment funded by SHF can also be found along the way. Review the MUP map before you go! SHF has funded the design and installation of two hydration stations along the route so you can refill your reusable water bottle and stay hydrated. The MUP winds its way through every ecosystem in the park, including the ancient maritime forest. To learn more about this restricted natural area, join the Holly Forest Walk.
Holly Forest Walk
Some of the oldest American Holly trees in the country can be found among Sandy Hook’s nearly 300 acres of holly forest. The ranger will hike through the maritime forest and point out the oldest, rarest, and largest holly trees. Waterproof footwear is recommended.
Spermaceti Cove Parking Lot (between Lots D & E)
Sunday, March 6
4 PM – 6 PM
Reservations required by calling 732-872-5970 ♥1 mile
Searching for Seals in the Surf
Hike to the Sandy Hook bayside with a park ranger to search for seal activity during their annual migration; and learn about marine mammals that dwell in the waters of Sandy Hook at different times of the year.
Sandy Hook Lighthouse
Sunday, March 13
11 AM – 1 PM
Reservations required by calling 732-872-5970 ♥ 1 mile
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Meet Your Guides
Steve Schiffer
Interpretive Park Ranger
Ranger Steve Schiffer grew up in Brooklyn. When he was nine years old, his parents began spending their summers on a lake in northern New Jersey. Here Steve spent a lot of time in the woods, flipping over rocks looking for worms and bugs. These were the happiest memories of Steve’s childhood, laying the path for his future career.
After high school Steve attended college and worked part-time in several industries, always feeling that he wasn’t being fulfilled. He changed his college major to Environmental Science and Forestry. However, a relative suggested Steve go into the garment business in NYC. Although this was a good opportunity for Steve, he didn’t feel that this career path was for him. He left the garment business after four years. It was Steve’s girlfriend (who later became his wife) who encouraged him to look at opportunities that he was passionate about. Steve continued his pursuit of a career with environmental opportunities.
Eventually, Steve had a chance encounter with a National Park Service Ranger, and Steve learned there were opportunities to work with the NPS right in his own backyard. The grand reopening of Ellis Island was scheduled for September 1990. The interpretive rangers were being transferred from the Statue of Liberty to Ellis Island, creating positions at the Statue of Liberty. Steve began his career with the NPS in 1990, working at the Statue of Liberty as an interpretive ranger and emergency medical technician. In 1997, Steve joined the Interpretation & Education team at Gateway National Recreation Area, Staten Island Unit. Here he was an interpretive ranger, also operating the park’s marine units. In 2009, he was assigned to the Sandy Hook Unit.
Here at Sandy Hook, Steve can be found guiding visitors to learn about Sandy Hook’s cultural and natural resources. This includes taking visitors on tours of the lighthouse and historic structures, as well as escorting visitors on canoe trips in the bay. Steve is also in charge of the Volunteers in the Park program here at Sandy Hook. His biggest thrill is sharing, especially with first time visitors, all that Sandy Hook has to offer. Ranger Steve says, “I just like helping people.”
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Konrad Wisniewski
Interpretive Park Ranger
Ranger Konrad Wisniewski grew up on a farm in Somerset County, NJ, where he enjoyed skipping stones on a brook near his home. This love of the outdoors laid the foundation for Konrad’s love of nature.
In college, Konrad majored in environmental sciences, studying water and air pollution. His first job was in New York City, where he worked for four years with a state agency that investigated and regulated the source of water and air pollution in the NY, CT, and NJ area.
Konrad returned to college, this time majoring in geology. However, the occurrence of a major oil spill off the coast of Alaska turned Konrad away from geology. Konrad’s next focus was in natural resources management and a career with the National Park Service (NPS). His first job with the NPS was at Gateway National Recreation Area/Sandy Hook Unit in 1988. That summer he was a ranger working at the fee booth. The following fall, Konrad began his full-time career as an interpretive ranger at Sandy Hook. This fulfilled his lifelong passion of working in a career that included the outdoors and nature.
Sandy Hook is home to an ecosystem that includes a large maritime holly forest, and Konrad enjoys taking visitors on a 1-mile hike through the forest. Konrad also conducts Sandy Hook Lighthouse tours and shares the history of Fort Hancock and the stories about the soldiers who aimed, loaded, and test fired the guns that were once located at the batteries throughout Fort Hancock.
Konrad’s favorite part of his job is sharing information about the mammals and birds of Sandy Hook and the forces of nature that occur along the Atlantic Ocean. He takes visitors on canoe trips, where they learn about Sandy Hook Bay and its inhabitants.
Ranger Konrad will forever enjoy teaching visitors about the natural and cultural resources of Sandy Hook.
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Worm Moon – Full Moon Walk
The Worm Moon is the last full moon of the winter equinox. It is often named the worm moon because of the abundance of earthworms emerging from the ground, leaving trails in the thawed frost. Join a park ranger on this trek along the bay and enjoy the opportunity to view the beautiful landscape by the light of the moon.
Beach Plaza C
Friday, March 18
7 PM – 9 PM
Reservations required by calling 732-872-5970
Coffee with a Ranger – Facebook Live
Meet the park’s Community Volunteer Ambassador (CVA) and learn about the Piping Plover and Nesting Shorebird Stewardship Volunteer Program at Sandy Hook. The CVA program is a 50-week internship experience managed in partnership with the National Park Service and Conservation Legacy. The intern will focus their efforts on building community involvement, engaging new and diverse audiences, and recruiting volunteers. Please join as the live video starts or pre-register in the events tab on the park’s Facebook page - @GatewayNPS.
Monday, March 28
10 AM – 11 AM
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The Sandy Hook Foundation (SHF) has achieved the 2022 Platinum Seal of Transparency from Guidestar/Candid, the highest level of transparency. Guidestar's mission is to revolutionize philanthropy by providing information that advances transparency, enables users to make better decisions, and encourages charitable giving. |
The Sandy Hook Foundation, a designated
501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, is the
Official Friends Group of the
National Park Service at Sandy Hook.
We rely on your support and
every donation is meaningful.
Please, consider your contribution today.
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