Species
Adoptions
The perfect gift for a friend or family member who loves the sea, our Symbolic Species Adoptions help fund Back to the Bays’ habitat and shellfish restoration initiatives.
We offer two levels of adoption, each receiving:
~ A printable Species Adoption Certificate
-and-
~ A special thank you gift, featuring species artwork produced for our new Long Island Marine + Coastal Field Guide, by CCE Marine resident artist Carolyn Munaco.
Explore symbolic species “adoptions” below!
Adopt an Eelgrass Meadow
Help us restore eelgrass meadows!
$50 ~ Weaves 50 eelgrass shoot into 5 burlap tortillas
$100 ~ Helps video monitoring of a restored meadow
Eelgrass produces oxygen, prevents erosion, sequesters carbon, and provides essential habitat to a diversity of marine fish and invertebrates. Volunteers weave live shoots into burlap “tortillas” for transplanting by our dive team. LEARN MORE
Adopt a Seahorse
Protect our local seahorses!
$50 ~ Helps provide materials for a seahorse “hotel”
$100 ~ Supports an educational community seining event
Seahorses evolved prehensile tails to cling to eelgrass plants, which have suffered decline. We conduct seahorse seining surveys that inform conservation, and build seahorse “hotels” to provide alternative habitat while we restore eelgrass meadows. LEARN MORE ABOUT SEAHORSES
Adopt an Oyster Reef
Help us re-establish oyster reef habitats!
$50 ~ Helps collects 300 gal. of recycled shell
$100 ~ Supports the planting of 1 cubic ft. of spat-on-shell oysters
We set spat (baby oysters) on recycled shell to build 3D oyster reefs that provide habitat structure for local species, while improving water quality. Did you know that 1 adult oyster can filter up to 50 gallons per day?
LEARN MORE ABOUT OYSTER REEFS
Adopt a Clam
Help restore our Hard Clam population!
$50 ~ Produces + plants 1,000 seed clams
$100 ~ Supports a community paddle + plant event
Bolster our wild hard clam population by supporting aquaculture efforts in our hatchery and grow-out sites. Clams seeded in our sanctuary sites will grow and spawn, enhancing the local population. Clams improving water quality through filter-feeding and aerate sediment as they dig. LEARN MORE ABOUT CLAMS
Adopt a Bay Scallop
Help restore Bay Scallops to our bays!
$50 ~ Supports bay scallop research
$100 ~ Produces 1,000 seed scallops
Support Bay Scallop research and aquaculture efforts in our hatchery and grow-out sites. Scallops are an important link in the marine food-chain, and filter-feed on microscopic algae, improving water quality and clarity. Hatchery-raised juvenile scallops seeded in our sanctuaries can help restore wild populations.
LEARN MORE ABOUT BAY SCALLOPS
Adopt a Horseshoe Crab
Protect + monitor local Horseshoe Crabs!
$50 or $100 ~ Support public education + awareness to protect Horseshoe Crabs
Horseshoe Crabs lay millions of eggs along the shore, providing an essential link in the coastal food web. Their blood is a vital component in biomedical safety procedures. Back to the Bays helps manage the NY DEC’s monitoring + tagging efforts at Tiana Bayside Facility, in Hampton Bays. Your support helps us provide outreach and awareness of this important species.
LEARN MORE ABOUT HORSESHOE CRABS
Our Species “Adoptions” are symbolic. The funds you contribute (less the cost of the thank-you gift) will be directed toward the species fund of your choosing, and will be used to support our current restoration needs of that project area.
Direct Species Fund Donations
Want to contribute more, or opt out of the gift?
Consider making a fully tax-deductible donation to one of our species funds. 100% of your contribution will be directed toward Back to the Bays’ restoration work!
Click the boxes below to learn more about each species, or select your desired fund from the dropdown to donate now!
When you make a donation or species adoption, you will receive a tax acknowledgment letter indicating the deductible portion of your donation. Please allow 4-6 weeks for letters to be generated. Thank you!
Back to the Bays is an Initiative of Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County, a registered 501(c)(3). Our EIN is 11-6081424 and contributions are tax-deductible to the fullest extent of the law.
