Events
2019 EVENTS
Saturday, April 20
Earth Day Fair at the Cape May Zoo
The Friends of Cape May National Wildlife Refuge will have a table with information ranging from native plants and invasive plants for your love of local gardening, bird watching opportunities, guided walks, full moon walks and the event summer schedule. The Friend's Nature Store, located in the Visitor Center, will have information, items, and volunteer opportunity information for you.
Saturday, April 27
Visitor Center/Nature Store Open House
Visit The Cape May National Wildlife Refuge from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. and check our what we offer our Visitors in the 2019 Season. Walk some trails, discover we are really three different ecosystems and locations, check our event schedules, learn about volunteer opportunities and get to know us with Coffee and Conversation. Refreshments will be served.
Saturday, April 27th from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m
Shorts From the Shore by The Cape May Film Society
732 West Broadway, West Cape May
The Friends of Cape May National Wildlife Refuge will be available with our latest updates from the Refuge such as events, the migrations happening in the spring, the horseshoe crab spawning in connection with conservation and migrating birds. We hope you stop by to talk and ask questions.
Saturday, May 4th, 2019 ~ Season Opening!!
The Visitor Center and Nature Store will be Open
Our first Free Family Nature Walk of the season will be at 9 a.m.
Our hours in May will be Saturday and Sundays from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Watch for our extended hours in June, July and August!
Be sure to come visit us this summer and enjoy the Refuge!
MAY
Saturday, May 4 - Saturday Family Nature Walk - 9:00 AM
Saturday, May 11 - Saturday Family Nature Walk - 9:00 AM
Saturday, May 18 - Saturday Family Nature Walk - 9:00 AM
Saturday, May 25 - Saturday Family Nature Walk - 9:00 AM
Sunday, May 26 - Ecology of the Dunes and Beach - 10:00 AM
JUNE
Saturday, June 1 - Family Nature Walk - 9:00 AM
Saturday, June 8 - Family Nature Walk - 9:00 AM
Saturday, June 15 - Family Nature Walk - 9:00 AM
Saturday, June 15 - Full Moon Walk (The Strawberry Moon) - 7:45 PM
Thursday, June 20 - Ghost Crabs, Fiddler Crabs, & Mole Crabs - 10:00 AM
Thursday, June 20 - Plein Air Painting - 12:30 PM
Saturday, June 22 - Family Nature Walk - 9:00 AM
Thursday, June 27 - Ecology of the Dunes and Beach - 10:00 AM
Saturday, June 29 - Family Nature Walk - 9:00 AM
JULY
Saturday, July 6 - Family Nature Walk- 9:00 AM
Sunday, July 7 - Ghost Crabs, Fiddler Crabs, & Mole Crabs - 10:00 AM
Thursday, July 11 - Ecology of the Dunes and Beach - 10:00 AM
Saturday, July 13 - Family Nature Walk - 9:00 AM
Saturday, July 13 - Full Moon Walk (The Thunder Moon) - 7:45 PM
Thursday, July 18 - Ghost Crabs, Fiddler Crabs, & Mole Crabs - 10:00 AM
Thursday, July 18 - Plein Air Painting - 12:30 PM
Saturday, July 20 - Family Nature Walk - 9:00 AM
Thursday, June 25 - Ecology of the Dunes and Beach - 10:00 AM
Saturday, July 27 - Family Nature Walk - 9:00 AM
AUGUST
Thursday, August 1 - Ghost Crabs, Fiddler Crabs, & Mole Crabs - 10:00 AM
Saturday, August 3 - Family Nature Walk - 9:00 AM
Thursday, August 8 - Ecology of the Dunes and Beach - 10:00 AM
Saturday, August 10 - Family Nature Walk - 9:00 AM
Thursday, August 15 - Ghost Crabs, Fiddler Crabs, & Mole Crabs - 10:00 AM
Thursday, August 15 - Plein Air Painting - 12:30 PM
Saturday, August 17 - Family Nature Walk - 9:00 AM
Saturday, August 17 - Full Moon Walk (The Green Corn Moon) - 7:30 PM
Thursday, August 22 - Ecology of the Dunes and Beach - 10:00 AM
Saturday, August 24 - Family Nature Walk - 9:00 AM
Saturday, August 31 - Family Nature Walk- 9:00 AM
SEPTEMBER
Saturday, September 7 - Family Nature Walk - 9:00 AM
Saturday, September 14 - Family Nature Walk - 9:00 AM
Saturday, September 14 - Full Moon Walk (The Harvest Moon) - 7:00 PM
Saturday, September 21 - Family Nature Walk- 9:00 AM
Saturday, September 28 - Family Nature Walk- 9:00 AM
NOVEMBER
After Thanksgiving Weekend Sale.
Three Day Sale Weekend
Friday, November 29th from 9:00 am - 3:00 pm
Saturday, November 30th from 9:00 am - 3:00 pm
Sunday, December 1st from 9:00 am - 3:00 pm
DECEMBER
Sunday, December 1 - Last Day of After Thanksgiving Weekend Sale - 9:00 am - 3:00 pm
Two Day Holiday Sale
One Weekend Only
Saturday, December 14th from 9:00 am - 3:00 pm
Sunday, December 15th from 9:00 am - 3:00 pm
EVENT DESCRIPTIONS
Don't be afraid of these ghosts!
This special walk will be led by Dr. Ralph E.J. Boerner, Professor Emeritus of Ecology (Department of Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology, Ohio State University), and his wife, botanist and artist Betsy Wrobel-Boerner.
The Boerners will focus their beach walk on the amazing and sometimes troublesome ghost crabs and will explore the complexity of their burrows. They will also help participants identify some of the characteristic dune plants found at Two Mile Beach. Free handouts will be provided.
This walk is free and perfect for all ages. As always, dress for the weather. Heavy rain cancels the event. After the walk, the public is invited to warm up in the newly-opened Nature Store at Two Mile.
Please meet at the Visitors Contact Station at the Two Mile Beach Unit of Cape May National Wildlife Refuge.
Free Family Nature Walks
Friends of Cape May NWR are continuing their fun, free, family-friendly bird walks all summer long at 2-Mile Beach in Wildwood Crest. Look for the Free Bird walk sign where Pacific Avenue turns into Ocean Drive, on the east side of the street.
Meet at the 2-Mile Visitor Center Parking Lot (just north of the gate for the former Coast Guard base). Explore this hidden gem of undeveloped barrier island ocean beach, and learn about the amazing birds with loaner binoculars and a spotting scope.
Families with children are welcome!
Ecology of the Dunes and Beach.
How did our barrier islands get here? What unique animals and plants live here? Get answers to these questions and many more in a family-friendly, multimedia and outdoor exploration of the barrier island ecosystems.
Plein Air Painting
Join us again this coming year at the Two Mile Beach Visitor Contact Station for a series of monthly outdoor painting workshops led by local artist Janet McShain.
Janet, a graduate of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, specializes in "plein air" watercolor painting. "En plein air" is a phrase used to describe the act of painting outdoors.
Feel free to come early and bring lunch or a snack; we will provide coffee, tea and water. Bring your own equipment, or feel free to borrow some of Janet's. If the weather permits, we will be doing our sketching and painting outdoors, so dress for the weather. In case of inclement weather, we can work inside or under the covered front porch with a view of the Refuge.
These workshops are suitable for beginners or experienced adult painters. Painting at the Refuge will give you an opportunity to study and appreciate the beauty of this special place. The Two Mile Beach Unit of the Refuge offers opportunities to view barrier island habitat, maritime forest, tidal ponds, and beachfront, all within steps of each other. The unit offers views of undisturbed beach habitat which is used by beach-nesting birds and thousands of migrating shorebirds. Janet will help you create a lasting memory of your visits here. We will hopefully build toward seasonal art shows, with paintings displayed on the walls of the Visitor Contact Station.
There will be a suggested donation of $5 for each session. Space is limited to 15 people. Please pre-register beforehand.
Full Moon Walks
Once a month, as the full moon glows, it seems safe to venture out into the dark while the moon makes shadows. You can still smell the earth, feel the wind, hear the ocean roar, and sense the wildlife. Friends of Cape May NWR will offer a “Walk by the Light of the Moon” series of interpretive walks during spring and summer. The purpose of these walks is to provide a family oriented activity that introduces visitors to the natural history of the Refuge. Through this introduction we hope to foster an understanding and appreciation for these resources that will lead visitors toward stewardship of their public lands in Cape May County.
Full Moon Walks will be held each month on a Saturday night close to the official full moon and will begin at varying times depending on the season. Most walks will last about an hour and a half, and will cover approximately one mile in length. Bring a flashlight or headlamp (although after our eyes become accustomed to the dark, we won’t be needing them), and dress for the weather. Remember, it’s often cooler and windier near the beach, so try to dress in layers. Free loaner binoculars will be available while supplies last, or you can bring your own. A few telescopes will also be available for up-close viewing of the moon, stars and planets.
This program is free and open to the public, and is especially suitable for families with children. After the program, the public is invited to relax and warm up with coffee, tea and hot chocolate at the newly-opened Nature Store at Two Mile.
Return The Favor
reTURN the Favor is a multi-partner program working to rescue overturned or impinged horseshoe crabs stranded on New Jersey’s Delaware Bay beaches. Many horseshoe crabs spawn on these closed beaches and oftentimes become stranded, overturned, or even impinged behind natural or manmade structures. If you want to join a walk to rescue horseshoe crabs, Friends of Cape May NWR is leading walks on the following dates on Kimbles Beach:
To learn more about RtF visit http://returnthefavornj.org/
To join a walk contact: rej.boerner@gmail.com