Coastal Ecology Learning Program
PO Box 473
Huntington, NY 11743

Note that the schooner Phoenix now makes its home in Colonial Beach, VA and the Coastal Ecology Learning Program has been discontinued. Check out the Clearwater or the AJ Meerwald for a great seafaring adventure.

The Coastal Ecology Learning Program (CELP) offers both shipboard and shoreside marine science programs for the general public, individuals, families and groups.

The 71-foot schooner Phoenix is the mobile base for the study of marine biology and ecology, water quality, navigation, and other interesting and important subjects. Needless to say, this is quite an adventure for people of all ages.

During the program, students (even individuals and family members may become "students") participate in launching and retrieving a trawling net and plankton net. The contents of the nets are placed into in an aquarium tank. Groups of students then rotate through four different education stations and perform Oceanographic Sampling: the study of the water, its composition and behavior; Plankton Study: this interesting life form is examined under a microscope; study of Marine Biology: the life forms found in the net (these are later returned to the ocean); and a study of Navigation: learning how to determine position, destination, and how to get there. Fascinating stuff.

The whole point is to get people into better communication with their environment, its wonders and its need for protection. And what fun!

The Phoenix departs from various Long Island harbors, to be determined upon reservation.

For landlubbers, including shore-bound School Groups (grades 4 and up), CELP offers a wide range of on-shore programs, covering topics like Marsh Ecology, Fisheries, Weather, Coastal Erosion, Coastal Pollution, Aquaculture, and many others.