Paddle for the Edge Community Science Program
Advancing Barnegat Bay Marsh Restoration with Community-Collected Science
Established in 2015, Paddle for the Edge is a long-term community science initiative focused on monitoring the health and stability of the Barnegat Bay shoreline. Over the past decade, volunteer paddlers have surveyed 241 miles of shoreline, contributing nearly 11,500 individual data points. This high-resolution dataset provides essential insights into shoreline erosion, marsh retreat, and habitat change that would be impossible to capture through traditional monitoring alone.
Why this Data Counts
The Barnegat Bay Partnership (BBP) has officially launched the Paddle for the Edge Data Portal; an interactive online tool providing access to a decade of community science data collected by volunteer paddlers in New Jersey estuaries. The portal allows users, including past volunteers, restoration managers, wetland scientists, and more, to explore data that can inform restoration priorities, track marsh condition changes, and support ongoing conservation efforts.
Together, the Barnergat Bay estuary spans miles of the shoreline of New Jersey. By crowd sourcing our data efforts, we can gather substantially more data than just the BBP team can on their own. Each contributing paddler brings data to the team that helps with future management decisions.
– Linda Hochuli
-Cheryl Labella & Friends
-Kali Findlow
Additional Resources
Weather & Tide Station
Kayak Rental & Launch Sites
