Duxbury Beach Reservation, Inc. has several public education and outreach programs that are available to the general public, school children, and all guests of the beach. Through outreach, we provide the public with educational and recreational opportunities to enjoy the beach and understand the barrier beach’s role as a storm buffer protecting Duxbury Bay and the mainland - and learn more about the plants and animals that call the beach home!

​

Programs

July
August

Public Outreach

Enrichment Duxbury Public Schools

​

July

​

Adults & Families (all ages)

Get Crabby!

Thursday, 7/6/2023 9:30AM-11:00AM

There are 4,500 species of crabs that ply the world's oceans, explore the several species that make Duxbury Bay home.

​

Adults & Families (all ages)

Mudflat Limbo

Saturday, 07/08/2023 9:30AM-11:00AM

Explore the mudflats searching for mollusks, crabs and other creatures. Wear your boots because you are bound to get muddy!

​

Adults & Families (ages 8 & up)

Beach Style Botany

Tuesday, 07/11/2023 9:30AM-11:00AM

We will challenge ourselves to identify twenty species of plants or algae that thrive in the seashore community.

​

Adults & Families (ages 8 & up)

Shorebirds Rule! 

Thursday, 07/13/2023 9:30AM-11:00AM

Learn how shorebirds all eat at the same table and compete with each other for the shoreline's bounty. 

​

Adults & Families (ages 4 & up)

Beachscape Collaborative Mural

Saturday, 07/15/2023 9:30AM-11:00AM

We invite you to add your talents to a collective art piece illustrating the bounty of the beach. Previous sessions have been a highlight of the summer.

​

Adults & Families (ages 8 & up)

Piping Plovers Pint Sized Dynamos

Thursday 07/18/2023 9:30AM-11:00AM

Join us and discover the incredible life stories of this pint-sized dynamo.

​

Adults

Mudflat Limbo for Adults

Thursday, 07/20/2023 9:30AM-11:00AM

Explore the mudflats searching for mollusks, crabs and other creatures. Wear your boots because you are bound to get muddy!

​

Adults & Families (ages 8 & up)

Salt Marsh Ecology

Saturday, 07/22/2023 9:30AM-11:00AM

We will look at all the reasons why salt marshes are essential to every critter of the sea and our ability to live in a coastal community.

​

Adults & Families (all ages)

Mollusk Mania

Tuesday, 07/25/2023 9:30AM-11:00AM

We will explore the many specialized capacities of mollusks.

​

Adults & Families (ages 8 & up)

Exploring Barrier Beaches

Thursday, 07/27/2023 9:30AM-11:00AM

Duxbury Beach is the classic barrier beach, stalwart but fluid protector from winter storms, a geological marvel subject to both positive and negative influence by humans. We will consider the importance of this celebrated resource.

​

Adults & Families (ages 10 & up)

Intro to Navigation 

Saturday, 07/29/2023 9:30AM-11:00AM

Learn how to navigate using a compass and charts! This hour and a half session will convince you to put your GPS back in the box.

​

August

​

Adults & Families (ages 8 & up)

Walking the Wrack Line

Tuesday, 08/01/2023 9:30AM-11:00AM

The wrack line is the graveyard of the oceans. Explore the life of the sea and remains on the beach.

​

Adults

Introduction to Birding for Adults

Thursday, 08/03/2023 9:30AM-11:00AM

Join us as we take a short walk in search of resident birds and share birdwatching tips.

​

Adults & Families (all ages)

Get Crabby!

Saturday, 08/05/2023 9:30AM-11:00AM

There are 4,500 species of crabs that ply the world's oceans, explore the several species that make Duxbury Bay home.

​

Adults & Families (all ages)

Mudflat Limbo

Tuesday, 08/08/2023 9:30AM-11:00AM

Explore the mudflats searching for mollusks, crabs and other creatures. Wear your boots because you are bound to get muddy!

​

Adults & Families (ages 8 & up)

Square Meter of Tidal Inventory

Thursday, 08/10/2023 9:30AM-11:00AM

Explore the mudflats searching for mollusks, crabs and other creatures. Wear your boots because you are bound to get muddy!

​

Adults & Families (ages 8 & up)

Seaweed Walk

Saturday, 08/12/2023 9:30AM-11:00AM

Walk a stretch of the beach between the road and tideline, with guide books in hand, we will challenge ourselves to identify twenty species of plants or algae that thrive at the seashore.

​

Adults & Families (all ages)

Sea Creature Feature.... Horseshoe Crab Sand Sculptures

Tuesday, 8/15/2023 9:30AM-11:00AM

Celebrate this ancient beast as we build sand sculptures depicting both this unique creature and its fellow citizens of the beach. Bring your buckets and pails.

 

Adults & Families (ages 8 & up)

Compass Treasure Hunt 

Thursday, 08/17/2023 9:30AM-11:00AM

Learn how to use a compass and search for buried treasure... maybe even talk like a pirate! Bezels, meridian lines and bearings. Arghh!

​

Adults & Families (all ages)

Mollusk Mania

Saturday, 08/19/2023 9:30AM-11:00AM

We will explore the many specialized capacities of mollusks.

​

Adults & Families (ages 8 & up)

Salt Marsh Ecology

Tuesday, 08/22/2023 9:30AM-11:00AM

We will look at all the reasons why salt marshes are essential to every critter of the sea and our ability to live in a coastal community.

​

Adults & Families (ages 8 & up)

The ABC's of Tides

Thursday, 08/24/2023 9:30AM-11:00AM

Learn how and why we have tides and why coastal living is so connected to them. The moon, the sun... it gets so confusing, we will break it down and supply the tide charts.

​

Families (ages 6 & up)

Introduction to Birding for Kids

Saturday, 08/26/2023 9:30AM-11:00AM

Join us as we take a short walk in search of resident birds and share birdwatching tips. Binoculars supplied if you don’t have your own.

​

Adults & Families (ages 4 & up)

Beachside Predator Prey

Tuesday, 08/29/2023 9:30AM-11:00AM

Through a few games we will study the food chain of Duxbury Bay.

​

Adults & Families (ages 6 & up)

Kites and the Science of Flight

Thursday, 08/31/2023 9:30AM-11:00AM

Build simple kites as we explore the science of flight. What are the remarkable adaptations birds have developed in order to take flight?

 

Public Outreach Programs

Education Night

Our annual Ed Night usually takes place during the winter or spring. Every year a topic related to the beach is selected with past presentations including the formation and migration of the beach, oystering, tidal pools, sand sharks, and hawks and snowy owls, and rising sea levels. Ed Night programs also address the “State of the Beach” with an overview of the work being done at the beach and the plans for the following year.

​

Grass Planting (March)

Every Spring our Technical Committee evaluates the planting needs of the beach after the winter wear. Many volunteers come out to the beach to plant beach grass and woody vegetation, including bayberry, beach plum, and rosa rugosa, on the sand dunes. 

​

Beach Sweep (September/October & March)

Each September and March, Duxbury Beach Reservation in conjunction with volunteer leaders, hosts a Duxbury Beach cleanup as part of a statewide beach cleanup program. A community of volunteers gather to help remove trash and assorted marine debris from Duxbury Beach. Massachusetts Coastal Zone Management provides gloves, bags, and data sheets. The Duxbury Department of Public Works (DPW) hauls the bagged debris off the beach. The trucks are weighed empty and then full to provide an accurate accounting of the weight of the debris. Annually in Duxbury, many volunteers walk the 4.5-mile beach, collecting between 5,000 and 25,000 pounds of trash. All work is coordinated with the Harbormaster Department and the Endangered Species Officer. The information compiled by the yearly COASTSWEEP effort in the United States is reported to Congress and provides a scientific basis for legislation and regulations limiting the types and locations of offshore dumping activities, and to establish safeguards to protect beaches in the future.  Visit our Volunteer page to sign up for this Spring’s beach sweep!

​

​

Enrichment Programs in the Duxbury Public Schools

As part of our education efforts, we offer instructional sections for various schools of the Duxbury Public School (Chandler, Alden, and DMS). Students use the natural resources of Duxbury Beach in a diverse curriculum that is aligned with the standards recommended by the Massachusetts Frameworks.  As the scope and sequence changes to meet higher expectations, teachers and students work to address the key understandings and essential questions in Earth/Space, Life, and Physical Sciences.

​

To schedule a school visit, please complete the School Field Trip Application. 

​

Kindergarten

Students visit Duxbury Beach and have an instructional session at Chandler in the late spring to understand about living sea creatures and their environment. The students use observation, exploration, and discussion skills as they learn more about habitats and the relationships between those habitats. 

​

Grade Seven

The 7th Grade Life Science Program at the Duxbury Junior/Senior High School studies Duxbury’s ecosystems in the spring term each year. A major part of this study is the final unit of study specifically focusing on the ecology of Duxbury Beach. After three weeks of preparation, students have a full day of field study on Duxbury Beach, followed by a week of follow-up lab work in the classroom.
 

Prior to the field study, students learn about the formation of Duxbury Beach, the erosive forces upon the beach, beach flora and fauna, and relative environmental factors that have the greatest impact potential upon the preservation of Duxbury Beach. The full day of field study involves making a comparative study of the Duxbury Ocean and Duxbury Bay microsystems. Data is collected on site to make these comparisons.
 

The Back River channel contour is surveyed yearly along Powder Point Bridge and data are compared to the previous year’s data. Dune and bay transect surveying is done on site to estimate flora and fauna populations. Relative turbidity, temperature, geology, and salinity are compared from bay to ocean. Plankton samples from both sides of the beach are collected, surveyed, and compared through microscopic observation in the high school laboratory. The ultimate goal of the unit is to provide an appreciation of Duxbury¹s great natural asset of Duxbury Beach. This is done through the direct interaction of the students with this environment.
 

​