Help To Save A Horseshoe Crab
The Ecological Research & Development Group, Inc. launched a campaign in 1998 to help horseshoe crabs called, “Just Flip ’em.” The program is designed to let people know that if they see a horseshoe crab stranded on its back with its legs in the air, they should gently take it by its shell and flip it over so it can swim away. Stranded horseshoe crabs can fall prey to shorebirds, or become overheated and dry in the hot summer sun. If everyone does his or her part, the horseshoe crab population will no longer be at risk, and will rebound quickly.
Class Activity: Create “Just Flip ‘Em Posters”
Students will enjoy creating “Just Flip ’em” posters to hang in the school hall, to help educate students and teachers about the importance of giving horseshoe crabs a helping hand.
Just Flip ‘Em Horseshoe Crab Song:
Copy and paste this internet address to hear the song performed:
http://horseshoecrab.org/poem/img/makinmusic/justflipem.mp3
(Makin’ Music Rockin’ Rhythms – copyright Janine Kelly 2001. This is an ERDG owned song.)
If you take a little walk down by the sea,
You just might find some horseshoe crabs
washed up on the beach.
And if theyʼre stranded upside down
and if their legs are in the air,
Tell yourself, “Iʼm gonna help them out;
Iʼm gonna walk right over there.
(Chorus)
Just flip ʻem, flip ʻem over.
Flip ʻem over, let them live.
Just flip ʻem, flip ʻem over.
They need all the help we have to give them.
Flip ʻem, flip ʻem over and very soon youʼll see,
Those horseshoe crabs will be making their way
back home to the sea.
Enter the “Horseshoe Crab and the Arts” Annual Competition
The Ecological Research & Development Group, Inc. sponsors an annual Horseshoe Crabs and the Arts Competition for students pre-K through 12th grade. Entries may include poems, tales, and images with a horseshoe crab theme, and can be submitted through classroom teachers or individually. Each year, thirty to fifty of the entries are selected to appear in the ERDG annual anthology, “Horseshoe Crabs and the Arts,” a limited edition book that is available for sale in the ERDG Company Store. These selected entries are also reproduced for an exhibit that travels throughout the United States and Japan. This exhibit celebrates the extraordinary horseshoe crab, as well as some noteworthy student work in the arts. Entries are accepted beginning each year in September, with a closing date of April 15th. Students are notified if their work is selected by June 1st.
To find out more about this exciting competition, or to access an application, please use the following link: <http://www.horseshoecrab.org/act/contest.html>
All selected work can be viewed on the ERDG website, on the Poems, Tales, & Images page. Students will be inspired by viewing these outstanding works of art, and will have a better understanding of the variety of work accepted for the competion. Please use the following link to view these creative pieces: <http://www.horseshoecrab.org/poem/cwinners.html>
Have fun, and good luck!