What began as a ten hour Service Learning component for a class at Stockton University became one of my most strangely enriching experiences. It began early in October of 2017, I accepted a project at the Tuckerton Seaport & Baymen's Museum known as the Walk on the Wild Side Exhibit. This exhibit had suffered damage from Super-storm Sandy some years ago and was in need of a good polishing.

Once the project was complete, I just couldn't stay away. I asked Julie, the Education and Outreach coordinator of the Seaport at the time, if they would hire me part time; she said yes. Weeks after I had donated my time to assist at the Tuckerton Seaport I was employed there.

My duties first and foremost were maintenance tasks, but slowly I was awarded some autonomy. Mainly I took care of the animals at the Seaport as well as interacted with the 17+ interpretive buildings on site. Another of my duties were to create environmental programs akin to the "Walk on the Wild Side" for the Seaport.

My daily tasks evolved again when the seaport acquired the "Tuckerton Ferry" a 30 foot pontoon boat. The ferry service runs regularly through the year, and the boat is used for nature trips on the weekends. I was asked to be a tour guide, how could I resist. Other then just ferrying people across to beach haven, I also did creek tours. These were usually hour long tours that run out to Little Egg Harbor and back.

I was hired by the county and my time at the seaport slowly cam to a close. Nevertheless the tours continued with a handful of interns-turned-tour guides trained, in part, by yours truly. The tours are loaded with history, artistry and environmental education. The Tuckerton Seaport has incorporated the ferry as a floating classroom for school groups, on which I also taught.

I have recently come back to the Seaport to run some public birding programs, and interpretive ferry tours. I have created a few birding tours developed to view local birding hotspots in a way they are not usually seen. They have included Red knots of Holgate, Pelicans of Barnegat Bay, Winter Waterfowl of Barnegat Bay, and Birding the Edge (of Great Bay Boulevard).