Mayor Bill Finch celebrates Audobon CT/SCA Partnership for Teens
Mayor Bill Finch congratulated a team of Bridgeport high school students at Beardsley Park on Sept. 5 for their 10 months of service to the city and its wildlife.
The teens are the first members of the WildLife Guards, a program launched in 2012 by Audubon Connecticut in partnership with the Student Conservation Association (SCA), Connecticut’s Beardsley Zoo and the city of Bridgeport.
The program seeks to raise public awareness about beach nesting birds while providing teens with job skills, science education and field experience. This summer, the guards spent three days each week at Pleasure Beach and Long Beach West in Stratford monitoring birds and showing beach-goers how to successfully co-exist with wildlife.
“This innovative program is giving Bridgeport high school students direct job experience and skills that will benefit them throughout their lives,” said Finch who joined the group back in May to remove overgrown vegetation around the Conservation Pond in Beardsley Park. “The WildLife Guards are also great role models for younger students, teaching them about birds, habitats and how people can successfully share the shores with wildlife.