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Community Corner

Spot the Giant Clamshell Statues

It's a giant clam invasion! Ever see one of these big, painted statues and wonder what it was for? Hit the Clam Trail to find out.

Thanks to the efforts of local environmental group ReClam the Bay and eco-friendly businesses and organizations around the region, families can spend a day on the award-winning Clam Trail searching for giant painted bivalves and learning about the ecology of the Barnegat Bay.

To get started on your Clam Trail mission, you will need a map of locations and an Explorer Log to record your findings. You can pick them up at Ocean County Mall in Toms River and get them from ReClam the Bay’s website, www.reclamthebay.org.

The entire trail is divided into five separate smaller trails to make it easier for travelers to select a section of the trail they would like to explore. When you travel to each location that has a clam statue – some are as close as Waretown – let the proprietors of each establishment know that you’re on the Clam Trail. Each of these locations helps support organizations like ReClam the Bay to clean and repopulate the Barnegat Bay with clams and oysters, which naturally filter the water to make it healthier.

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From as far north as the Mantoloking Yacht Club to as far south as the LBI Activity Center, families are sure to have just as much fun searching for the clams as learning from the “fact plaques” that accompany them.

Visitors will be able to learn a different fact about the Barnegat Bay, and what they can do to help keep it clean and habitable for creatures that live there.

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Explorers who turn in their logs to the office of the Ocean County Freeholders can earn points, awarding them a clam digger certificate, stickers or a metal clam pin, depending on how many points are accrued.

This project is not just a one-day event, but something that can last all summer. It’s great for a beautiful day with nothing to do or no place to go, especially for parents of young, restless children.

If you’re interested in finding all the locations on the Clam Trail, simply visit reclamthebay.org to get started.

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