ReClam the Bay Awarded New Jersey Tourism Cooperative Marketing grant

PRLog (Press Release) – Jun 24, 2008 – ReClam the Bay, the volunteer organization developed by the Barnegat Bay Shellfish Restoration Program has been awarded $13,500 grant to promote its summer long activity that kicks off July 2, 2008 at the LBI Foundation of the Arts and Sciences.

The New Jersey Office of Travel and Tourism has established a Tourism Co Op Marketing Grant to local communities and organizations promoting the state as a destination. The Southern Ocean County Chamber of Commerce assisted ReClam in preparing the grant that was submitted this past April. Recently, the Chamber has taken on the formal role of Destination Marketing Organization (DMO) of the Greater Long Beach Island Region. The DMO has been collaborating with chamber members whose focus is to further the advancement of the local tourism industry. In providing grant consultation to member organizations that attract visitors by creating unique experiences within our region, the DMO can help strengthen resources that will help promote the area.  According to Rick Bushnell, President of ReClam the Bay, there has always been a strong partnership between the Chamber of Commerce and Reclam. “The grant will fund the marketing of the Clam Trail which will start with an interactive exhibit at “Bay Day July 2, 2008” at the LBI Foundation of the Arts and Sciences in Loveladies and will run all summer long and encompass all of Barnegat Bay from Mantoloking to Tuckerton.” The Clam Trail, Bushnell refers to, is a fun-for-all-ages eco-knowledge treasure hunt which won the Governor’s Award for Excellence in Tourism earlier this year.

Rick Bushnell along with Gef Flimlin and Cara Muscio (both Ocean County Marine Agents) conceived the idea to tie art and science education into a fun activity for tourists. The Clam trail includes seventeen giant painted fiberglass clam shells, (that is the art) along with shellfish nurseries, called upwellers, and museums and other points of interest. The trail becomes a knowledge adventure because each location on the clam trail contains a “fun fact” about the environment. The game is to visit the locations, fill in an explorer log with the facts and send the form to the Rutgers Extension in Toms River to win prizes. Last year children from as far away as Texas learned about the Jersey shore environment and took the knowledge home. “With the additional funding we will be able to do a better job of promoting the Clam Trail. And that activity provides people some new knowledge that we all need if we are going to improve the bay. But in addition it provides a fun activity that brings tourists to our museums, shops and restaurants. What could be better!” says Bushnell.