We strive through our education and outreach programs to create an atmosphere of learning that will both inspire and nurture curiosity and compassion for the conservation of the world’s four horseshoe crabs species and their habitat.
We believe that our website, Facebook and LinkedIn page are key components in overcoming public indifference and promoting sound conservation policy. Therefore, it is our goal to develop our website into the worlds definitive source of peer reviewed information on the four extant horseshoe crab species and our Facebook and LinkedIn page as its social media extension.
Our Research section provides listings and abstracts of peer reviewed publications, white papers, posters and presentations about the world’s four extant horseshoe crab species. Where available, full papers, posters and presentations are included. Our goal is to create the world’s largest research database on horseshoe crabs.
Our annual juried arts competition invites students from around the world to submit poems, tales and images in appreciation and celebration of the remarkable horseshoe crab. Through the arts, our future environmental stewards have a voice which is heard globally.
The information and printing quality of our horseshoe crab natural history brochure and poster has lead to requests from schools, libraries, tourist centers, state parks and federal refuges around the world. Our goal is to keep our educational materials freely available and widely distributed throughout the spawning range of the world’s four extant horseshoe crab species.
In 1999 ERDG developed the worlds first museum grade model of a female horseshoe crab. Not only is her exterior surfaces complete in every detail, the top separates from the bottom to reveal the internal organs, egg distribution and circulatory system. Our model, which complements the Anatomy section of our website, has become the cornerstone of horseshoe crab classroom education. It not only permits the study of the horseshoe crab throughout the year, but also provides an internal view never before available.
ERDG maintains an active public education and community outreach schedule — speaking at schools K-12, universities, civic groups, nature clubs, community functions and conferences. We believe the foundation of a successful conservation program is effective public education and coastal community support, in conjunction with conservation initiatives, both terrestrial and aquatic, that preserve essential habitat and minimize human impact.