Students build wooden huts to protect shorebirds.

Eighth graders from Edgartown School designed, built and placed pyramid-shaped wooden shelters at Norton Point as the final step of a project that began in October.

Eighth grader Maya Wallace knelt in the sand at Norton Point on Friday and placed a wooden hut near a patch of beach grass that will soon be home to a shorebird. The placement marked the final step of a project at Edgartown School that began in October. Students in Justen Foster's eighth-grade science class designed and built the shelters as part of lessons on shorebirds and coastal habitats. Beach staff and the town conservation assistant guided the students on siting and the shelters' purpose. Project details: - Students placed pyramid-shaped wooden huts at Norton Point after a multi-month classroom project that began in October. - The huts have a large front board to shield nests from wind, a side entrance for birds, and two holes in the back for ventilation. - Beach staff said the shelters may help protect shorebirds from predators such as the harrier hawk and advised positioning them away from where the tide may roll in and in areas with sparse beach grass. - Activities included lessons on local shorebird ecology, use of binoculars to identify birds, and discussion of beach finds like mermaids' purses and horseshoe crabs. - Students also picked up some trash on the beach, and Tony Cimeno, who will become beach director in April, helped with the event. Summary: The project combined hands-on building with lessons about local ecology and community stewardship, and students placed the shelters on the beach to support nesting shorebirds. Undetermined at this time.