Students learn about native species at Southwick Beach State Park

Jefferson County, NY, June 9, 2011 - Some students across the North Country got the chance to enjoy the nice weather Thursday. As seen in this clip from Your News Now, kids took a trip to Southwick Beach State Park in Ellisburg for the 2011 Dune Fest.

More than 90 kids made the trip to learn more about the dunes, animals and ecosystems.

"We're really trying to educate junior high/high school students on the importance of the area and the importance of the ecosystem out here especially the fragile dune system. We're hoping if we can educate them at the younger ages maybe they'll help us protect a fragile environment," said NYS DEC Wildlife Biologist Irene Mazzocchi.

The program is put on by New York Sea Grant with the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation and New York's State Parks system.

Your News Now, based in Syracuse, telecasts two separate program feeds, one to Central/Northern New York; one to the Southern Tier. YNN is available to nearly 600,000 cable subscribers across a 25-county, 15,000 square mile area.