Hauppauge Students Work to Restore LI's Quail Population

A fifth grade class at Bretton Woods Elementary School in Hauppauge took on an arduous task 10 years ago: restore Long Island’s quail population to a self-sustaining level. 

This year, marked the 10th anniversary of teacher Veronica Week’s involvement with the Bobwhite Quail Restoration Project. 

Weeks’ class, along with Mrs. Palmieri, incubated 100 quail eggs in the classroom. They achieved an 80-percent hatch rate, according to a press release.

The quail were kept in brooders for several weeks in the classroom and then were brought to Caleb Smith State Park where they stayed in pens until they were released ceremoniously on June 29.

“There was a huge turnout and it was very exciting to see more than 500 quail march out into their new habitat,” Weeks said. “It was a very educational and rewarding project for my students.”