By: Ashley Rogers, Education Intern
We were glad to host Fair Lawn Memorial Middle School eighth graders for a two-day, one-night trip from June 11th-12th. This was our final school group of the year and the first time that Fair Lawn visited our campus post-pandemic. The middle school had previously traveled to NJSOC each spring, with their first field trip in 2014. As our largest overnight program since the pandemic, we would like to thank our Master Educators and the 16 Fair Lawn faculty chaperones who made this a memorable experience for all 88 students in attendance.
During their stay, the students engaged in a variety of activities, including Conservation Photography, Fish Ecology, Water Ecology, Boating, Climbing Wall, and Metalsmithing. These lessons were designed to appeal to each student’s unique interests and knowledge. While some eighth graders caught their first fish in Mike Roche’s Fish Ecology course, others learned about the importance of perseverance towards achieving both local and global environmental initiatives in Aliza Kawecki’s Climbing Wall class. One eighth grader even captured a musk turtle during Carolyn Seifried’s Water Ecology course, a first in NJSOC’s history!
The Master Educators leading the classes also came from diverse backgrounds. While some were current or former teachers, others had personal connections to Fair Lawn. For instance, NJSOC’s Boating instructor Andy Marancik teaches Environmental Science at Sussex County Community College, while our Metalsmithing teacher Scott Helfand is a former principal at Fair Lawn Middle School. Our summer intern, Ashleigh Clenord, even got to teach her first class in Conservation Photography! All of our educators were united in their shared commitment to teach the middle schoolers about conservation and the importance of preserving places like NJSOC. We loved having Fair Lawn’s students on campus and are eager to welcome them back next school year!
