Category: Blog

By Tara Schaberg, NJSOC Archives Project Volunteer Every year in June, Father’s Day honors fathers and father figures, celebrating their contributions of guidance and support and the impact they have in shaping a child’s life and values. A field biology class studying at the New Jersey School of Conservation exactly

By: Shayne Russell, NJSOC Archives Project Volunteer The School of Conservation was buzzing on Sunday. Inside Long House, our Archives volunteers were busy as bees bringing SOC’s history to life through organizing and cataloging box after box of documents and artifacts. Looking out the window, there was a view of

By: Ashley Rogers, Education Intern A big, warm welcome to our second summer intern, Ashley Rogers, to the NJSOC community! Ashley recently graduated from Drew University with Honors in Biology (B.S.), having successfully completed a thesis in bird habituation. Ashley was also proud to be inducted into the Phi Beta

For the past six months, I have had the amazing opportunity to work with the NJSOC as a high school intern. Since I was little, I have always been fascinated with the natural world and my educational journey through the Environmental Science Academy at Jefferson Township High School has given me the wonderful experience to do a 120 hour internship that focuses on what I love

Ashleigh is a proud alumna of Ramapo College of New Jersey, where she graduated cum laude with a major in Environmental Studies and minors in Public Policy and Sustainability. Throughout her college career, she maintained a 3.6 GPA, earned Dean’s List recognition, and was inducted into two national honor societies

As we reflect on the past year, we are filled with immense gratitude and pride. The New Jersey School of Conservation has long stood as a beacon of environmental education, stewardship, and community engagement—and 2024 was a year that reminded us just how powerful this mission continues to be

This month, NJSOC Staff and Master Educators took another important step in ensuring the safety of our community and the individuals who visit campus: completing certification in Adult and Pediatric CPR, AED, and First Aid

At NJSOC, you can find a large variety of beautiful native plants and flowers. In this post, you will learn all about our most common and favorite flora found here! You will also learn how to spot them and some fascinating facts

Have you wondered what types of animals you might see at the NJSOC? In northern New Jersey, there are so many unique, beautiful, and important species. Here we will highlight a few that have been seen roaming the campus

Our Eastern Painted Turtle, Picta, is named after her scientific name Chrysemys picta. Painted turtles are native to the state of New Jersey and found all over the United states, southern Canada and parts of Mexico. This species thrives in the New Jersey habitat due to the abundance of freshwater, wetlands, the temperate climate, and prey available to them

Meet our next Ambassador Animal, Elaphe,our 25 year old corn snake! Corn snakes are native to southern New Jersey and can live up to 6-8 years old in the wild. In captivity, corn snakes can live up to 23 years old, therefore making Elaphe a senior snake. She got her name from the species scientific name, Elaphe guttata guttata

Since 1984, NJSOC has had the honor of welcoming the 6th grade students from Jordan Road School in the Somers Point School District. This long-standing tradition has fostered an incredible relationship between Somers Point and NJSOC, creating lasting memories and deepening students’ connections with the environment. This year’s 3-day, 2-night trip was filled with special moments, as the students had the opportunity to engage in hands-on learning experiences that they’ll carry with them for years to come

In the wild, Eastern Box Turtles (Terrapene carolina) are native to all of New Jersey, but unfortunately, people occasionally take them out of their native woodland and meadow habitats to keep them as pets. This was the case for Mo, as he was taken out of his natural habitat by a family that could not give him the right care

We are excited to share that registration for Stokes Music Camp is now open for Summer 2025! Once again held at NJSOC, this camp provides an inspiring and immersive environment for young musicians to hone their craft and connect with fellow music enthusiasts

This past week, NJSOC staff and master educators embarked on an exhilarating two-day journey into the heart of Wilderness First Aid Training, gaining life-saving skills that could make all the difference in an emergency situation

Stokes Music Camp is coming back to NJSOC for Summer 2025, and we could not be more excited!

Dear Friend,
As the year draws to a close, I am happy to share the amazing impact that the New Jersey School of Conservation has had in 2024. From grade school to graduate school and beyond, our programs are testament to our commitment to foster educated and committed stewards of the environment

We’d like to introduce you to Amelia Basile, our new SOC Intern!.

We are so thankful to our recent intern, Melinda, for spending her summer here at SOC! Melinda was a big help to us over the past few months, and we will miss her deeply as she returns to school this semester

The New Jersey School of Conservation is developing a new plan to safeguard the long-term health of Lake Wapalanne. Lake Wapalanne is a sacred place on our campus, where students and visitors can enjoy canoeing, fishing, and fun

At the New Jersey School of Conservation, our top priority is to ensure our campus is accessible and sustainable for every student who comes to learn. Through a series of renovations over the past three years, we have successfully re-imagined, revitalized and upgraded our buildings across campus to create a

On October 11th, 2023, Kerry Kirk Pflugh, President of the Friends of New Jersey School of Conservation (Friends) was awarded the Above & Beyond Award by Julia Somers and David Budd on behalf of the New Jersey Highlands Coalition.

Over the summer, the New Jersey School of Conservation made a few exciting discoveries of endangered or rare, insects and plants living on our campus! 

We’ve passed many milestones in the past year and last week we celebrated another big one! For decades, the NJSOC was known for its exceptional teacher professional development trainings. Teachers learned techniques in “hands-on, field-based, experiential, social emotional learning and differentiated education” before any of those terms ever existed. For