Programs Offered

Programs are based on staff availability, and are limited to several per month total. Field trips may require a waiver.

Programs CU can offer:

  • Frog Slog—an introduction to the world of herptiles. Children listen to CD of our local frog calls, then trek into the vernal ponds to hear, see, and identify local frogs.
  • Native/Butterfly garden planting—involves the children in laying out and planting a butterfly garden that primarily utilizes native plantings.
  • Build a Habitat—Includes a short PowerPoint presentation on wood ducks and afterward, the children help build wood duck boxes.
  • Osprey guards—suitable for older children and high school. Help cut metal predator guards for osprey nests.
  • Watersheds and Pollution—Introduction to a watershed using the Enviroscape model. This presentation focuses on Point Source pollution and Non-Point Source pollution.
  • Watersheds and Preventing Pollution—Introduction to a watershed using the Enviroscape model. This presentation focuses on solutions and preventing non-point source pollution.
  • Water testing—This program involves testing for Dissolved Oxygen, testing water pH and temperature, and testing for benthic macroinvertebrates in a local water body. This combines well with Watershed presentations.
  • Millville’s Union Lake: Then and Now—Local program in Millville, Dam to Brandriff to Waltman Park. Lesson plan that can integrate learning about free-flowing water, fish ladders; water testing, dissolved oxygen; coastal bluffs; history of mill, etc., tailored to the group.
  • Habitat walks—involves a hike at the Natural Lands Trust Peek Preserve in Millville. The hike includes various habitats—dry uplands, Pine barrens habitats, cedar swamps, etc. Time suggested for this program is March through May, and October through November, when ticks and chiggers are not so numerous.
  • Exploring the Beach Habitat (Fortescue or similar locale) Explore a local beach through the use of hands-on activities. Includes tide pool exploration, seining, and a nature scavenger hunt. Students will bring home a newfound appreciation for this fragile ecosystem.
  • Exploring Beach Zonation (Fortescue or similar locale) Students explore habitat and wildlife variations in different zones of the beach through transect studies. At 10-meter intervals, students examine a half-meter radius for plant and animal life, human evidence, sand composition, and ghost crab holes.
  • Beach Seine Activity (Fortescue or Union Lake) Students discover the types of organisms that live in the shallow waters off shore from the beach. This can be done either at Union Lake (freshwater) or in Fortescue in the Delaware Bay area. Teachers/students go out into the water and slowly drag the seine to shore. Examination and collection of specimens occur when the seine is back on shore, then specimens are released. *NOTE* A beach seine is designed to be pulled by two or more people (depending on the size of the seine) and adults must accompany students, if students want to seine.
  • Salt marshes of Southern New Jersey—We will visit a PSEG salt marsh restorations in southern New Jersey to get an in-depth look at their importance and significance to our way of life and learn about the restoration efforts. Students will observe animal life of the area, do water quality testing for salinity and dissolved oxygen, learn about some of the plant life of the salt marsh.
  • Bring Your Own Boat—These “Bring your own boat” excursions are perfect for kayak or canoe. We lead trips at various locations throughout the watershed, including, Cumberland Pond, Menantico Ponds, the Manumuskin, Muskee Creek, Maurice River, and more.

PowerPoint Presentations

(most PowerPoint presentations are about an hour in length)

  • Eggs to Flight—A visual essay of the maturation of an osprey from egg to fledgling
  • Maurice River, a River Worth Protecting— Take the time to explore why the Maurice River and its tributaries are rivers worthy of protecting. The National Park Service looked at 1.5 million river miles across the country and determined that 2% were in need of greater study for a higher level or protection. The Maurice River was selected based on its very special cultural and natural resource features.  Join Citizens United to Protect the Maurice River and Its Tributaries, Inc.’s President Jane Morton Galetto for a pictorial overview of these outstanding resource values.
  • Wood Ducks—provides background on why people make nesting boxes for wood ducks and a brief overview of their natural history.
  • Rarities of the Pines—Focuses on the beautiful rare plants–orchids and wildflowers and more– of the Pine Barrens of New Jersey.
  • Rare Plants of Southern New Jersey—Focuses on the rare plants of all of southern New Jersey, both inner and outer coastal plain.
  • Adopt a Swamp pink—Explore the habitat of this federally threatened plant; see what makes it unique and learn about the joint program between CU and USFWS to monitor populations of this beautiful plant.
  • Identifying Wildflowers—Learn to identify wildflowers using Newcomb’s Wildflower Guide. May be followed by a walk to a local natural area to practice our newly learned skills.
  • Managing land for rare pinelands plants—a discussion of methods such as prescribed burns, mowing, etc., to manage for our rare pinelands plants.

Videos

CU can make any of the following videos available for viewing:

  • Reflections of a Bayshore Painter, Glenn Rudderow 27 min DVD
  • Down Jersey 27 min VHS
  • Down Jersey (Short version) Used for Visitor’s centers, etc. 10 min VHS
  • Bayshore Artists: Celebrating our Sense of Place 27 min VHS
  • Connie Jost 10 min film about an artist of marine life that was a teacher in Vineland, NJ VHS

Teacher’s Workshops

  • Down Jersey, Our Sense of Place. Focusing on the unique characteristics of Southern New Jersey’s Delaware Bayshore. Professional development credits provided. An activity guide created to complement the New Jersey Network film Down Jersey and the National Park Service study on the Delaware Bayshore. The film is part of the Library of Congress’ Local Legacy Program in the American Folklife Center. The guidebook for this curriculum contains chapters on Sense of Place and Mapping, Natural History, Maritime History, Agriculture, and Cultural Resources. Each contains unique activities and lesson plans that are specific to the region. All of the activities have been specially authored for this project. Each of the activities in the guidebook has been correlated to the New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards to aid in integration into classroom curricula. The guidebook received an EPA Region 2 Environmental Quality Award and the NJDEP Watershed Education Award.

For more information on CU’s programs, presentations, videos, and workshops, please contact our office at 856-300-5331