Tag: Environmental education

Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey is thrilled to announce the return of the redesigned Species on the Edge 2.0 contest for its second year! High school students from grades 9 to 12 across New Jersey are invited to join this exciting competition and stand a chance to win fabulous cash prizes.

Species on the Edge 2.0 isn’t just any contest—it’s a dynamic, problem-based learning project aimed at teaching students how to protect and preserve the rare and at-risk wildlife that call New Jersey home. This fun and engaging contest is the perfect opportunity for students to team up with their friends and develop real-world solutions to ensure our wildlife continues to thrive.

Participants will gain invaluable skills in STEAM, environmental advocacy, design thinking, social and emotional learning, teamwork, critical thinking, and project management. It’s an amazing chance to learn, grow, and make a real impact!

How to Join the Fun:

1. Form a team of 2 to 6 students.
2. Choose a threatened or endangered species native to New Jersey.
3. Create an awesome video to raise public awareness and propose solutions to help restore our ecosystem

Still images from the First and Second Place team’s videos in the 2024 contest

Participants will be amazed by how many species are currently “on the edge” in New Jersey, the nation’s most densely populated state. Registered teams will receive a contest kit with all the guidelines and are invited to attend information sessions where they’ll explore various scenarios. Each team will take on the role of a research scientist, citizen scientist, engineer, policy maker, investigative reporter, college professor, non-profit director, or environmental artist. The creativity is endless!

The Species on the Edge 2.0 contest is completely free and offers an incredible opportunity for students and facilitators to win cash prizes. To join the mission, complete the online entry form by March 3, 2025, at: https://conservewildlifenj.org/education/edge2.0/. Make sure to submit your finished videos by April 18, 2025.

Ready, set, let’s save New Jersey’s wildlife together!

by Rachel McGovern, Director of Education

Peregrine falcons are fascinating to learn about—they are swift, fierce, and intelligent birds. They are a joy to teach about, too! CWF is fortunate to have the opportunity to teach about these amazing birds of prey with students in Linden Public Schools, due to the generous support from Phillips 66 Bayway Refinery.

Each year, CWF visits every third-grade classroom in the Linden Public School District to deliver in-depth lessons about peregrine falcons. These lessons delve into the life history of peregrines, the reason for their decline, and how they are recovering today. Students explore how these falcons have adapted to modern-day landscapes by nesting on manmade structures rather than exclusively choosing their traditional cliffside sites. For city-dwelling students, it’s a revelation to discover that these endangered raptors thrive in environments like their own.

Central to this educational initiative is the Union County Falcon Cam– a live camera on a falcon nest located just a couple miles from Linden’s elementary schools. This camera has been in operation since 2016. It is run in cooperation with Union County and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. A live feed brings the viewer into a nest on the roof of the Union County Courthouse where Frida and Mango, the current pair at this nest, raise young each year. Students learn about the history of the camera and check in with the birds during their lesson. Teachers are also encouraged to check in with the falcons regularly for students to watch them raise their young.

by Rachel McGovern, Director of Education

The spotlight was on the third graders at Ridge Street Elementary School during the Annual Bird Festival! Over the school year, the Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey guided third graders at Ridge Street Elementary School in Newark, New Jersey through an exploration of the state’s fascinating birds as part of the Soaring with STEAM curriculum. Students delved into the lives of ospreys, peregrine falcons, bald eagles, and other avian species while engaging in STEM-based projects. To culminate their learning journey, the third graders organized a festival aimed at educating parents, visitors, and younger students about the diverse birdlife in New Jersey.

by Rachel McGovern, Director of Education

Educators and biologists at Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey are leading educational programs at Ridge Street Elementary School in Newark, New Jersey, for the eighth consecutive year. Comprehensive STEAM curricula that follow New Jersey State Learning Standards for Science were developed by CWF staff for grades K, 3, 5 and 6. These curricula provide a series of classroom lessons, projects, and field trips focused on New Jersey’s wildlife.

While delivery of this program, entitled “Soaring With STEAM,” was adapted to a virtual learning environment during the pandemic, this 2022-23 school year has been presented entirely in-person, allowing staff to meaningfully interact with students and teachers in the classroom.    

Hello! I would like to introduce myself as a new member of the Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey team. My name is Rachel McGovern, and I am joining CWF as the Education Director.  

I am a lifelong NJ resident and have always been passionate about environmental issues in the state. After completing my undergraduate degree in Human Ecology at Rutgers University, I spent a year in the Americorps New Jersey Watershed Ambassador Program (NJWAP) where I first taught environmental education lessons. Since then, I have had wonderful experiences teaching at nature-based organizations across the state.

Most recently, I was the Program Director at Flat Rock Brook Nature Center in Englewood, NJ. This center is located on a 150-acre forested preserve surrounded by dense development just minutes from the George Washington Bridge. At Flat Rock Brook, I led the education team in developing and delivering school programming, community events, and summer camp. I was also fortunate to take on the care of five non-releasable raptors—a job that deepened my admiration for all raptors in NJ (particularly falcons).

By Summer 2018 Wakefern Food Corp. Interns: Nadia Saponara, Sustainability & Niki Tripathi, Corporate Communications

This summer, we happily traded in our summer intern cubicles, laptops and professional attire for kayaks, clam rakes and bathing suits for a trip to Barnegat Bay. We headed to Sedge Island, off of Island Beach State Park, and kicked off the day with a boat ride to the island. There, we joined fifth grade “Species on the Edge” art and essay contest winners, their parents, and state wildlife biologists with their seasoned interns.

How did we land this day-long getaway? Well, for many years, Wakefern Food Corp. (ShopRite, The Fresh Grocer, Price Rite, and Dearborn Market) has worked closely with CWF. Our company supports the “Species on the Edge” calendar contest and the bald eagle preservation program. (To find out more, visit our website). Continue reading “Wakefern Food Corp. interns join Species on the Edge Art & Essay Contest Winners at Sedge Island”

Story by Michelle Gladden, Asbury Park Sun

It is only week two of the Conserve Wildlife Foundation (CWF) Summer Learning Experience program, a part of the Asbury Park School District Summer Camp offerings, and third-grade students have had the opportunity to not only see an osprey up close and personal but to visit a local nest and learn to simulate building the predatory bird’s nesting place.

Continue reading “Asbury Park students meet ospreys at high school football field”