NJ Sea Grant Consortium All Geared Up For Spring Field Trip Season

(Sandy Hook, NJ) — The New Jersey Sea Grant Consortium (NJSGC), which recently returned to its Building #22 home base at Fort Hancock in Sandy Hook, is ready to launch into a full-service schedule of field trips and other education programs. The organization had been conducting a series of off-site and in-school programs while their Fort Hancock headquarters and the Sandy Hook field trip locations underwent restoration and repair in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy.

NJSGC offers a wide variety of programs directed towards advancing greater understanding and stewardship of the state’s marine and coastal resources. The K-12 field trip program alone provides instruction to over 20,000 school children annually, taking them out of the classroom and onto the beaches, bays, and estuaries of New Jersey for active learning experiences.

The Education Department has been recruiting its 2013 team of returning and new part-time seasonal field instructors for this year’s K-12 program.  New field instructors will soon begin a training program that will prepare them to lead school groups in hands-on, interactive explorations of Sandy Hook’s salt marsh and barrier beach environments.

The National Park Service gave NJSGC the green light to begin conducting field trips in May and many are already scheduled.  According to Diana Burich, K-12 Program Coordinator, “We are delighted to open our doors at Sandy Hook again both inside and outside to students from around the state.  The May bookings include many schools that have been returning to our field trip programs year after year.  It’s interesting to note that one of the first field trips booked for spring on May 1st is from Cedar Creek Elementary School in Lanoka Harbor, whose 4th grade class members were the winners of the Ocean Fund Days Science Fair last year.”

There are still field trip and other program dates available. Visit NJSGC’s web site and check out the Education section at www.njseagrant.org/education for a complete listing.

The New Jersey Sea Grant Consortium is an affiliation of colleges, universities and other groups dedicated to advancing knowledge and stewardship of New Jersey’s marine and coastal environment. NJSGC meets its mission through its innovative research, education and outreach programs. For more information, visit NJSGC on the web at njseagrant.org or on social media at facebook.com/NJSeaGrant  and twitter.com/NJSeaGrant.