Educational Programs

New Jersey Audubon’s in-person programs are conducted outdoors and designed to introduce and deepen learners’ understanding of New Jersey’s environment. Virtual learning opportunities are also available to help connect your children to nature in their own neighborhoods and across the state. Programs are ideal for schools, afterschool programs, homeschool groups and community learning pods. Click HERE for a listing of our nature center locations.

Due to COVID-19 restrictions, all in-person programs are limited to 20 participants with a 1:5 ratio of chaperones to children. Children and adults must wear masks and activities are designed to help maintain physical distance.

To learn more, please complete our Program Request Form HERE or email [email protected]

Bridges to the Natural World – Explore Nature at one of our centers, a local park or through a virtual setting.

Habitat Passport Program – Experience New Jersey’s natural diversity from forests to fields to rivers and beaches.  Participate either in person or via your online teaching platform.  Students will experience each area’s unique qualities and associated phenomena, learn about the habitat’s plants and animals and why that habitat is so important.  If participating in the series, each student will keep a drawn or digital journal about their impressions and what they have learned.  Journal submissions earn a NJ Audubon Junior Naturalist certificate.

• Cost: In-person:  $250 per 90-minute session (up to 20 students)
  Includes:  Habitat exploration activities including sensory immersion, data collection, Q&A and Junior Naturalist certificate (if journals are submitted)
• Cost: Virtual:  $200 per 45-minute session (up to 20 participants).  $650 for the series (4 sessions)
  Includes habitat video, interactive learning presentation, Q&A and Junior Naturalist certificate (if journals are submitted)

Nature Quests – Select one of the following themed Nature Quests to explore with New Jersey Audubon staff:  Water Wonders, Amazing Animals, Outdoor Skills, Crazy Crawling Critters.  Each Quest includes activities, challenges and experiments and is supplemented with video segments for further engagement.

Cost: $35/child includes your choice of 1 Nature Quest Booklet plus (3) 45-minute sessions with a Naturalist. Package also includes access to exclusive videos for continued learning.

New Jersey’s Phenomenal Migratory Animals – Understanding populations and scientific monitoring

New Jersey Audubon’s scientists monitor the health of migratory animal populations.  Join our staff in these virtual learning situations to find out more about these animals, their migrations and what is being done to protect them.  Includes interviews with wildlife ecologists and naturalists, demonstrations of monitoring techniques, discussions about population trends, climate change and data analysis.  Choose from one of the following:

• Magnificent Monarchs – Monarch butterflies migrate from and through New Jersey to Mexico each fall. Learn about the Monarch Monitoring Project based in Cape May, NJ and how the population of these magnificent insects are monitored and how to help ensure their continued survival.
• Hawks Aloft – Bald Eagles, Ospreys, Red-tailed Hawks and Peregrine Falcons are all raptors that migrate through New Jersey, utilizing mountain ranges and the coastline. For over 40 years, the Cape May Bird Observatory has been counting individual birds during migration.  Learn about species ecology, population trends and conservation actions.
• Songbirds at the Crossroads of Migration – New Jersey’s location in the hemisphere and it diverse habitats provide a backdrop for hundreds of different songbird species. Songbird migration is determined by seasonality, food availability and weather.  Learn how to predict songbird migration and to understand migration dynamics with amazing species that may fly thousands of miles each year.
• Shorebirds across the Hemisphere: Connecting the Dots – New Jersey hosts some of the largest concentrations of migratory shorebirds each year on the Delaware Bayhore. Learn how these species are intimately connected with horseshoe crab spawning and how populations are being affected by the biomedical industry in the US as well as subsistence hunting in South America
• Splendid Seabirds: New Jersey’s Coastal Migration Phenomenon – Over 1 million seabirds migrate along New Jersey’s coast each year.  Research scientists count these birds to study population trends, especially related to food resources and potentially climate change.  Learn about species ecology, practice data analysis, and participate in a mock town hall.  (Note:  town hall question is posed during the session but needs to be conducted outside of the session).

Cost:  $200 for groups up to 20 participants includes (1) 45-minute session.

Thanks to our generous corporate and individual donors, NJ Audubon hosts the following free programs which can be implemented by teachers, parents, or caregivers.  They are adaptable for school and home learning situations.

New Jersey Audubon Conservationists of Tomorrow – Making a Difference

 Eco-Schools USA

Combining environment-based learning with hands-on experiences, the Eco-Schools program sparks action in the classroom that ripples out into the greater community. Utilizing a Seven Step Framework, students from pre-kindergarten through 12th grade are engaged in making their community and the world a more sustainable place to live. NJ Teachers receive free professional development and support.

Eco-Schools USA At Home

Virtual Classroom Resources to explore nature across the country with learning activities available for free for the whole family. Students take actions to complete these “At Home” topics including biodiversity, energy, sustainable foods, consumption and waste and WOW – Watersheds and earn an Eco-Schools At Home Certificate.

Outdoor Learning Spaces
Create or enhance an outdoor learning space for exploration and discovery! Research shows how important it is for children to spend time outdoors for health and wellbeing.  Learning in safe outdoor spaces increases children’s’ abilities to problem solve, collaborate and connect with nature in a meaningful way.  Provide our team with an aerial map or photo of the site and your goals for its transformation or enhancement, as well as how you plan to use the site for learning, and we will provide you with a 30-minute planning session to get you started.