Into the Woods
University’s field station in Stokes State Forest serves as international education model
As if they'd traveled back in time, the fifth graders from Jersey City P.S. 12 sat huddled against the winter's cold in the blacksmith's barn, learning firsthand about metalworking and discovering a bit of history in the process.
For many, the three-day trip to Stokes State Forest and the New Jersey School of Conservation (NJSOC) was the first time they'd been in the woods, let alone learned about blacksmithing.
"Some of the kids have never experienced the outdoors before," says their teacher Kelleen Mitchell. "It's a nice balance of social studies and science. The kids leave here with so much learned and so many ideas – it's wonderful."
Geogolgy students use the school for field work.
Located on 30,000 acres of forest and parkland about 60 miles from the main campus, Montclair State's New Jersey School of Conservation field station is the oldest and largest environmental education center in the western hemisphere, and it is a critical part of the University's environmental-based research and education programs.
Each year, thousands of students from New Jersey elementary and secondary schools visit the field station, often staying a few days in cabins in the woods. For many it's their first chance to experience the delight of eating s'mores by a campfire or of seeing animals in their natural habitat.
"It's the perfect place to surround participants with the wonders of the natural world," says Associate Director Randall Fitzgerald, an ecologist who has worked at the school for 27 years. "Over the years, many students and teachers have returned to tell me that the hands-on educational experiences they had at the NJSOC were among their most memorable."
As the only field school of its kind in the Northeast, the School of Conservation also makes Montclair State an attractive option for students interested in the sciences – giving them the opportunity to live and study in Stokes State Forest.
"The whole idea is that we're a unique resource attached to Montclair State," says Director William Thomas. "Where else are you going to get a field station like this? It's really a special place to learn."
Some of what happens at the NJSOC is intangible – it's the bonding between students and their teachers that happens when they are away from the classroom and communing with nature.
"It gives students a different view of each other – suddenly the smallest kid that might get picked on is the first to scramble to the top of the rock climbing tower and the other kids see him in a different light," says Thomas. "Teachers report that the rest of the year goes so much more smoothly after they've been to the School of Conservation because the kids come together as a class here – they bond."
Students conducting summer geology research.
Supporting research
Outdoor centers throughout the world have emulated the School of Conservation, which has been operating for 65 years, and the school has hosted environment education students and teachers from Europe, Africa, South America and Asia. The school sits on one of the largest undeveloped tracts in New Jersey, a unique setting for research and education in the most densely populated and otherwise extremely urban state.
In the last several years, there's also been an increased focus on University research, bringing more professors and students out to the school for fieldwork and research.
Faculty and both undergraduate and graduate students in biology, geology, environmental management and environmental education conduct research there.
“Outdoor learning experiences can be seminal events for many people, influencing their perception of the natural environment.”
– Randall Fitzgerald
"Most recently, we have been working on research projects closely associated with the sustainable wildlife programs at the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection," Fitzgerald says.
As part of the new geology field coursework, students embarking on fieldwork out West, begin their journey at the School of Conservation before heading to the Grand Tetons.
"They spend a couple of weeks here studying and camping, and it gives them an idea of what it's like to live in the wilderness before they embark on their trip," Thomas says.
Senior geoscience major Masha Guzner, who was in the inaugural field course that split its time between Stokes and the Grand Tetons, says she and her classmates learned how to use ground-penetrating radar, seismographs and GPS stations at Stokes. She's spent a lot of time there for other research as well.
"Spending time in Stokes for class was probably my favorite part of my education at Montclair State," she says. "I've caught birds and released them from my hands, dug soil pits, studied native trees and plants, practiced nature photography, sampled water and learned to make maps there. These were all some of my most memorable and valuable days as a student – and a human being."
Graduate student George Johnson teaches metalworking and blacksmithing.
Seeing the forest and the trees
Undergraduates can spend eight weeks in the summer at the field station and graduate students in environmental education have the opportunity to live and work for two years there, teaching everything from papermaking and conservation photography to winter ecology and pioneer life and survival. Other courses and activities at the school include metalworking, woodworking, water ecology, black bear ecology, herpetology, canoeing, rock climbing and the study of Native American life.
Biology graduate student and former AmeriCorps member George Johnson lives and studies at Stokes and works as the blacksmith when school groups come through.
"You really can't beat this deal," he says. "For me, it's all about living here and getting the teaching experience I need. And spending a year in the woods without having to pay room and board is pretty awesome, too."
In addition to sending some AmeriCorps members to live and work at the school, the University's Center for Community Engagement treats all its AmeriCorps members to two retreats at Stokes each year for team building and rejuvenation, says Krystal Woolston, assistant director of the Center.
"We kick off with a retreat and then we bring them back out here mid-year – taking them out of service for a couple of days to refresh and regain some energy for the next stretch," she says.
College of Science and Mathematics Dean Robert Prezant says the School of Conservation's long history not only makes it part of the collective memory of decades of New Jersey school children, but also "a place long counted on to offer leading programs and opportunities for current and future students in the sciences that will make a difference in their life-thinking."
With technology grabbing so much time and attention from children today, the opportunity for pupils to learn more about the science outdoors is more important than ever, he says.
"Thousands of school children, who otherwise might be locked in online games, still benefit, in fact probably benefit more than ever before, by the outdoor experiences offered," says Prezant. "At the same time, our scientists work on site to deepen our knowledge of the various relatively unscathed habitats that still exist there."
Fitzgerald couldn't agree more. "Outdoor learning experiences can be seminal events for many people, influencing their perception of the natural environment."