Students at Mennies Elementary and Veterans Memorial Middle School recently participated in “Project PORTS (Promoting Oyster Restoration Through Schools)”, an outreach initiative of the Haskin Shellfish Research Laboratory, Rutgers University. The program includes classroom activities that teach students about oysters and the maritime history of the Delaware Bay and culminates with students building shell bags that will be placed in the Delaware Bay to form oyster reefs… The project was directed by Jenny Paterno, a laboratory technician and Lisa Calvo, program coordinator of the Haskin Shellfish Research Laboratory (Rutgers University). It was a homecoming of sorts for Paterno, who attended Mennies as an elementary school student. She later went to Landis Middle School and graduated from Vineland High School in 2008… Paterno earned a Master’s degree in Ecology and Evolution from Rutgers University this year.
Youth/Community Development
4-H Public Presentation Night is Full of Surprises
The annual 4-H Public Presentation Night is always full of surprises, and this year the rich imagination of Union County youth was on full display. The topics, all hand-picked by 4-H members in first-grade through high school, ran the gamut from fish t…
From Fish to Founding Fathers, Union County 4-Her’s Speak Their Mind
The annual 4-H Public Presentation Night is always full of surprises, and this year the rich imagination of Union County youth was on full display. The topics, all hand-picked by 4-H members in first grade through high school, ran the gamut from fish t…
Rutgers Day, Seed Libraries and More
Rutgers Day, Rutgers University’s annual open house welcome and show-and-tell for New Jersey residents of all ages, is this Saturday (April 25) from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m… This year’s highlights include the Tent of Bog Ideas, an Athletics Mini Combine, Alumni Weekend, and “Where Science Happens”… Where Science Happens- Visit the Engineering science fair on the Busch Campus to experience the Faraday lecture and witness how ice cream is made with liquid nitrogen. Stuffed animals will receive checkups in the Life Sciences area while sea creatures will be at arm’s length at the Marine Sciences Building. Guests may also excavate in an archaeological dig and handle 1.5 million-years-old artifacts on the Cook/Douglass Campus.
National Park Celebrates Earth Day with Children’s Garden Opening
The scissors were barely through the ribbon at the borough’s newly opened children’s garden, when Mother Nature unleashed a brief Earth Day deluge on the soon-to-be growing crops. It was pretty good timing all around, said National Park School Principal Carla Bittner… “Today for Earth Day, in addition to opening the garden, we had health and wellness activities for the students, with different stations around the school,” said Bittner following the ceremony, which at the end saw about 275 students fleeing from the rain. “Rutgers Cooperative Extension had a station where the students made veggie egg rolls, with food provided by Food Corps.”… In addition, the Rutgers Cooperative Extension is expected to supplement some of the food supplies for some of the garden-related educational events at the school next year.
Dias Receives the President’s Volunteer Service Award
Madara Dias of Bridgewater, an 11th grade member of the Somerset County 4-H Youth Development Program, has been honored for her exemplary volunteer service with a President’s Volunteer Service Award… The award, which recognizes Americans of all ages …
Co-author of Design It! and Explore It! Afterschool Curricula Receives 4-H Educator of the Year Award
Charlie Hutchison of Lexington, Massachusetts, Director of Active Science Learning, Inc. and Principal Investigator for the National Partnership for After-School Science project funded by the National Science Foundation’s Informal Science Education Program, was recently recognized by the New Jersey Association of 4-H Agents with the 4-H Educator of the Year Award for his significant contributions […]
Rutgers 4-H Salutes NJ Volunteers during National Volunteer Week April 12-18
Each year, thousands of volunteers in New Jersey donate their time and energy to make their communities a better place to live. These volunteers will be among the millions across the country who will be spotlighted during National Volunteer Week, April 12-18. One group that relies heavily on volunteers is the New Jersey 4-H Youth […]
Sandy Storm Inspires George Street’s ‘Green’ Production
Channeling the Heat Miser from the holiday cartoon classic “A Year without a Santa Claus,” Adam McDowell snidely punctuates his character Captain Carbon’s disdain for “Humans” in one of two show-stopping numbers that make “Gabi Goes Green!” a sure hit for young audiences… Two and a half years in the making, “Gabi” tells the tale of an eighth-grade student who has transferred to a new school after her family’s home was destroyed by Sandy. Armed with her clever smartphone app Eartha, Gabi transforms into the Green Hero and battles Captain Carbon by empowering others to reduce their carbon footprint with environmentally sound decisions… The public will get to see “Gabi” on March 30 and April 1 at the Playhouse. The latter date is tied to the theater’s free “Spotlight on Environmental Education” conference, featuring keynote speaker Anthony Broccoli, chair of Rutgers University’s Department of Environmental Sciences, and workshops to introduce climate change and other environmental issues into curriculum.
Rutgers VETS Program Graduates Inaugural Class
Unique partnership among a university, a church and companies makes a difference for unemployed veterans in Newark It was a proud moment at the Willing Heart Community Care Center in Newark, NJ, on March 3, where 12 local veterans graduated as the inaugural class of the Rutgers Veterans Environmental Technology and Solutions (VETS) program. […]
