Teachers’ Lounge | Getting TIC kids involved in hands-on conservation projects

Getting TIC kids involved in hands-on conservation projects

Mar 03, 2011 12:49pm Brian Cowden Total Posts: 17	Not sure where to place this topic, but for any of our TIC teachers interested in getting your students involved directly with hands-on conservation projects, I work extensively within the Musconetcong watershed (parts of Sussex, Morris, Warren, and Hunterdon Counties in northwest NJ) and often have need for volunteers. I fully realize the constraints of today’s budgetary issues with busing students pretty much anywhere, but they can come out on weekends on their own if so motivated. I love to plan one day projects where kids plant and cage native trees and shrubs along the Musconetcong River and its tributaries. One day we had 85 students from Holland Township School’s 8th grade class out to plant more than 400 trees and shrubs in Finesville above the obsolete dam we are about to remove in that area. Connecting youth to their natural environment is not only lacking in today’s society, but it is what TIC is all about! Getting them to understand the importance of clean, cold water by planting a tree along a river bank is a simple and effective way to reach young hearts and minds…. If any teachers or administrators are interested, I can be contacted here: (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

Mar 03, 2011 12:59pm Jessica Griglak Total Posts: 119	I know I would love to see the kids out there. I was overjoyed when I got to plant with the Holland Twp class. It brings new meaning to whats trying to be done through the TIC program, takes it to the next level and gives the kids a sense of ownership in a resource that ties right into what they are learning in the TIC program throughout the year. I have wanted to connect the TIC students with TU in a more meaningful way by getting them onto stream plantings and clean ups, so if you have dates and are looking for help, I can email the teachers the information.

Mar 03, 2011 01:05pm Brian Cowden Total Posts: 17	Great idea, Jessica. We have our annual Musconetcong River clean up on Saturday, April 16th this year (2011). It goes from 9 am - noon at multiple locations within the “Musky” watershed. Anyone interested in coming out to help, whether they need community service hours or just care enough to bag some streamside or roadside garbage, can contact me here for more info: (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

Mar 04, 2011 02:29pm James McCarron Total Posts: 59	Brian, I’ll see if I can get the Bernards High School Fly Fishing club out to help…........

Mar 07, 2011 02:54pm Brian Cowden Total Posts: 17	Thanks Jim, you’re the second teacher to reach out. I know some schools are far too distant to consider this, but some of our chapters are involved in local restoration and I will do my best to post those events here or through Jessica. We’ll have a project in Demarest in Bergen County on Cresskill Brook, a native brook trout stream less than 4 miles from downtown Manhattan where we are working with partners and some terrific home owners to remove a 10’ tall dam on this small stream. Too soon to say when that project will commence as of this writing, we are still grant writing to raise the funds for the project.

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