The New Jersey School of Conservation (NJSOC) is the Environmental Education Field Campus of Montclair State University. It is the oldest university-operated environmental education center in the US. It is located 57 miles (92 km) from the Montclair campus on a 240-acre (0.97 km2) tract located in Stokes State Forest in Sussex County, New Jersey. Administratively, it is part of the College of Science and Mathematics.
The mission of the New Jersey School of Conservation is to develop in its program participants' knowledge of how Earth systems operate and how human actions affect these systems. It is intended that this knowledge will cultivate the prolonged performance of environmentally responsible behaviors and the development of self-confidence to support the development of attitudes, beliefs, and values that will aid individuals and groups alike in the resolution of current environmental problems, the avoidance of future environmental problems, and the quest for sustainable development.
The environmental education programs provide field experiences in the environmental sciences, humanities, outdoor pursuits, and the social sciences. Each academic year the NJSOC provides environmental education programs for nearly 9,000 elementary/secondary school students, and nearly 1,000 teachers from about 100 schools.
Famous quotes containing the words jersey, school and/or conservation:
“New Jersey gives us glue.”
—Howard Dietz (1896–1983)
“Nevertheless, no school can work well for children if parents and teachers do not act in partnership on behalf of the children’s best interests. Parents have every right to understand what is happening to their children at school, and teachers have the responsibility to share that information without prejudicial judgment.... Such communication, which can only be in a child’s interest, is not possible without mutual trust between parent and teacher.”
—Dorothy H. Cohen (20th century)
“The putting into force of laws which shall secure the conservation of our resources, as far as they may be within the jurisdiction of the Federal Government, including the more important work of saving and restoring our forests and the great improvement of waterways, are all proper government functions which must involve large expenditure if properly performed.”
—William Howard Taft (1857–1930)