Pine Barrens – Page 2 – Intensive Learning @ MFS

Pine Barrens Day One: Black Run Preserve

March 22, 2024March 23, 2024Pine Barrens

Our Intensive Learning program, a one-week exploration of the NJ Pine Barrens, started with a hike in the Black Run Preserve. Thanks to our incredible guide John Volpa, who founded the Friends of Black Run Preserve, we learned all about the Pine Barrens starting with the difference between the Pinelands and the Pine Barrens....

Pancakes, Waffles, Videos, Oh My!

April 3, 2023April 3, 2023Pine Barrens

What a week! Today we celebrated our adventures in the Pine Barrens with pancakes and waffles, deftly cooked by Isaac, Vikram, and Vincent. We then had a viewing party for our Jersey Devil videos – they would have been contenders at Sundance! Finally, we debriefed the week, highlighting our favorite sites while also offering...

The Final Hike — Franklin Parker Preserve

March 31, 2023March 31, 2023Pine Barrens

Today, the group visited Franklin Parker Preserve. We left school at 9 AM and took a 40-minute bus ride to the Chatsworth Lake entrance to the preserve. When we arrived, we were eager to quickly start our hike, as it was very cold and windy. As we were hiking, we saw bridges, blue jays,...

Pine Barrens, Day Four — Carranza Memorial to Apple Pie Hill Trail

March 30, 2023March 30, 2023Pine Barrens

Today, we ventured to the Carranza Memorial and Apple Pie Hill via the Batona Trail. We departed school at 9 am, and after a 40-minute bus ride, we arrived at our first destination, which was the Carranza Memorial. The monument was built in honor of Emilio Carranza, a Mexican aviator who died in a...

Pine Barrens, Day Three — Black Run Preserve

March 29, 2023March 4, 2024Pine Barrens

Today we went to the Black Run Preserve. We were lead by Mr. John Volpa, who has been working with MFS’s Pine Barren trips for 10 years and taught us a lot about the history and science behind the Pine Barrens. We hiked about four miles, stopping frequently to learn new facts about the...

Pine Barrens, Batsto Village

March 27, 2023March 29, 2023Pine Barrens

We started the day at 9:00 am with a 52-minute bus ride to Batsto Village. Once we arrived we hiked the four mile Batsto Lake Trail and followed the white blazes on the trees. Throughout the hike we saw the remains of the controlled fires that were held in the last year. About halfway...

Pine Barrens, Day One — Introduction to the Pine Barrens

March 24, 2023March 25, 2023Pine Barrens

Today we began our adventure by learning all about the Pine Barrens from a variety of perspectives: historical, cultural, ecological, and, surprisingly, political. We began the day by sorting ourselves into our research, blogging, and video project groups. Each group researched the sites we will visit during this project, and completed a slide deck...

Pine Barrens, Day Four — Belleplain State Forest

March 23, 2022March 23, 2022Pine Barrens

Today we went to Belleplain State Forest in Egg Harbor Township. We got to see more of the Pine Barrens, but this area was closer to the coast so featured more wetlands and cedar trees. We walked along the Old Cape Trail. There were some smaller waterways around us. Our plan was to walk...

Pine Barrens, Day Three — Carranza Memorial, Apple Pie Hill, & ice cream!

March 22, 2022March 22, 2022Pine Barrens

On our journey in the Pine Barrens, we went to Apple Pie Hill. Our first stop when we got off the bus was the Carranza Memorial, which was built in honor of Captain Emilio Carranza Rodriguez. He was an aviator that is known today as a symbol of peace for Americans and Mexicans. Therefore,...

Pine Barrens, Day Two — Franklin Parker Preserve

March 22, 2022March 22, 2022Pine Barrens

Today we hiked around the Franklin Parker Preserve in Chatsworth in the Pine Barrens. We walked along a mix of the Green and Red trails for a total of about 5 ½ miles. Along the hike, we saw some beautiful small bodies of water. We saw some giant Adirondack chairs, and we visited the...

Pine Barrens, Day One — Batsto Village

March 19, 2022March 21, 2022Pine Barrens

On the first day of our Pine Barrens adventure, we went to Batsto Village. We also took a four mile hike down a beautiful trail. We spotted lots of interesting plants throughout the day. Due to the weather yesterday, we walked through some muddy, yet very fun, trails. We walked through forests that had...

A Hike to Apple Pie Hill

March 29, 2019March 29, 2019Pine Barrens

Today, we went on a really big hike to Apple Pie Hill. We first went to a memorial place dedicated to Emilio Carranza. His plane crashed in the Pine Barrens when he was trying to fly from New York City to Mexico City. The memorial was really impressive and we learned it was constructed...

A Walk in the Woods

March 27, 2019March 27, 2019Pine Barrens

We started off the day with introductions and met a man named Mr. Volpa from Pinelands Adventures. He would be our guide for the day as we hiked for 2.5 miles through Oaks and Pines. The forest was filled with 3 different types of moss and the path was covered with pine needles. We...

Pine Island Cranberry Company

March 26, 2019March 26, 2019Pine Barrens

Today at Pine Island Cranberry Company, we saw many aspects and tools of how cranberries are produced and distributed to the world. For example, two employees (Matt and Mike) gave us an annual timeline of the stages of growing cranberries. Even though the sandy soil is not great for conventional crops (corn, wheat, etc),...

Falcons, and Turkeys, and Deer – Oh, My!

March 25, 2019March 25, 2019Pine Barrens

Today, we went to Woodford Cedar Run Wildlife Refuge as a group. We were met by Lauren, an employee at the reserve, and were treated to a brief summary of the reserve, as well as an opportunity to meet a snake (Orin) that the reserve was treating. Lauren told us that each animal they...