Pine Barrens Experience 2024

We gathered in the Field House Commons on a rainy Thursday morning for our final day of IL 2024, grateful that the weather held throughout the week for our time in the Pines. While some groups captured additional film footage around campus, others spent a relaxing – and competitive – time with Ms. Thomson’s...

For our fourth day in the Pine Barrens (3/27), we took a trip to the Pinelands Preservation Alliance (PPA) headquarters, where we first looked at submissions of the Pinelands Photo Exhibit, which captured closeups of wildlife and landscapes across the seasons. We were then distracted by a parrot that a visiting truck driver had...

On the third day of our Pine Barrens IL, we visited Apple Pie Hill, hiked around four-and-a-half miles, and climbed the Pinelands’ central fire tower. While exploring the Apple Pie Hill, the notorious Jersey Devil showed itself to us to answer questions and make appearances in our videos. When we were at the fire...

Today we went to Rancocas Cranberry Farm. We met up with members of the Pinelands Preservation Alliance & Pinelands Adventure Co., who were our guides. We did a four-and-a-half mile hike through the Barrens, walking around decommissioned cranberry bogs, wetlands, and heavily forested areas. We also did some dip-netting at a reservoir where we...

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....