2026: 29th Annual Barnegat Bay Environmental Educators Roundtable

This keynote reflected on the people and experiences that cultivate a lifelong sense of wonder, the spark that has inspired generations of environmental scientists and educators since the first Earth Day. Building from that foundation, Dr. Dane Ward explored how wonder can evolve into community science and meaningful local engagement. In the face of complex global challenges, the talk offered a call to action: to reimagine Earth Day not just as a moment of awareness, but as an ongoing, place-based commitment to collective impact.

Dr. Ward’s Keynote Slides: Wonder as a Way Forward – Reimagining Earth Day for the Future

This indoor, interactive session explores the global issue of plastic pollution and its impacts on the environment. Participants examine how our use of plastics has evolved from past innovations to present challenges and future concerns. The workshop follows plastics through the Barnegat Bay Watershed as nonpoint source pollution and includes a hands-on classroom activity connecting everyday choices to environmental stewardship actions and solutions.

This indoor, hands-on workshop introduces the foundations of soil science. Since the earliest Earth Day, soil has played a quiet but essential role in supporting clean water, food systems, and healthy ecosystems. Participants use soil sieves to explore the mineral building blocks of soil – sand, silt, and clay, and learn how texture influences water movement, nutrient retention, and ecosystem resilience—key concepts for long-term soil stewardship.

Explore bird conservation through the story of the Eastern Bluebird’s decline and recovery – a success rooted in decades of environmental stewardship. In this interactive indoor/outdoor workshop, participants learn how nest boxes installed on school grounds can be used for student-led monitoring projects. The session emphasizes data collection, observation, and analysis, giving educators practical tools to support STEM learning and conservation action.

Resources: Developing and Monitoring a Bluebird Nest Box Trail, Bluebird Nest Box Monitoring FAQs, Weekly Nest Box Monitoring Form

Escape Rooms are a popular way to educate and entertain using intriguing scavenger hunt-type puzzles. With this immersive, engaging, and effective process, you can use Escape Rooms to educate children on almost any topic and build cognitive skills and teamwork. Presenters will teach participants how to create a physical Escape Room suitable for the classroom or any large group. Participants will also take part in an Escape Room named “The Eco-Pirate Expedition: Solving the Secrets of the Sea!”. Join us for this fun indoor program.

This indoor workshop explores global food systems and Farm to School connections through How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World by Marjorie Priceman and the Earth as an Apple model by Population Education. Examine how food systems developed, how limited Earth’s agricultural resources are, and why sustainable choices matter for the future. Participants leave with strategies to help students understand their role in caring for the planet.

Discover Nature’s Voice! From bird songs to animal calls, the presenter uses whistles, instruments, and specimens to teach about wildlife, their habitats and natural history, how these species have fared over time, and why conservation is critical for their future. Designed for classroom outreach, this lively program lets students experience the diversity of animal sounds and the importance of protecting species for future generations.

Step beyond the classroom into your schoolyard’s living laboratory! Learn to set up outdoor learning stations right on school grounds to explore birds, wetlands, trees, and amphibians. From the roots of environmental education to today’s focus on stewardship, this indoor/outdoor workshop gives educators strategies to help students build lasting connections to nature and care for the Earth.

Resources: Do Now Activity Handout, Watershed Fact Sheet, Beaches Fact Sheet, Estuary Fact Sheet, Macroinvertebrates Fact Sheet, Microorganisms Fact Sheet, Pinelands Fact Sheet, Species Fact Template, Reflections and Lessons Handout, Guided Environmental Lessons

Explore the vital role trees and forests play in sustaining life on our planet. This indoor/outdoor program demonstrates creative, hands-on, inquiry-based activities that introduce students to tree biology, forest ecology, and sustainable management—connecting classroom learning to the natural world, no forest required! Leave with practical ideas to help students understand why trees matter now and for the future.

Resources: Ecological Forestry Presentation Videos: Why are Rare Woodpeckers Thriving on this US Army Base?, Glade Restoration on the Ozarks, America’s Great Lost Tree Is Finally Returning, Can Ancient Wisdom Save the Forests?