We engage a variety of adult audiences including garden clubs, environmental groups, library clubs, municipal agencies and more. Explore our topics below or contact us about arranging a program tailored to your group’s interests. The programs currently available include the following PPTs/webinars and hands-on soil health assessment. (You can preview some of our programs on our OCSCD YouTube Channel.)
Peruse our programs below, then complete an Education Program Request Form. For more information please Contact Us, (609) 971-7002.
Don’t Treat Your Soil Like Dirt!
Building a Foundation for Your Jersey-Friendly Yard
Soil is one of the most important components of your garden, but possibly the least understood. In this program, we will explore the chemical, physical and biological processes of soil and how they work together to create a healthy foundation for your native garden.
Soil, Water and Light
Tips for a Successful Garden
Planning and growing a successful garden begins with an understanding of the basic elements that support plant growth – soil, water and light. Knowing these conditions in your yard will help guide your species selection and your overall garden design. Using the Jersey-Friendly Yards website, we’ll discuss the tools and resources to assess these conditions in your yard, offer suggestions for appropriate plant species selection, and share ways to design your garden based on the soil, water and light conditions in your yard.
Assessing Your Soil’s Health
Exploring Solutions to Common Problems
*This program requires an outdoor space in which to conduct a soil assessment demonstration.
A healthy garden begins with a foundation of healthy soil. A Soil Health Assessment can provide you with valuable information about the health of your soil and offer solutions to common problems such as compaction, erosion, lack of nutrients, and pH. Learn how to use the New Jersey Soil Health Assessment to assess your own soil and explore solutions for a healthier landscape.
Jersey-Friendly Yards
Landscaping for a Healthy Environment
Explore the Jersey-Friendly Yards website, including its tools and resources that you can use to create your own “Jersey-Friendly Yard”. Through the practical lens of a Jersey-Friendly gardener, we’ll explore techniques to create a healthy foundation of soil, methods to implement water conservation practices at home, and strategies to select appropriate plants to attract pollinators, birds and wildlife to your yard.
Trees and Shrubs for a Winter Wildlife Garden
Tips & Techniques for Creating Wildlife-Friendly Habitat
Trees and shrubs are essential to attracting and sustaining wildlife in your winter garden. We’ll use the Jersey-Friendly Yards website to identify and explore native trees and shrubs that offer food and shelter for birds and other wildlife, and provide beauty and interest to our winter yards. Tips and techniques for creating brush piles, installing roosting and nesting boxes, and for maintaining stems and leaves for overwintering beneficial insects will be discussed.
Attracting Birds to Your Yard
Creating Habitat to Support our Feathered Friends
Birds delight us with their cheery songs, fluttery movement and colorful attire. Attracting birds to your yard is easy when you use landscaping practices that support their needs and eliminate harmful chemicals. We’ll explore a wide selection of bird-friendly native plants that provide food, protection, nesting material and places to raise young in your yard.
Understanding Insects
Discover and Explore this Exciting World!
Insects are some of the most important animals on Earth, but are often overlooked and misunderstood. This presentation will consist of a PowerPoint encapsulating the most notable insect orders and families, their ecological value, and how they are studied. An insect collection and other visual aids will be showcased, as well.