Until the budget is passed and we know the historic sites are open and staffed, continue signing petitions and going to rallies. Parvin State Park is having one this weekend, and njkeepitgreen.org has the big one on Wednesday at the capitol.

ANJEE has released the following statement about the elimination of nature programs. I'm sure the same impact will be felt by the historic community. schools and cultural tourism industries should these sites be closed. Sixty percent of the planned public programs, not to mention museum tours and special events, will be canceled come July first unless we petition to not only save our parks, but save our park programs. Visit www.njkeepitgreen.org for rally details.

Irreparable Impacts of New Jersey's Proposed State Park Closures on Environmental Education

Education services to school children and families will be cut by 40%
By Jerry Schierloh, Director-Elect of Advancement, Alliance for New Jersey Environmental Education (ANJEE) *

April 12, 2008

You may have heard about the devastating blows the NJ State Park Service is facing - nine parks slated for complete closure, five others to experience drastically reduced services, and 80 dedicated workers to lose their jobs. Did you know, however, that those cuts include the elimination of 14 educators? Known officially as Resource Interpretive Specialists, these are the people who open our eyes to the wondrous natural and historic treasures our state has to offer. These are the people who introduce our children to the wonders of wetlands and lead them into the past and across battlefields where the war for American independence was fought.

Representative of this loss of educators are four very talented "naturalists" and all of the environmental education programs and priceless knowledge they have to offer.

The Delaware and Raritan Canal State Park may be staying open, but its naturalist and historian will both be laid off on July 1st. The naturalist, Stephanie Fox, has worked there for the past 8 years. During that time, she has had the pleasure of providing environmental education programs at no cost for a variety of the people within the Garden State. For schools, Stephanie designed lessons that enhanced understanding and appreciation of local ecosystems while using skills within science, social studies, math and art. These environmental education programs will be eliminated, along with the popular "Watershed" program where a professional environmental educator provides hands-on programming, including water-testing, for schools all year long. Free professional development workshops for classroom teachers, countless Boy Scout/Girl Scout troop badge programs, family weekend nature progra ms, and numerous adult programs are just a few of the other services that will be lost to the people of New Jersey.

High Point State Park is scheduled to be closed, losing its entire staff, including naturalist Kate Foord. Kate works out of the newly renovated Interpretive Center and offers free education programs to adults and children of all ages. Local elementary and pre-k school children come to learn more about the nature in their own back yards. Despite living in a rural county, many of these children spend much of their time inside. High Point's environmental education programs get them outside!

Kate has been offering biweekly parent-child pre-school programs that cater to the large number of stay-at-home parents in Sussex County for the past nine years. Research has shown that early-childhood experiences play a critical role in a child's life-long attitudes about the environment. At High Point, this hands-on program has turned many children (and their parents) into regular park-goers long after their preschool years are behind them.

Moving down to south Jersey, on the far edge of the Pine Barrens, 1,300 acre Parvin State Park finds itself on the hit list of park closures once again. Along with this closure comes the loss of veteran naturalist Paul Taylor. Paul has worked at Parvin for almost as long as anyone can remember. He has a full repertoire of nature programs which he teaches to 4 or 5 classes of school children per day, four days per week. His school and weekend programs enlighten children and family groups, mostly from the surrounding area, about local ecology, plant life, pond life, habitats and the unique ecosystem that is the New Jersey Pine Barrens.

Little publicized is the drastic reduction in services at Kittatinny Valley State Park. Targeted for layoff is the superintendent, the maintenance supervisor and the office staff. Other staff, including naturalist Lynn Groves, are to report to Swartswood State Park. If Lynn is lost to Kittatinny, many wonderful (and free) environmental education opportunities and year-round interpretive services will also be also be lost.

Currently, over 100 interpretive programs are offered annually at Kittatinny Valley State Park, during which more than 2,000 children learn about natural history, ecology, conservation, and stewardship of our resources. Children of all ages look forward their school field trips to explore vernal pools, investigate the mysteries of the natural world, and discover the park's butterfly and hummingbird garden. The garden - an award-winning living interpretive display - provides loads of opportunities for people of all ages to learn about native plants, the life cycle and migration of the monarch butterfly, and how to create their own backyard (or schoolyard) wildlife habitat. At Kittatinny for almost 9 years now, Lynn also conducts numerous outreach programs at schools, Scout meetings, and home school gatherings that are individually tailored to each group's needs.

Pick up a "Spring and Summer Events" booklet at any State Park and thumb though the July thru September list of family programs and events at State Parks, Forests and Historic Sites. Over 60% of those will be canceled if current plans for park closures persist.

It has sometimes been difficult to convince park managers that education and interpretive programs are as valuable to the people and resources of New Jersey as camping and fishing. It took a long time to achieve the level of interpretive staffing and programs that currently exist in our New Jersey State Parks: namely, 12 field naturalists and 22 historians. If the education staff are laid off, as is currently planned, irreparable harm will be caused. Once lost, it will be decades, if ever, before our New Jersey state parks will be able to offer this quality and quantity of environmental education programming again. What is lost now, will likely be lost forever!!

Research is telling us that time spent in the outdoors is critical to the overall healthy development of our children. State Parks offer the very programs, people and places to entice our kids into the outdoors.

We need all of our State Parks and we need the people who understand the value of these natural and historic places to share their knowledge and passion with all of us and our children for the good of all!!

For those with further questions on how the closing of New Jersey Parks may impact environmental education, please contact ANJEE.advocates4EE@yahoo.com

Additional information on the campaign to prevent New Jersey Park closures can be found at http://njkeepitgreen.org/index.htm

* The Alliance for New Jersey Environmental Education (ANJEE) is a 23-year-old organization of professional educators charged with the mission of advocating for the promotion, implementation, and sustained support of quality environmental education throughout the State of New Jersey. For more information on ANJEE and its multi-faceted programs and initiatives, access its web-site at: http://www.anjee.net/