Each year, The Wetlands Institute hosts nearly 13,000 youth for hands-on, feet-wet environmental education, including undergraduate environmental education field trips! All our field trips emphasize hands-on learning and the scientific method. We offer a broad range of student learning activities including Plankton Studies, Salt Marsh Safari Tour, Seining and Species Identification, Live Animal Touch Tank, Biodiversity Assessment, Avalon Dune and Beach Walk, Beach Exploration and Invertebrate Sampling, Water Quality Testing, Horseshoe Crab Molt Lab, Horseshoe Crab Sampling Survey, Diamondback Terrapin Conservation and Mollusks of the Shore.
We also have Virtual Undergraduate Environmental Education Field Trip Programs Available!
Student Learning Activities
Plankton Studies
You will be amazed by what you see in one drop of water! After towing a plankton net, students will get a brief overview on plankton and then divide into smaller groups to view and identify planktonic organisms using smartphone microscopes. Students will also learn the difference between permanent and temporary plankton and meet live marine animals that begin their lives as plankton.
Virtual Option Available
Salt Marsh Safari Tour
Head out for an interpretive marsh walk along our Salt Marsh Trail, our elevated walkway and onto the dock overlooking Scotch Bonnet creek. Students will learn about the different plants and animals that live within the salt marsh, as well as, tidal influences on the salt marsh, both natural and anthropogenic. Students will help release terrapin hatchlings into the marsh, if possible.
Seining and Species Identification
Tide Dependent
Students will wear waders as they drag seine or dip nets through the water to find crabs, shrimp, fish and more. Once pulled up, students will examine the seine net’s haul, identify the species, and discuss food chains and webs, trophic levels, and life cycle interactions of marine organisms.
And/Or
Live Animal Touch Tank
There is no better way to learn about sea creatures than to get hands-on. The instructor will introduce the students to a variety of live marine organisms and give them the opportunity to touch them while learning about them.
Biodiversity Assessment
Using one-meter quadrats, students will conduct quadrat sampling at different locations within the salt marsh. At each location, flora and fauna will be identified and recorded within each quadrat and quadrat extrapolations calculated to draw conclusions about the overall biodiversity and health of the salt marsh ecosystem.
Avalon Dune and Beach Walk
Take a guided tour along the Avalon Dune and Beach Trail through several biotic communities, including maritime forest, dunes and barrier beach. Along the way, learn about barrier island formation and function, distinguish between the zones of the dunes and beach, and understand how the flora and fauna have adapted to life in each zone.
Beach Exploration and Invertebrate Sampling
Once out on the beach, students will explore the intertidal zone of the beach to catch a few of the animals that live just below the surface of the sand. Finally, everyone does a little beachcombing, while learning how to classify everything scientifically using simple taxonomy.
Water Quality Testing
Using Vernier LabQuest2, associated sensors, and grab sample, students will be measuring the water temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen, salinity, and turbidity of the tidal channel, while also recording other environmental factors like air temperature and wind speed. Discussion and analysis of results will focus on the overall health of the water and its ability to support marine life.
Horseshoe Crab Molt Lab
Horseshoe crabs have survived for millions of years one Earth, but what is it about this “living fossil” that makes them so resilient? Using live horseshoe crabs and molt specimens, students will learn about horseshoe crab anatomy and their survival strategies.
Virtual Option Available
Horseshoe Crab Sample Survey
Season Dependent – Only offered April – May
Head out to Delaware Bay to experience horseshoe crab spawning and shorebird migration. Using one-meter quadrants, students will conduct a horseshoe crab survey to help estimate the spawning population of horseshoe crabs. Discussion will focus on the importance of horseshoe crabs in the Delaware Bay and their relationship to migratory shorebirds.
Diamondback Terrapin Conservation
Meet and learn about the Northern Diamondback Terrapin in its native habitat, the salt marsh. Find out what The Wetlands Institute does to help conserve this important species. Tour the terrapin lab and help monitor nests on our salt marsh trail.
Mollusks of the Shore
Using taxonomic keys, students will be asked to identify common mollusks found along the Jersey shore using shell artifacts. After identifying some mollusks, students will learn what exactly is a mollusk, how shells get made, and meet living mollusks.
Virtual Option Available
Grade Level: Undergraduate
Time: Each student learning activity is 60 minutes.
Select two (2) student learning activities for a 2-hour program; or four (4) student learning activities for a 5-hour program that includes a lunch break.
Prices: $10/student for a 2-hour program; or $18/student for a 5-hour program.
Virtual Program Prices: $75 Virtual Program Fee plus additional $8/student for a 2-hour program; or $14/student for a 5-hour program.
Registration Procedure: Reservations are made by email (preferred) or phone on a first come first served basis. A signed contract and 50% deposit are due within 5 weeks of contract date. This deposit is non-refundable unless the program is cancelled due to weather or with at least 30 days notice. Please email aliles@wetlandsinstitute.org to book a program.
Payment: Full payment is expected on the day of program. The 50% deposit is applied to the total cost of the program. Payments can be made via cash, check, credit card (Visa or MasterCard) or school purchase orders.
Teachers/Chaperones: Professors and support staff attend programs free of charge! However, parent/non-teacher chaperones will be charged at the student rate, and we expect all chaperones to be involved in the program, assisting the students and our educators and setting a good example.
Group Sizes: We can accommodate groups of up to 30 students.
Lunch Facilities: We have plenty of picnic space, on picnic tables or the grass, available at The Wetlands Institute. However, students will need to bring a sack lunch as no food is available for purchase. If desired, picnicking at the beach is also an option.