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Curious about exploring New Jersey’s Pinelands? Maybe this $60 ‘short course’ is for you

The seventh annual course includes three guided field trips and 12 educational presentations with the goal of raising awareness and educate people about the Pinelands.

A view from the Batona Trail in New Jersey's Pinelands.
A view from the Batona Trail in New Jersey's Pinelands.Read moreFrank Kummer

New Jersey’s vast Pinelands National Reserve might seem intimidating to the uninitiated.

Totaling about one million acres, or 1,465 square miles, the Pinelands sprawls through seven counties — nearly one-fifth of the state. Unlike a national park, there is no single entrance or visitors center but lots of entry points, mostly through various state parks, and some through unmarked sand roads. That doesn’t include hundreds of miles of lakes, ponds, streams and rivers.

So where to start?

You could begin at any one of five state parks that serve as the heart of the Pinelands for hiking, camping, biking and kayaking: Wharton, Brendan T. Byrne, Bass River, Penn, and Double Trouble.

Or, you could take the annual Pinelands Summer Short Course offered by the New Jersey Pinelands Commission and Stockton University. The course is being held this year from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on June 23 with registration through Stockton. Registration remains open until June 22.

The daylong event explores the history, ecology, and culture of the Pinelands. It includes three guided half-day field trips and 12 educational presentations with the goal of educating people about the Pinelands.

“Public awareness of the New Jersey Pinelands is probably our best bet over the long term to preserve the precious cultural and environmental resources unique to the Pine Barrens,” Stockton University literature professor Thomas Kinsella said in news release about the course.

Among the classroom courses:

  1. Audiovisual presentation on Pinelands flora and fauna with a virtual walk through the woods.

  2. Presentation on efforts to preserve local history.

  3. Lecture on local legends and lore.

  4. Talk on the life and works of pioneer scientist Mary Treat, who died 100 years ago and shared studies with Charles Darwin.

  5. Presentation on New Jersey’s 13 species of freshwater and terrestrial turtles.

  6. Lecture on two dozen species of wild orchids that call the Pine Barrens their home.

Half-day tours include:

  1. Visit to the 1808 Trail that follows a logging road from the 1700s and traverses a swamp, crossing 13 footbridges along the way.

  2. Walking tour of Batsto Village with a historian who will stop at the blacksmith/wheelwright shop for a demonstration (the village is next to picturesque Batsto Lake).

  3. Kayak tour with a professional guide that features an exploration of the calm waters of Goshen Pond in the Mullica River.