Education & Outreach

Inspiring Action through Education

At Barnegat Bay Partnership, education isn’t just about sharing facts — it’s about sparking curiosity, building awareness, and empowering people to take meaningful action.

Whether it’s students learning in the field, teachers bringing the bay into their classrooms, or community members discovering new ways to get involved, our programs connect people of all ages with the knowledge and tools to become stewards of the bay.

Together, we’re shaping a future where understanding leads to action — and every generation has a role in protecting this vital ecosystem.

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Barnegat Bay Volunteer Master Naturalistsbbpvmn volunteer master naturalist
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Teacher Resources

Are you an Educator?

When students connect with nature, they don’t just learn — they start to care. Through hands-on environmental education, learners of all ages across the Barnegat Bay watershed gain a deeper understanding of how their everyday choices impact the environment.

We offer a variety of resources for educators who want to bring the story of Barnegat Bay into their classrooms in meaningful, accessible ways.

If you’re looking for tools, ideas, or opportunities to introduce students to the natural world, we’re here to help. And if you’ve got a resource you think others could use, we’d love to hear about it.

View Resources for Educators

Additional Resources

Barnegat Bay Glossary

Not sure what a watershed is? Wondering what makes an estuary special? You’re not alone — and that’s exactly why we created our glossary.

It’s a simple, easy-to-use guide to the terms and ideas that come up when learning about Barnegat Bay and the environment around it.

Whether you’re a student, a teacher, or just someone who wants to understand more, this is a great place to start.

Take a look, learn something new, and feel more confident talking about the bay and how to protect it.

View the Glossary

UNKNOWN

There is limited data available to quantify Wetland and Riparian Buffer Preservation, or updated data to quantify Wetland Acreage. The BBP has obtained funding and will begin assessment efforts for both targets, in the next few years.

 

 Hard Clam abundance has not been updated since 2012. Recovery of the stock will be guided by the Fishery Management Plan for Hard Clams, which is under development with the NJDEP, BBP, and other organizations. Reclam the Bay and other partners have continued to plant clams for restoration purposes. Continued plantings in strategic locations which maximize survival and reproduction is one strategy to pursue in the coming years. This work can use a model developed by Rutgers with BBP funding which identified areas where planted clams could have the greatest dispersal of their larvae and thus potentially maximally contribute to the recovery of the stock.

 Water Withdrawals were over the target in the 2021 report; USGS has not yet completed its latest update, so a definitive determination of status is not available. However, additional NJDEP data show that it is likely that we continue to not meet the target. Per capita water use has gone down, demonstrating the effectiveness of water-saving appliances and practices, but that decrease has been offset by population gains. 


IN PROGRESS

New maps quantifying Submerged Aquatic Vegetation extent were developed, but poor image clarity resulted in a high degree of uncertainty in the total acreage. NJDEP and Rutgers are working to resolve the uncertainty of these maps, and improve the total acreage estimate. Funding has also been obtained for further research and restoration activities. Several groups are developing potential restoration actions.

The USGS has completed the first phase of its study to identify minimum ecological flows in select Barnegat Bay tributaries. USGS scientists compared streamflow statistics between historical and current time periods to better understand trends in watershed flow conditions. This work provides a foundation for developing ecological flow targets in the Barnegat Bay watershed.  Similar to SAV extent, funding (approximately $450K) has been obtained by the BBP to complete the remaining phases necessary for threshold determination.

 

TARGETS ACHIEVED

No targets can be considered “Achieved” at this time.

 

NOT ACHIEVING

Several Public Swimming Beaches exceeded their safe swimming standards more frequently than during their baseline time period (2016-2018).

While most beaches are routinely safe for swimming, several problematic areas such as Beachwood, Hancock, Windward, and several lake beaches need track-down studies and restoration to pinpoint and address sources of bacteria.

Acres of Approved Shellfish Waters decreased from the last report. While this decrease was small, it represents a loss of previously approved waters. Similar to public beaches, track-down studies and restoration work are needed to pinpoint and address sources of bacteria.