November 12, 2025

Sensory Awareness Trail Receives Dedication from the NJDEP

by Nina Sassano

frec sensory trail

Earlier in October, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) dedicated an enhanced Sensory Awareness Trail at the Forest Resource Education Center (FREC) in Jackson, strengthening opportunities for people of all abilities to experience and learn about the Pine Barrens and the Barnegat Bay watershed.

The upgraded trail now includes features designed to engage multiple senses and ensure that visitors with different abilities can fully participate. New interpretive signs provide information in both standard text and Braille. Tactile elements along the path allow visitors to feel textures and shapes that represent natural features such as leaves, bark, and wildlife tracks. An audio tour adds another layer of accessibility, guiding visitors through the forest and explaining ecological connections in a way that supports those with visual impairments. The trail surface itself has been improved for easier navigation with mobility devices, making it more accessible for people who use wheelchairs or have limited mobility.

Opportunities to enjoy and learn from the natural world should be available to everyone, yet many traditional trails and outdoor education sites are difficult to navigate for people with mobility, vision, or other physical challenges. Accessible trails like the one at FREC help address this gap by ensuring that all community members can participate in outdoor learning, recreation, and stewardship.

pxl 20250821 154113989 portrait

Accessible outdoor spaces also provide families and educators with inclusive environments where children can explore together, regardless of ability. Creating more of these spaces across New Jersey is vital not only for equity, but also for building stronger community connections to nature and inspiring the next generation of environmental stewards.

The Sensory Awareness Trail at FREC is part of a broader movement to make New Jersey’s natural areas more inclusive. The NJDEP has been developing more accessible trails throughout the state park system, with sites such as Spruce Run Recreation Area, Allaire State Park, and Cheesequake State Park offering wide, stable surfaces, audio tours, and tactile experiences to welcome visitors of varying abilities. These trails are designed to provide independent access to nature for people who may have previously faced barriers to participation.

By expanding opportunities for accessible recreation and education, these projects help ensure that nature belongs to everyone. The enhanced Sensory Awareness Trail at FREC contributes directly to that vision while also connecting visitors to the unique headwater ecosystems that sustain Barnegat Bay.

Earlier this fall, the BBP brought local teachers to FREC to explore its trails and waterways as part of a professional development retreat. During their visit, teachers experienced firsthand how the Sensory Awareness Trail can be used as a teaching tool to introduce watershed science to students of all abilities. Partnerships like these help expand the reach and impact of accessible spaces, ensuring they are not only places to visit but also resources that enrich classrooms and communities across the watershed.

The Barnegat Bay Partnership extends a heartfelt congratulations to the team at the FREC for the thoughtful consideration and time that was put into making this trail a success. We are proud to partner with organizations that understand the need to create welcoming, educational, and inspiring outdoor spaces that serve the needs of all residents.

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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.

 

Sensory Awareness Trail Receives Dedication from the NJDEP

Earlier in October, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) dedicated an enhanced Sensory Awareness Trail at the Forest Resource Education Center (FREC) in Jackson, strengthening opportunities for people of all abilities to experience and learn about the Pine Barrens and the Barnegat Bay watershed.

The upgraded trail now includes features designed to engage multiple senses and ensure that visitors with different abilities can fully participate. New interpretive signs provide information in both standard text and Braille. Tactile elements along the path allow visitors to feel textures and shapes that represent natural features such as leaves, bark, and wildlife tracks. An audio tour adds another layer of accessibility, guiding visitors through the forest and explaining ecological connections in a way that supports those with visual impairments. The trail surface itself has been improved for easier navigation with mobility devices, making it more accessible for people who use wheelchairs or have limited mobility.

Opportunities to enjoy and learn from the natural world should be available to everyone, yet many traditional trails and outdoor education sites are difficult to navigate for people with mobility, vision, or other physical challenges. Accessible trails like the one at FREC help address this gap by ensuring that all community members can participate in outdoor learning, recreation, and stewardship.

pxl 20250821 154113989 portrait

Accessible outdoor spaces also provide families and educators with inclusive environments where children can explore together, regardless of ability. Creating more of these spaces across New Jersey is vital not only for equity, but also for building stronger community connections to nature and inspiring the next generation of environmental stewards.

The Sensory Awareness Trail at FREC is part of a broader movement to make New Jersey’s natural areas more inclusive. The NJDEP has been developing more accessible trails throughout the state park system, with sites such as Spruce Run Recreation Area, Allaire State Park, and Cheesequake State Park offering wide, stable surfaces, audio tours, and tactile experiences to welcome visitors of varying abilities. These trails are designed to provide independent access to nature for people who may have previously faced barriers to participation.

By expanding opportunities for accessible recreation and education, these projects help ensure that nature belongs to everyone. The enhanced Sensory Awareness Trail at FREC contributes directly to that vision while also connecting visitors to the unique headwater ecosystems that sustain Barnegat Bay.

Earlier this fall, the BBP brought local teachers to FREC to explore its trails and waterways as part of a professional development retreat. During their visit, teachers experienced firsthand how the Sensory Awareness Trail can be used as a teaching tool to introduce watershed science to students of all abilities. Partnerships like these help expand the reach and impact of accessible spaces, ensuring they are not only places to visit but also resources that enrich classrooms and communities across the watershed.

The Barnegat Bay Partnership extends a heartfelt congratulations to the team at the FREC for the thoughtful consideration and time that was put into making this trail a success. We are proud to partner with organizations that understand the need to create welcoming, educational, and inspiring outdoor spaces that serve the needs of all residents.

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