By Stephanie Prokop, Staff Writer
FLORENCE The Environmental Club is about much more than just planting trees.
Canoe trips, releasing an injured northern saw-whet owl back into the wild, and prepping for more Pine Barrens exploration, are some of the activities that the 25-member club at Florence Township Memorial High School is keeping busy with outside of the classroom.
Still, the students all agree that there is a bigger lesson to teach others who live in the Garden State: There are a lot of “green” opportunities in the state.
The club has most recently been to the Parker Reserve in Chatsworth where they helped rebuild an eroding stream bank.
According to biology teacher and club adviser, Andrew DuBrul, the goal of the trips is to “get students out, to learn something, and have a very enjoyable positive experience.”
Most of the trips that the environmental club takes are to the Pine Barrens, mainly because it is so close to Florence Township, and because Mr. DuBrul says most of the students express an interest in the future of the Pine Barrens.
By the spring, the club will have completed exploring the Batona Trail, which is a 50-mile stretch connecting Brendan Byrne State Forest, Wharton State Forest, and Bass River State Forest.
While walking and hiking along these trails, (which includes features with such colorful names as “Apple Pie Hill” which has an elevation of approximately 180 feet) students learn about endangered species, and if they’re lucky, even get to see a few.
Senior Stephen Sonanderson said that the last time they were hiking, they happened to see a bald eagle, and they even got to see a nest. The bald eagle is no longer on the federal Endangered Species list but is still on the New Jersey list.
The Pine Barrens are also home to the timber rattlesnake, the corn snake, the pine snake, the Cooper’s hawk, the Pine Barrens tree frog, as well as bobcats.
In addition to hiking through the region, the group goes up into several fire towers to discuss forest fire ecology, and to see areas that have been burned in the past.
Most recently, a student found an injured bird that was likely hit by a car when it was flying over Florence-Columbus Road.
The bird, a northern saw-whet owl, is currently lodged in the Raptor Trust Facility that is located in northern New Jersey and was expected to be released soon.
Cross-cultural trips are also looming on the horizon for the club, which previously enjoyed a Costa Rica adventure in 2005, said seniors Aleyx Banonis and Amanda Archer.
The trip allowed a handful of students and teachers to conduct ecological studies and view the exotic wildlife that reside in the lush vegetation of the tropical climate.
There’s also talk of taking a trip to Thailand, which will focus on more of a cultural experience, the trip would likely consist of several ecology seminars in which students will get to see the varying landscapes the country has to offer.
In the meantime, all of the students agree that it’s just “nice to get out of the classroom” whenever they have an opportunity to do so, and are looking forward to more spring hiking trips and a visit to the Delaware Water Gap.

