The Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Middlesex County will offer the Rutgers Environmental Stewards Program (RES) at the EARTH Center, in Davidson’s Mill Pond Park, 42 Riva Ave., South Brunswick.
RES educates the public about the science behind pressing environmental issues and helps participants create positive change in their communities. Stewards start out by attending class once a week on topics including climate change, soil health, energy conservation, water resource protection, invasive species management, pollinator protection, habitat conservation and environmental policy. Optional field trips to environmentally significant sites around the state are included as part of the program.
In order to become a certified Environmental Steward, graduates of the class portion of the program complete a 60-hour volunteer internship of their choosing. Steward internship projects have included helping farmers adapt to climate change, composting restaurant food waste, mapping and eradicating invasive species in local parks, restoring native dune vegetation in shore communities and creating rain gardens, among others.
The classes, field trips and internship do not replace a science degree, but help citizens educate themselves when presented with a real world environmental problem. Students are introduced to a network of expert individuals and organizations who can be of service to them in the future as they wrestle with solving local environmental problems.
Classes take place on Wednesday evenings at 6:30 p.m. from Jan. 25 through June.
To register, visit envirostewards.rutgers.edu or contact Michele Bakacs at 732-398-5274 or [email protected].