Rutgers Partners With New Jersey Schools to Develop Historic Climate Change Curriculum

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Experts from the university to launch series of workshops in collaboration with teachers throughout the state. Rutgers will play a central role in New Jersey’s historic move to become the first state in the nation to teach all public school students – from K-12 – about climate change across all subjects. Experts in climate science, science communication and science, technology, …

Rutgers and NJ Board of Public Utilities Offer Scientists Opportunity to Work on Climate Change Mitigation and Clean Energy Policy

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The Eagleton Science and Politics Fellowship at Rutgers University–New Brunswick is partnering with the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU) to create a Climate Action Track for Eagleton Science Fellows. Rutgers Eagleton Science Fellows Program places PhD-level scientists, engineers and health care professionals as in-house science aides in state government offices to help develop and implement science-based policies. This new partnership …

Inaugural Rutgers Shellfish Research Symposium Brings Together Growers and Researchers

Eastern Oysters

The inaugural Rutgers Shellfish Research Symposium, in partnership with the New Jersey Aquaculture Association and the Haskin Shellfish Research Laboratory, was held on January 18 at the NJAES Jacques Cousteau National Estuarine Research Reserve The symposium was organized by Michael DeLuca, director of the Rutgers Aquaculture Innovation Center, and Michael Acquafredda, (GSNB’19) a Rutgers graduate of the doctoral program in Ecology and …

What To Do Over Winter Break

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Classes are over, finals are coming to an end and the start of another semester is weeks away. Wondering what to do with your free time over winter break? Rutgers Today asked faculty and staff across the university for some recommendations. Here are some suggestions to fill your free time. Explore New Jersey’s Natural History On a balmy winter day, take a …

Nationwide 4-H STEM Challenge Highlights Rutgers’ Pioneering Ocean Research

Children in Mercer County recently learned about the role glider technology plays in helping scientists understand the impact of a changing climate and how we can develop solutions to manage and mitigate the problems as part of the 4-H STEM Challenge.

More than 300,000 youth nationwide are learning about Rutgers’ pioneering ocean research using underwater gliders to understand the effects of climate change as part of this year’s 4-H STEM Challenge. This is the first year Rutgers was chosen to develop the challenge in partnership with the National 4-H Council. “This is a great example of taking our work from Rutgers and …

A Different Way to Think About Flooding

Brooke Maslo

A map of flood zones in New Jersey shows a state covered in blue, revealing that many residents live in areas susceptible to flooding. “You feel quite vulnerable looking at that map,” says Rutgers ecologist Brooke Maslo, “For sure.” The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection uses federal dollars to buy out the homeowners of some of those flood-prone properties. …

How Rutgers Is Forging the Next Generation of Climate Change Problem Solvers

Larry Niles, an independent wildlife biologist, describes the ecosystem of the Cumberland County shore to Rutgers students, with the Delaware River behind him. The students are banding migratory shorebirds. Photo: Lisa Auermuller

Training program created in wake of Superstorm Sandy brings graduate students from varied disciplines together to solve real-world climate problems. As a child, Dan Blanco watched low-income neighborhoods in his native Chicago flood during storms while the more affluent enclaves did not. Now, he is pursuing a doctoral degree in atmospheric sciences at Rutgers so he can further explore – …

Blue Acres: The Art and Science of Managing Flood-Prone Open-Space Properties in New Jersey

Looking north along a former block of Watson Ave in Woodbridge, NJ. Formerly a quiet residential street with houses, frequent flooding has resulted in this segment of roadway being repurposed into open space with a walking path through the Blue Acres program. Photo: Matt Drews

By Carol Peters, EOAS Communications A wildlife and conservation management expert for Rutgers Cooperative Extension, EOAS faculty member and Associate Professor Brooke Maslo works with local NJ municipalities to help them manage and restore properties in FEMA-established flood-prone areas purchased through the DEP Blue Acres program. Imagine the plight of families in New Jersey who own homes in the state’s …

Living Shoreline Combats Coastal Erosion Caused by Sea Level Rise

Rutgers scientists teamed up with high school students to build a living shoreline, near the New Jersey Aquaculture Innovation Center in Cape May, that helps reduce wave energy as it comes onto the beach. Photo: Dena Seidel

Rutgers scientists and high school volunteers from Camden are using nature to mitigate the effects of coastal erosion in southern New Jersey. Together they built a living shoreline, near the New Jersey Aquaculture Innovation Center in Cape May, that uses marsh grasses and recycled oyster and clam shells. The shells, incorporated into modified concrete blocks called oyster castles, fit together like Legos to …

4-H Launches 2022 STEM Challenge Focused on Marine Science and Climate Change

Left to right: Josh Kohut of the Dept. of Marine and Coastal Sciences, and Janice McDonnell, Alesha Vega, Marissa Staffen, and Matt Newman of Rutgers Cooperative Extension-4-H Youth Development. They are standing behind an RU COOL ocean exploring glider.

15th annual youth-led initiative provides hands-on learning opportunities during 4-H STEM Month and throughout the year. October is 4-H STEM Month. Rutgers Cooperative Extension has teamed up with Cooperative Extension at Cornell University in New York to bring educators from across two states to the New York Aquarium for an immersive full-day professional development experience. They will be introduced to …