Upcoming Events
Guided Birding Walk
Enjoy a 2-mile birding and nature walk at the Lighthouse Center, led by our friend and professional birding tour guide, Josh Gant! Autumn is a great time to spot some beautiful songbirds, raptors, and shorebirds making their fall migrations. We hope you’ll come out to see them with us!
This event is open to all with no admission fee (donations are optional and greatly appreciated). You can RSVP for this event ahead of time using our online form.
Pasta Dinner Fundraiser
Join us to enjoy classic Italian baked ziti spaghetti and meatballs, salad, and dessert while listening to live music and chatting with fellow environmental enthusiasts, all for a good cause!
Proceeds will go directly to the Natural Resource Education Foundation and will be used for environmental restoration and education programming and for the upkeep of the Lighthouse Center for Natural Resource Education.
This event will be held on November 15th from 5pm to 9pm at the Lighthouse Center for Natural Resource Education located at 140 Camp Lighthouse Rd (entrance at 7th St & Navajo Dr), Waretown, NJ.
Special thanks to Kate & Ally’s for catering the baked ziti for this event!
Saturday Volunteer Workday & Picnic
Join us for a volunteer workday and pizza for lunch at the Lighthouse Center!
Game Night at the Lighthouse Center
Join us at the Lighthouse Center for an unplugged night of tabletop games, prize raffles, tapas & snacks, and mocktails!
Purchase your tickets at the door or online using this link.
Tickets grant unlimited access to games, food, and drinks at this event. Raffle tickets will be sold separately during this event to those who wish to participate in a prize raffle for brand new nature themed board games.
NREF Members: During checkout, apply the discount code sent to your email in a special newsletter to enjoy your exclusive members-only pricing on this purchase!
Summer Mondays Volunteer Day
Join our group of weekly volunteers to help tidy up the Lighthouse Center and improve the trails throughout the surrounding wildlife management area.
Saturday Volunteer Day
Help us maintain and enhance the Lighthouse Center!
Activities for this volunteer day will include clipping back encroaching vegetation and spreading wood chips on our trails, and clipping woody saplings in our new native wildflower meadow.
Summer Mondays Volunteer Day
Join our group of weekly volunteers to help tidy up the Lighthouse Center and improve the trails throughout the surrounding wildlife management area.
Fish Hawks Annual Fishing Seminar
Each year, the Fish Hawks Saltwater Anglers Club runs an educational experience at the Lighthouse Center for children to learn about the various aspects of fishing, including casting, water safety, fish identification, good sportsmanship, and respect for the natural environment.
Visit the Fish Hawks official website to learn more about the nonprofit fishing club and their various events and programs.
Township of Ocean Community Cleanup
Join the Lehigh community, Pebble Beach HOA, the Township of Ocean's Environmental Commission, the Van Dyk Group, and NREF for a community cleanup of the beaches and shoreline areas of the Township of Ocean!
Volunteers will meet at the Ocean Township Community Center for a light breakfast before the event, starting at 9:00am. Trash bags, buckets, gloves, and hand sanitizer will be available. Participants are encouraged to bring their own buckets and gloves for trash/recycling pickup. This activity is suitable for ages 13 and up.
The Lighthouse Center and the surrounding land and shoreline areas will be among the areas including in the cleanup event. NREF Board of Directors members will be present at the Lighthouse Center to help direct volunteers to areas that would benefit the most from litter pickup efforts.
RSVP by April 26, 2025 using this form.
Volunteer Day: LHC Trail Cleanup and Maintenance
Volunteers will work to maintain hiking trails at the Lighthouse Center and the surrounding habitat. Activities will include picking up litter and spreading woodchips on trails.
Environmental Educators Roundtable
Each year, teachers, environmental educators and nature enthusiasts from arounf the watershed (and around the state!) look forward to the Barnegat Bay Environmental Educators Roundtable. The 28th Annual Barnegat Bay Environmental Educators Roundtable will be held on Wednesday, April 16, 2025 at the Lighthouse Center for Natural Resource Education, Waretown, NJ. Visit the Ocean County Soil Conservation District website at https://soildistrict.org/environmental-educators-roundtable/ to learn more about this year’s roundtable and past roundtables.
The educational programs and opportunities available from all participating agencies, organizations, and groups allow a comprehensive approach to watershed education and provides educators with a “one-stop-shop” approach, It is well known that educators are more likely to present and teach topics with which they are familiar and comfortable. The main goal and objective of the annual Barnegat Bay Environmental Educators Roundtable is to provide this opportunity for teachers and to spur action to improve and protect the health of the Barnegat Bay watershed.
Reach out to OCSCD Education Outreach Coordinator Becky Laboy at education@soildistrict.org for more details. Additionally, peruse the OCSCD’s lesson plans and resources for educators webpage at https://soildistrict.org/lesson-plans-resources-for-educators/ to find pertinent teaching and learning materials for your classroom or outdoor learning experiences.
LHC Trail Cleanup and Maintenance
Help maintain hiking trails at the Lighthouse Center and the surrounding natural habitat. Tools will be provided for picking up litter and improving walking trails.