Educational Programs
Environmental Leadership Summer Academy (ELSA)
For years, NREF has been honored to partner Drexel University and their museum affiliate, The Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University to provide meaningful field experiences for students of all ages. The Academy of Natural Sciences runs an immersive week-long summer sleep-away expedition for rising high school sophomores, juniors, and seniors to gain hands-on field experience across a range of research areas: local community habitats and environments; beach, marsh, and Pine Barren ecology; botany, lake ecology, and geology.
Students will gain a broad understanding of what it means to be an environmental scientist, leader, and advocate in this rapidly growing field through theory-based courses and hands-on immersion experiences led by the Academy of Natural Sciences and Drexel University scientists and professors.
During this research-rich summer adventure, students will create bonds that last a lifetime and discover pathways that will open doors to future careers in environmental science and related fields.
Fish Hawks Youth Fishing Seminar
The Fish Hawks Saltwater Anglers Club runs an educational experience for children to learn about the various aspects of fishing, including casting, water safety, fish identification, good sportsmanship, respect for the natural environment.
Drexel University Fall Field Experience
Incoming students in Drexel University’s College of Arts and Sciences Department of Biodiversity, Earth and Environmental Science (BEES) are invited to participate in a Pre-Term Field Experience at the Lighthouse Center Field Station in Waretown, New Jersey. Students meet department faculty and fellow students as they collect qater quality data, investigate local algae and plankton, wade through Barnegat Bay’s salt marsh, collect crabs, and canoe the Wading River in the Pine Barrens.
Through hands-on experience and mentoship, students engage with their professional interests from the very beginning of their college experience.
Higher Education Courses
The Natural Resource Education Foundation is proud to partner with higher education insititutions to help provide students with experiential learning opportunities.