About the same time I started my VMN course, Don Freiday became Manager of Visitor's Services for EBFR.  Some may know Don from the Hunterdon County Parks Department or as Director of NJAS' Scherman-Hoffman Sanctuary in Bernardsville or most recently as Director of Bird Programs for the Cape May Bird Observatory.   Since our paths continue to cross, I took the opportunity to speak to him about what he hopes to accomplish at EBFR.   
 
As an environmental educator, Don clearly sees the potential the refuge possesses for integrating community, environmental education and outdoor experiences.  The refuge accepts visitors for tours, offering classes on forest and pond ecology, migrating birds, and saltmarsh ecology.  The refuge hopes to expand these offerings to topics such as meadow or grassland ecology, nature discovery for pre-K to 1st grade, and more immediate concerns, such as climate change and sea level rise.  Urban Birding classes are provided to the Pleasantville Schools along with wildlife puppet shows for nursery school children in Absecon. A home school program is also offered at EBFR.  I am sure I've missed a few, but all programs are, and have been, run by dedicated volunteers.

Don would like to expand these offerings but there is one problem and that is limited resources, namely people.  He is not always able to accommodate school groups and community tours because at times when volunteers are needed to assist, they just don't exist, or the core volunteers are overwhelmed.  A visiting school can bring with it 100 children at a time.  Without the proper coverage, as you can imagine, handling them can be a daunting task.  It is apparent to him that with the right amount of volunteers, EBFR could become an integral part of the environmental education system for the surrounding towns, providing more than a one off experience.

He would like to see each local school system make at least three trips a year to the refuge so that their curriculum is enhanced by their experiences.  All the text books in the world couldn't possibly replace the experience you receive in the field and that is what he wants to offer to the schools and the public at large.  So when an instructor talks about macro-invertebrates, the children and/or adults have an opportunity to actually see one in a microscope, not just in a book.  Or they can experience the delight of seeing a Bald Eagle soar overhead, or be astounded by the speed of a hunting Peregrine Falcon. 

One of the great things about all of this is that Don and the volunteers are willing to share their knowledge and train anyone interested.  I have attended several of these training sessions and they are friendly and informative.  It is a win-win situation.  If you are hesitant about volunteering because you think you are not knowledgeable enough, don't let that stop you.

Something else Don would like to address is the limited viewing of wildlife by car.  The eight-mile drive offers a unique experience, but leaving the car to utilize the trails is something he hopes to promote by leading nature walks in the future.  He'd like to see these walks enhanced by the addition of observation blinds set at strategic locations throughout the refuge.  His desire to offer a rich nature experience is palpable and he voices his concern about all the children (and adults) whose noses are buried in their laptops, not even knowing what they are missing.  If they can be brought to the refuge and introduced to nature, it may just change their lives and our future. 

Another task he'll be taking on this year is providing educational wildlife exhibits in the new visitor center; another effective way of reaching out to people.  The new visitor center's Nature Store sells an array of books about wildlife and those sales benefit EBFR.  A lending library does exist and visitors are able to borrow books and binoculars that they can use out in the field to enhance their experience.  The store is run by Friends of Forsythe, a non-profit organization whose mission it is to provide help and funds to the refuge.  

Besides environmental education, Don is also concerned with other wildlife dependent activities, such as fishing, hunting, photography, and interpretation, and not only at the Oceanville site.  The refuge consists of ten sites, 47,000 acres in total, of southern New Jersey coastal habitats running from Mantoloking to Oceanville.
 
A hidden treasure whose visitors he would like to reach more is the Holgate portion of the NWR at the tip of Long Beach Island.  Holgate is a federally designated wilderness area adjacent to a highly developed barrier island, and Don would like to find more ways to interact with the communities there to provide interpretation and wildlife-based recreation while ensuring the wildlife and wilderness values of the area are protected.  The Holgate section is closed to all access from April 1 to August 30 to protect nesting birds, but the refuge provides an interpretive station at the entrance during the summer months, and could offer more interpretive walks and possibly lectures on LBI.