Get your hands wet this summer at Save Barnegat Bay’s STEM Summer Series(SSS)! Meet scientists, educators, and local experts as we explore Bay Head to discover shellfish and wildlife, visit exhibits, learn about how we build our communities, get exposed to a variety of STEM professionals, careers and more. Young people ages 5-15 from Bay Head, Mantoloking, and Point Pleasant Beach are encouraged to apply. Limited space is available. The program is free thanks to generous support of the Clare Foundation. SSS will take place on Tuesdays, July 5th-August 23. Exact times TBD.
Schedule at a Glance
July 5 Introduction to STEM Summer Series
Presenter: Save Barnegat Bay
Content: Macroinvertebrates from the Metedeconk River. Watersheds, water pollution, and local biodiversity
July 12 Build it, Catch it, Grow it!
Presenter: Rutgers Water Resources Program
Content: Rain gardens, stormwater, green infrastructure, careers in the field
July 19 Technology of Storytelling
Presenter (Ages 9-15): Monmouth University Production Services
Content: Miking and lighting for documentary interviews
Presenter (Ages 5-8): Exit 82 Theater
Content: Art of storytelling through full-body movement
July 22 Into the Woods
Presenter: Save Barnegat Bay
Content: seining, local plant ecology, invasive species, SBB
July 26 Diamonds in the Bay
Presenter: Project Terrapin
Content: Diamondback Terrapin biology and conservation
July 30 Bubble Blower
Presenter: Berkeley Township Underwater Search and Rescue and Island Beach State Park
Content: Beginner dive science, snorkeling in Barnegat Bay
Aug 2 Build a Boat to Float!
Presenter: NJ Museum of Boating
Content: Boat building, tools then and now, local history, build a surfboard
Aug 9 Motor Mechanisms: Zoom! Zoom!
Presenter: Vintage Automobile Museum of New Jersey
Content: How a motor runs, different types of cars, history of cars
Aug 16 Stop the Sting
Presenter: Montclair State University, Dr. Paul Bologna
Content: Jellyfish bio, invasive species, careers in science
Aug 17 Under the Sea
Presenter: Jenkinson’s Aquarium
Content: Aquarium floor, BTS tour of endangered coral protection program, ground breaking science and tech in aquariums, and careers in the aquarist, conservationist, and science field
Aug 23 The World is our Oyster
Presenter: Forty North Oyster Farms
Content: Oyster Farming, habitat oysters create, careers in ocean farming
Presenter: Ocean County Park
Content: Pelts and mammals of the marsh
Presenter: Save Barnegat Bay
Content: Oyster reef table top activity
Meet the Staff
Sydney Gawason
Intern Summer 2022
Sydney Gawason
Intern Summer 2022
Sydney is currently a sophomore studying environmental science at the University of Vermont. She has grown up spending her summers at the Jersey Shore, and her love for the environment is rooted in Barnegat Bay. Along with learning about the environment, Sydney enjoys being out in the field and being connected to the land. She is very excited to be interning at Save Barnegat Bay as an education intern. Her hopes are to educate and inspire others to care for the watershed and environment as much as she does. Sydney hopes to spread her knowledge of the watershed and her connection to the land with others!
Keri-Bo Bates
STEM Summer Series Staff
Keri-Bo Bates
STEM Summer Series Staff
Keri-Bo Bates graduated summa cum laude in 2021 with a B.S. in Environmental Science with a concentration in Natural Resources and Conservation. For over 20 years, she has volunteered for both local and national nonprofits groups and organizations, raising awareness of environmental concerns and educating the public. She has also hosted collections and fundraisers for deployed service members and served as a volunteer EMT in our local community. In her previous roles, she initiated recycling programs and developed earth science curriculum at private schools where she taught. She has served as a Staff Scientist, conducting Phase I Environmental Site Assessments, and identified Recognized Environmental Concerns. Her passion for protecting the environment started at an early age, where she created games that encouraged neighborhood kids to pick up trash. Since then, her passion for protecting the environment follows her everywhere, as she continues to educate others on environmental matters and conservation.
Jennifer Haines
STEM Summer Series Staff
Jennifer Haines
STEM Summer Series Staff
Jennifer Haines graduated with a Bachelor’s of Science degree from Stockton College of New Jersey, majoring in Marine Science. She is a scuba diver, passionate reader and an avid organic gardener. Jennifer loves teaching Marine and Environmental Science to upper classmen, as well as advising the environmental and astronomy clubs at Central Regional High School and has been teaching for almost twenty years. She also loves spending time with her husband and dog out on their boat on Barnegat Bay.
Liz Georger
STEM Summer Series Staff
Liz Georger
STEM Summer Series Staff
Liz Georger graduated Kean University in 2012 with a degree in Earth Science and teaching certification k-12. Liz has been a middle school science teacher teaching grades 6th through 8th grade general science for the past 9 years at Carl Sandburg Middle School in Old Bridge NJ. Her favorite sciences to explore are astronomy, physics, weather and ecology. She is excited for her new adventure as a part time employee for the 2022 summer stem series with Save Barnegat Bay. She is the choreographer and assistant director of her schools spring musical and the advisor of the schools Environmental club. She enjoys being outside, walking her dog Sunny, Disney movies and her family!
Frank Gordon
STEM Summer Series Staff
Frank Gordon
STEM Summer Series Staff
Frank Gordon is a current student of Pinelands Regional High School with passions for education and the environment. He works for the STEM Summer Program that informs and inspires young kids about the environment and other fields of science. He intends on enrolling at Ocean County College before transferring to The College of New Jersey, where he will major in English to pursue a career teaching English literature at either a high-school or college level.
Melanie Thorn
STEM Summer Series Staff
Melanie Thorn
STEM Summer Series Staff
Melanie Thorn will graduate from Juniata College in 2023 with a Bachelor of Arts. She is studying environmental studies with a focus in politics and an emphasis in peace and conflict studies. She hopes to turn her passion into a career influencing environmental policy and creating a space for environmental restorative justice by working with non-profits. Growing up in Ocean County she discovered her passion for protecting the environment and educating the community about environmental issues. She first came to Save Barnegat Bay as a NEMO Intern in the summer of 2021. This summer she will be working with the STEM Summer Series as a Teacher Assistant.
Graceanne Taylor
Education and Outreach Coordinator
Graceanne Taylor
Education and Outreach Coordinator
After studying at M.A.T.E.S. and Stony Brook University graduating with a degree in marine science, Graceanne’s passion for educating individuals about the Barnegat Bay began as an intern at the Sedge Island Natural Resource Education Center. Since, she served AmeriCorps as the Barnegat Bay Watershed Ambassador. Graceanne had worked in multiple facets throughout the watershed doing scientific research and environmental education before joining the Save Barnegat Bay community. For the past three years, Graceanne has worked at Save Barnegat Bay conducting public programs to help ignite passion and conservation of the watershed and bay. Graceanne enjoys free time volunteering, traveling, performing underwater, and playing on the Barnegat Bay scuba diving, boating, and paddling.