The New Jersey School of Conservation (NJSOC) is the Environmental Education Field Campus of Montclair State University. It is the oldest university-operated environmental education center in the US. It is located 57 miles (92 km) from the Montclair campus on a 240-acre (0.97 km2) tract located in Stokes State Forest in Sussex County, New Jersey. Administratively, it is part of the College of Science and Mathematics.[1]
The mission of the New Jersey School of Conservation is to develop in its program participants' knowledge of how Earth systems operate and how human actions affect these systems. It is intended that this knowledge will cultivate the prolonged performance of environmentally responsible behaviors and the development of self-confidence to support the development of attitudes, beliefs, and values that will aid individuals and groups alike in the resolution of current environmental problems, the avoidance of future environmental problems, and the quest for sustainable development.[2]
The environmental education programs provide field experiences in the environmental sciences, humanities, outdoor pursuits, and the social sciences.[3] Each academic year the NJSOC provides environmental education programs for nearly 9,000 elementary/secondary school students, and nearly 1,000 teachers from about 100 schools.[1]