New Jersey Audubon Society

New Jersey Audubon is a privately supported, not-for profit, statewide membership organization. Since 1897 NJ Audubon has been connecting people to nature. As one of the oldest independent Audubon societies, New Jersey Audubon fosters environmental awareness and a conservation ethic among New Jersey's citizens; protects New Jersey's birds, mammals, other animals, and plants, especially endangered and threatened species; and promotes preservation of New Jersey's valuable natural habitats.

As a result of human pressures, one million wildlife species may be pushed to extinction in the comi

Goal One: Sustain healthy populations of wildlife, plants, insects and fisheries in light of the overwhelming losses of wildlife and their populations globally.

Goal Two: Support conservation strategies and policies on climate change, creating resilient communities for wildlife and people.

Goal Three: Provide leadership and support for large-scale conservation initiatives addressing wildlife, land and water conservation, and environmental literacy.

All staff are provided with a regular schedule of professional development opportunities and are encouraged to affiliate with professional organizations and their offerings. Tuition reimbursement is available for staff that focuses on advancing their mission-area expertise or leadership development. Finally, NJ Audubon is conducting an organization-wide DEIJ audit to ensure that NJA is truly for the benefit all.

New Jersey Audubon’s programs focus on the organization’s conservation priorities. With COVID-19 constraints, summer camps, school field trips, festivals, afterschool programs, adult natural history field trips, and family nature programs had to be re-imagined for online and virtual platforms. Despite restrictions, staff continued to innovate so our most iconic events – The World Series of Birding (at-home version) and So.Many.Birds (virtual) Festivals – did not shrink but instead widened the arc to include new audiences just when people needed nature most. We conducted a hybrid Monarch Festival utilizing both virtual and in-person models, developed a new Birder’s Bucket List Bash, a 4-day virtual event to engage people from around the world in eco-tourism, and offered multiple learning webinar series focused on bird families, gardening for wildlife, nature photography, and nature-based yoga. When local and state parks closed during the height of the pandemic, we maintained our trails for social distancing, providing access to nature during this difficult time. Virtual summer programs were conducted in Newark, Plainfield, and Wildwood and newly developed Nature Quests were designed for parents to help children explore nature in their own yards. Teacher workshops, summer institutes, webinars, and face-to-face meetings were re-tooled to train and support teachers working remotely to integrate ecology, environmental science, and sustainability into their curricula. Our Gardening for Wildlife program was re-envisioned, including conducting our first-ever society-wide native plant sale online with gardeners pre-ordering plants for curbside pick-up. Gardening for Wildlife certifications increased by 47%, as people stayed home and improved their yards for wildlife. While our South American shorebird research was halted, all other wildlife research, habitat stewardship, and conservation advocacy progressed, adhering strictly to COVID protocols.