Intensive Learning @ MFS
The World At Your Fingertips
We gathered in the Field House Commons on a rainy Thursday morning for our final day of IL 2024, grateful that the weather held throughout the week for our time in the Pines. While some groups captured additional film footage around campus, others spent a relaxing – and competitive – time with Ms. Thomson’s...
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For our fourth day in the Pine Barrens (3/27), we took a trip to the Pinelands Preservation Alliance (PPA) headquarters, where we first looked at submissions of the Pinelands Photo Exhibit, which captured closeups of wildlife and landscapes across the seasons. We were then distracted by a parrot that a visiting truck driver had...
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On the third day of our Pine Barrens IL, we visited Apple Pie Hill, hiked around four-and-a-half miles, and climbed the Pinelands’ central fire tower. While exploring the Apple Pie Hill, the notorious Jersey Devil showed itself to us to answer questions and make appearances in our videos. When we were at the fire...
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Today we went to Rancocas Cranberry Farm. We met up with members of the Pinelands Preservation Alliance & Pinelands Adventure Co., who were our guides. We did a four-and-a-half mile hike through the Barrens, walking around decommissioned cranberry bogs, wetlands, and heavily forested areas. We also did some dip-netting at a reservoir where we...
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Our Intensive Learning program, a one-week exploration of the NJ Pine Barrens, started with a hike in the Black Run Preserve. Thanks to our incredible guide John Volpa, who founded the Friends of Black Run Preserve, we learned all about the Pine Barrens starting with the difference between the Pinelands and the Pine Barrens....
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What a week! Today we celebrated our adventures in the Pine Barrens with pancakes and waffles, deftly cooked by Isaac, Vikram, and Vincent. We then had a viewing party for our Jersey Devil videos – they would have been contenders at Sundance! Finally, we debriefed the week, highlighting our favorite sites while also offering...
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Today, the group visited Franklin Parker Preserve. We left school at 9 AM and took a 40-minute bus ride to the Chatsworth Lake entrance to the preserve. When we arrived, we were eager to quickly start our hike, as it was very cold and windy. As we were hiking, we saw bridges, blue jays,...
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Today, we ventured to the Carranza Memorial and Apple Pie Hill via the Batona Trail. We departed school at 9 am, and after a 40-minute bus ride, we arrived at our first destination, which was the Carranza Memorial. The monument was built in honor of Emilio Carranza, a Mexican aviator who died in a...
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Today we went to the Black Run Preserve. We were lead by Mr. John Volpa, who has been working with MFS’s Pine Barren trips for 10 years and taught us a lot about the history and science behind the Pine Barrens. We hiked about four miles, stopping frequently to learn new facts about the...
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We started the day at 9:00 am with a 52-minute bus ride to Batsto Village. Once we arrived we hiked the four mile Batsto Lake Trail and followed the white blazes on the trees. Throughout the hike we saw the remains of the controlled fires that were held in the last year. About halfway...
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Today we began our adventure by learning all about the Pine Barrens from a variety of perspectives: historical, cultural, ecological, and, surprisingly, political. We began the day by sorting ourselves into our research, blogging, and video project groups. Each group researched the sites we will visit during this project, and completed a slide deck...
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Today we went to Belleplain State Forest in Egg Harbor Township. We got to see more of the Pine Barrens, but this area was closer to the coast so featured more wetlands and cedar trees. We walked along the Old Cape Trail. There were some smaller waterways around us. Our plan was to walk...
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On our journey in the Pine Barrens, we went to Apple Pie Hill. Our first stop when we got off the bus was the Carranza Memorial, which was built in honor of Captain Emilio Carranza Rodriguez. He was an aviator that is known today as a symbol of peace for Americans and Mexicans. Therefore,...
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Today we hiked around the Franklin Parker Preserve in Chatsworth in the Pine Barrens. We walked along a mix of the Green and Red trails for a total of about 5 ½ miles. Along the hike, we saw some beautiful small bodies of water. We saw some giant Adirondack chairs, and we visited the...
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On the first day of our Pine Barrens adventure, we went to Batsto Village. We also took a four mile hike down a beautiful trail. We spotted lots of interesting plants throughout the day. Due to the weather yesterday, we walked through some muddy, yet very fun, trails. We walked through forests that had...
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