Date: Tuesday, June 3rd, 2026, from 8:30 AM to 3:30 PM
Location: Pinelands Alliance, 17 Pemberton Rd, Southampton NJ 08088
Cost: $50 per person. Students can attend for $20 per person
Pinelands Alliance (the Alliance) is pleased to announce the fourth in its series of Pinelands Science Forums. This year’s theme is Water: The Lifeblood of the Pines. The ecosystems we love, and the resources we need, are dependent upon the abundant water and distinctive hydrology of the Kirkwood-Cohansey Aquifer. The aquifer provides fresh water to hundreds of thousands of NJ residents. It also creates diverse and unique habitats across the New Jersey Pine Barrens. This resource is under threat. The climate is changing, and drought is an ever pressing concern. Likewise, increased development and the new presence of data centers place unprecedented demands on our water resources.
This Science Forum will focus on the hydrology of South Jersey, the predictions for climate impacts in the future, and the aquatic biodiversity this system supports. An important goal of the Alliance is to facilitate understanding and conservation of our water resources. Through the establishment of the Pinelands Research Institute, the Alliance promotes scientific research that is the foundation of conservation and maximizes success.
The daylong forum takes place on June 3, 2026, in our renovated, two-story barn. The barn is wheelchair accessible with an elevator to the second floor.
The cost to attend is $50 per person. Students can attend for $20 per person. Students must provide their student ID in person when checking in. Please register by Friday, May 22, 2026.
Pinelands Science Forum: Water – The Lifeblood of the Pinelands
Date: Tuesday, June 3rd, 2026, from 8:30 AM to 3:30 PM
Location: Pinelands Alliance, 17 Pemberton Rd, Southampton, NJ 08088
Speakers represent regulatory agencies, academia, and non-profits. A light breakfast and lunch will be provided for all in attendance.
8:30 – 9:30 AM – Light breakfast
9:30 AM – Welcome by Jennifer Krumins, Science Director at the Pinelands Alliance
9:45 AM – Keynote Address: David Robinson of Rutgers University – New Jersey’s Changing Climate
10:45-11 AM – Short Break
11:00 AM – Tod Fairbanks of Palm Beach State College in Florida – New Jersey Pinelands Desmid Algae Past and Present out (of the NJ Pine Barrens)
11:30 AM Matt Amato of the Delaware River Basin Commission – Carbon Sources and Impacts in the Delaware River Estuary
12:00 – 1:00 PM – Lunch
1:00 PM – Jamie Lubov – Carnivorous Plants and Watershed Health
1:30 PM – Erica Cowper of Lehigh University – Moss, Microbes, and Moisture: Testate amoebae preserved on herbarium mosses reveals sensitivity of microbial communities to moisture variability in the New Jersey Pine Barrens
2:00 PM – Charles Shutte of Rowan University in NJ – Quantifying the climate cooling or warming capacity of forested wetlands in the Pine Barrens
2:30 PM– Synthesis panel discussion and QA
3:00 PM Tour of Rancocas Creek Farm (Optional) & Final thoughts and Closing comments
Registration
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