What is your favorite part about the holiday season? Is it finding the perfect something special that is sure to make your loved one smile? This holiday season, you can go the extra mile by giving the best gift, while giving back to support local organizations! Win-win! Here at EarthShare NJ, we put together a gift guide for you that offers exclusive items and experiences. Each gift idea benefits one of our local nonprofit member organizations. So, not only are these presents sure to please, but their purchase makes a difference for the environment. Explore our guide to find anything you could want for the outdoorsy, eco-friendly, or wildlife lover in your life.
The Wetlands Institute offers symbolic adoption of coastal friends who need our help! This includes Diamondback Terrapins, horseshoe crabs, and American Oystercatchers. The adoption donation goes towards the Wetlands Institutes’ research and conservation efforts to protect the populations of these species. Depending on your adoption type, you could receive a certificate, stickers, plush animals, t-shirts, festival passes, and joining Wetlands biologists for wildlife field experiences.
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Conserve Wildlife Foundation of NJ has something for everyone with many of New Jersey’s rare species up for symbolic adoption! Choose from Bald Eagle, Blue-spotted Salamander, Bobcat, Bobolink, Bog Turtle, Checkered White Butterfly, Indiana bat, Atlantic Loggerhead Turtle, Osprey, Peregrine Falcon, Pine Barrens Treefrog, and Piping Plover. You can learn more about each species on their website. By adopting to assist in ensuring the survival of one or more of these species, you can receive additional perks such as an official certificate, decal of your adopted animal, one year complimentary Conserve Wildlife Foundations membership, a subscription of Conserve Wildlife Foundations newsletters, and invitation to a field experience with a Conserve Wildlife Foundation biologist.
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Woodford Cedar Run Wildlife Refuge has 60 resident animals who are given a new life as Wildlife Ambassadors due to being unable to be released back into the wild for a variety of reasons. This includes mammals, eagles, hawks, falcons, vultures, owls, waterfowl, corvids, reptiles and more. You can read each resident’s story to learn more about them and their journeys! Once you choose your new symboliclly adopted friend, you can receive a free pass(es) to visit them at Cedar Run, a certificate, newsletter subscription, car magnet, email updates about your adopted animal,$10 gift card to the Cedar Run gift shop, and a private guided tour with a Cedar Run educator.
You can give the gift of giving back to air, water, land and wildlife! This is a perfect gift for the passionate environmentalist in your life. Simply make an annual contribution in their name, and they can be a part of supporting 20 local nonprofits and statewide environmental change. This is truly a gift that makes a difference all year long!
New Jersey Audubon Society is having an online winter sale! You can find everything a bird lovers heart could desire. Whether you are looking for a gift for a backyard birder, beginning birder, avid expert birder, or someone who just has an appreciation for feathered friends, they have something for everyone! Their store carries clothing, accessories, fair trade coffee, informational books/field guides, feeders, binoculars, and other optics gear.
Do you know someone who is always outdoors looking for wanderlust? Do they love hiking and exploring new trails? Then the NY-NJ Trail Conference online shop is the place to search for the perfect gift. Their shop features trail maps and guides to adventuring to local places within New Jersey! They also have great apparel, hats, and some gear you don’t want to be without for camping such as mugs and an emergency blanket.
Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey’s ornament fundraiser, with handcrafted wooden ornaments by biologist Christine Healy, supports their Amphibian Crossing Project. This project assists numerous species safely make their migration journey from winter habitats to spring breeding ponds. Their online shop also boasts so many great products from facemasks, hats, pint glasses, to apparel, that support Conserve Wildlife Foundations efforts.
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The Woodford Cedar Run Wildlife Refuge new online shop is featuring a limited edition ornament! The ornament is engraved with Cedar Run resident Bald Eagle, Hallie, as well as the Cedar Run logo. The perfect adornment for your tree! Make sure to check out the numerous other offerings in their shop. They have fun toys, books, and animal plushes for children. For those who are always eco-friendly on the go, there are reusable tumblers and totes. If you want to treat someone to a self-care spa moment, check out their locally handmade candles, soaps, lotions, and bath bombs. The shop also features apparel, accessories, and home decor.
One of the most eco-friendly gifts you can give, is the the gift of experiences! Pinelands Preservation Alliance is now specially offering gift certificates for their Pinelands Adventures program. This is a self-guided trip canoeing or kayaking on rivers through the heart of the Pine Barrens. You can also choose from naturalist-guided history, culture & ecology hiking, paddling and small group bus tours. The certificates are available for any amount to give an amazing adventure through the largest remaining Atlantic coastal pine barrens ecosystem, stretching across more than seven counties of New Jersey. Pinelands Preservation Alliance has now opened an online store as well, so you can give an accessory such as a Pinelands Adventure Exploration Map, to go with this gift.
As we are all experiencing the holidays much differently this year, we are now missing gathering with our loved ones. Well, Woodford Cedar Run Wildlife Refuge has the cutest way to send warm holiday wishes! Holiday Wildlife Grams! These customized videos featuring Cedar Run resident wildlife are sure to spread holiday cheer. The best part is, you get to choose which animal you want in the message! Explore Cedar Runs list of resident species to learn more. Also, you can truly make the message personal by adding your own family photo at the end of the video. What a great way to safely stay connected during the holidays while giving back to an organization protecting local wildlife.
Alyssa Zabinski
Business Manager, EarthShare New Jersey