Jackson student's summer taught him how to love — and fight for — the Pine Barrens

Zachary Soricelli grew up in Jackson, just on the outskirts of the Pine Barrens, but he never fully appreciated the million-acre reserve until he started showing people around this summer.

The mechanical engineering major at Rutgers University served an internship as a guide, helping lead hikes and kayak tours for two-and-a-half months. Encountering red-bellied turtles, toads and snakes, dozens of species of birds, smoke from a wildfire and alas, more than a bit of litter, added up to quite the education for both the 21-year-old and his guests.

“I heard someone say ‘Recreation is the first step to conservation,’” Soricelli said. “Getting people involved in these kinds of activities, whether it’s kayaking or hiking, is a great way to get people to appreciate it more. To get people to love the natural beauty that we have here in New Jersey that we don’t have anywhere else in the world — hopefully that love leads to more protection and more thought when it comes to building and the consequences that come with it.”

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‘Always a battle’

Although the Pinelands National Preserve is protected by law, the fight against encroachment is ongoing. Some areas are more strictly protected than others. Developers have been eyeing up the 718-acre “pole branch forest” in Pemberton, Burlington County. The Pinelands Preservation Alliance, a nonprofit advocate for the region, has been pushing back.

Soricelli’s internship was with Pinelands Adventures, a subsidiary of the alliance.

“It’s always a battle with people who want to tear down this land for whatever reason versus people who want keep it preserved,” he said. “We have to make sure it stays protected so this ecosystem can last while still having space to accommodate the many residents we have. It’s been really cool to see how devoted of a community the Pine Barrens has to it, and how inspiring it is see these people working day-in and day-out to make sure this place stays protected and stays beautiful for future generations to enjoy.”

A Jackson Memorial High School grad, Soricelli attended Ocean County College for two years, and while there he took a course on the Pine Barrens that piqued his interest. Earlier this year, he noticed an opportunity to intern there through the Rutgers Scarlet Service, which pairs Rutgers students with nonprofits throughout the state.

“Such a great job and great experience,” he said. “We had people (on tours) who never have heard of the Pine Barrens in their lives and just think of New Jersey as this big industrial area. Then there were people who have lived here their whole lives and love the place.”

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Fire and flora

Soricelli did his best to learn on the fly. In June, one of his tour groups saw smoke from the wildfire that burned 200 acres of the pines in Medford. It was an opportunity to discuss the importance of “prescribed” or “controlled” burns to reduce the risk of future wildfires.

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“Zach has been such a gem,” said Allison Hartman, education director of Pinelands Adventures. “He is especially passionate about botany and Pine Barrens plants. After his first trip out with us he had gone back and done research and was able to tell people stuff about swamps that was new even to me. I was super impressed.”

Another lesson that hit Soricelli and his guests in the face: littering and the need for respectful stewardship.

“It’s definitely a big problem, with people leaving their trash on hiking trails,” Soricelli said. “I wouldn’t say there was a lot of trash, but there definitely was a noticeable amount that you could see each day.”

As he returns to campus this fall, Soricelli is looking to focus his engineering study on oceanography with an eye toward one day working in clean energy, including offshore wind. It’s an area of lively debate along New Jersey’s coast this summer, as whales have washed ashore at an alarming rate. Exploring and explaining the Pine Barrens has been a crash course in ecological balance.

“The thing I can take from this is how important it is to design structures and things we use in everyday life with the environment around us in mind,” he said. “We need to make sure we design things in ways that don’t hurt nature but work with it — or at the very least don’t damage the environment.”

Jerry Carino is community columnist for the Asbury Park Press, focusing on the Jersey Shore’s interesting people, inspiring stories and pressing issues. Contact him at jcarino@gannettnj.com.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Jackson college student learns to love, fight for Pine Barrens