Meet the crew doing science in the field at Duke Farms đ±đŹđą
Six Princeton University interns and Cora, our Seasonal Farm Technician, are spending the summer learning how land management can support wildlife, agriculture, and healthier ecosystems.
Theyâre contributing to real-world conservation work across Duke Farms:
đ Comparing biodiversity in grazed, mowed, and naturally managed fields
đą Tracking eastern box turtles to study movement, health, and survival
đł Measuring ecological recovery at our 112-acre floodplain restoration site
đ Supporting the daily farm and grazing work that keeps the research moving
That means early mornings, muddy boots, insect surveys, GPS tracking, livestock care, data analysis, and plenty of learning outside the classroom.
The goal? To understand how everyday decisions on the land can strengthen ecosystems and shape smarter conservation practices.
Science is happening here. And the next generation of land stewards and researchers is helping lead it.
Duke Farms
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Duke Farms is a living lab that puts nature first. A center of the Doris Duke Foundation.
Duke Farms serves as a model of environmental stewardship and inspires visitors to become informed stewards of the land. It is a place of education, enjoyment and research that enhances the environmental health of the region. Through the beauty of its natural setting, the diversity of its wildlife, and the scope and quality of its educational programs, demonstrations and research, Duke Farms inspi
07/23/2026
In just under a month, Duke Farms invites teachers to join us for a 3-day field ecology intensive designed specifically with educators in mind.
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/educators-field-techniques-school-tickets-1993377746500
EFTS is a course for teachers who want to see their students questioning, measuring, and making sense of the world around them, who know that every schoolyard, soccer field, and sidewalk crack has the potential to be an outdoor classroom, and who believe that the best way find a connection to nature is through curiosityâbut only if you pursue it.
In other words, EFTS is for anyone seeking to cultivate authentic community science programs in their classrooms and schools.
Over three days at Duke Farms, gain hands-on experience with the tools and methods that ecologists use to measure:
- soil health and carbon storage;
- successional dynamics in meadows;
- plant, invertebrate, and bird biodiversity;
- habitat structure and functional diversity in forests;
- climate-driven phenological trends.
We'll discuss how to set up field studies that produce both rigorous datasets and lasting student outcomes at the same time, and we'll take a look at the analytic and visualization tools that can help students turn those data into real understanding.
You'll leave equipped to confidently facilitate field experiences at your own school and establish or expand community science projects that empower students not only to think like scientists, but to act like them too.
What looks like a ruin is really a beginning.
The old foundation at Duke Farms is one of those quiet places where the past stays present â not frozen, but woven into the living landscape around it.
Stone, moss, memory, and renewal.
More than a nature park, a living lab to explore.
07/21/2026
Donât look at the light. Unless youâre a moth.
For , weâre celebrating these wildly underappreciated pollinators who help keep local ecosystems moving after sunset.
Join us for a Nighttime Moth Walk at Duke Farms on Friday, July 24. Weâll use a blacklight to observe moths up close, learn what makes different species unique, and spend the evening with the insects that rarely get the butterfly treatment.
Moth Madness is here. Come see what happens at Duke Farms after dark.
Friday, July 24
8:00â9:30 PM
Registration required- check out the Programs page on our website.
therapy is expensive. cows chewing grass is free. đđ§
sound on for emotional support livestock.
The quieter the equipment, the bigger the shift.
Since 2019, Duke Farms has been transitioning from gas-powered tools to battery-powered equipmentâfrom mowers to handheld tools and beyond.
At first, there was a fair question: could battery-powered equipment really keep up?
The answer, after years of daily use across the property, is yes.
Gas-powered lawn equipment can have an emissions footprint that rivals driving hundreds of miles in a car, especially when it comes to air pollutants. By moving toward electric equipment powered by clean energy generated onsite, Duke Farms is reducing fossil fuel use and showing the work can still get done.
That is the point of demonstration: not just saying another way is possible, but putting it to work.
More than a nature park.
A living lab for what works.
Plot twist: the cows are on the conservation team.
At Duke Farms, cattle help care for our grassland fields by grazing, trampling plants, and feeding the soil with what they leave behind.
Even their water tubs move with purpose, guiding where they graze so the land can rest and recover.
It is quieter than it is flashy.
But that is how a lot of good land work happens.
Whatâs growing in the CafĂ© Kitchen Garden right now?
is taking us into the raised beds to see whatâs in season, whatâs almost ready, and what might show up on the menu next.
At Duke Farms, food starts with care for the land â from what we grow here to the local farm produce Lauren sources for the CafĂ©âs seasonal dishes.
So now we want to know: whatâs growing in your garden thatâs making it onto your dinner plate?
See what Chef Lauren has cooking at the Duke Farms Café, Thursday through Saturday.
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1112 Dukes Pkwy W
Hillsborough, NJ
08844