Description
Help The Nature Conservancy raise awareness of New Jersey wildlife and the lands and waters they rely on! Sign up for our FREE virtual challenge to walk or run routes through some of our state's iconic landscapes without having to leave your neighborhood. The first 75 participants will get a free NJ Walk for Wildlife t-shirt! Limit 4 people per registration; t-shirts only available in adult sizes.
Register, print your bib, and then walk or run wherever you feel safe (and following CDC guidelines). Enter your completed distances on one of our three route options and follow your progress virtually on our route maps. Earn a digital badges along the way!
Finish one route or all three; the challenge runs October 15 to November 15, right when the local weather is perfect for exercise. The animals and routes represent some of our priority projects in New Jersey:
Cape May Beach
The fragile piping plover relies on New Jersey's beaches for nesting and raising young. Our restoration at South Cape May Meadows provides habitat for this endangered species and other animals and protects the surrounding towns from flooding. Complete a 3.1-mile (5K) virtual route along the Cape May shoreline that culminates on the shores of TNC's birding-paradise preserve.
Bobcat Alley
Bobcats once went extinct in New Jersey and are still endangered here. We are working to create Bobcat Alley, a protected habitat corridor that links the Appalachian and Highland mountain ranges so these native felines have room to roam and thrive. The small population of cats here need to move an average of 7 miles a day to survive! Walk or run this 6-mile virtual route from White Lake WMA to the Delaware Water Gap, just like a bobcat would.
Paulins Kill River
American shad migrate every year from the Atlantic Ocean up the Delaware River and its tributaries to spawn, and then back again. We are restoring the Paulins Kill, New Jersey's third largest tributary to the Delaware, removing the 100-year old Columbia Dam migration impediment and restoring habitat along the river to improve water quality for this struggling fish species. Mark the 11 miles of river that were opened to shad spawning by the removal of the Columbia Dam on this route! You will follow the shad's path from the Delaware and up the Paulins Kill.
Get moving for wildlife!
Virtual Bib
After you sign up, click on your assigned number in the participant list to get your virtual bib. Print it out and wear it when you walk/run to show that you are on Team Wildlife!
Click here to go to participant list
The Routes
The Walk for NJ Wildlife Challenge is made up of three routes. You can walk/run one or all of them! (Note: You will only be able to access the route maps if you have entered results for your bib # for that route.) Here is how to monitor your progress on each route:
1) Click on "Results" on the top navigation bar
2) Choose a route in the "Results Set" dropdown box
3) Find your name or bib # by typing in the search box, and click on your name
4) Click on the "Compare Progress on Map" image at the top of the page. The distance you have completed will show against the total route!
5) This page is also where you can share photos (please do!), see what badges you have earned in the "Trophy Case" and print your completion certificate
Completion Certificate
Whenever you make progress on any of the three walk/run routes, click here to submit your distance and time
When you complete the full distance of any of the Cape May, Bobcat Alley or Paulins Kill routes, go to the results, click on you name to see your individual time and get your completion certificate. There is a certificate for each of the three "legs" of the challenge...collect them all!
Donate to Protect Nature!
Help us protect habitat for wildlife! Contribute to The Nature Conservancy so we can continue our great work in New Jersey and around the globe to benefit nature, wildlife and people. Donations are tax deductible. Thank you!
Race Contact Info
If you have any questions about this race, click the button below.
Race Participant Survey
Please complete the following survey to help us better understand your race experience.
