Since 1969, your generous support has fueled our success. Read Friends of Princeton Open Space’s annual membership letter to see how your contributions are driving vital conservation efforts, from habitat restoration to mentoring young environmental leaders. Help us make even greater strides in 2025.
FOPOS seeks a part-time program coordinator to work directly with FOPOS’s Director of Natural Resources and Stewardship to manage the organization’s year-round volunteer stewardship program and community events series. The selected candidate should be detail-oriented and able to manage emails, databases, program messaging and schedules as well as improve upon existing systems and workflow. Ideally, the program coordinator will be an enthusiastic person supportive of and tapped into land stewardship and preservation within the greater Princeton area. Web design skills, and experience in fundraising or marketing and promoting a business are a plus. This is an administrative job that offers flexibility in location, with the ideal candidate available to participate in regular in-person meetings and work sessions, as well as be present for key events located at the Billy Johnson Mountain Lakes Nature Preserve in Princeton, NJ.
This is an ongoing position that has the potential to grow with the right candidate, and is suitable for professionals as well as recent graduates with applicable skill sets.
Over the past twelve months, Friends of Princeton Open Space has focused on ecological restoration projects and on educating the next generation of conservationists, including those from communities of color. We are happy to report that, with your support, we have chalked up major successes.
We’re thrilled to announce the winners of this year’s photo contest. While it’s never easy to choose, we think these top three are pretty outstanding.
The past twelve months have been filled with new projects and new achievements for Friends of Princeton Open Space that advance our mission to preserve and care for open space, educate the public on environmental issues, and advocate for sound governmental decisions. Here’s some of what we’ve accomplished with your support.
Join FOPOS and the NJ Invasive Species Strike Team for invasive species ID training at Mountain Lakes Preserve. Learn how to identify and properly eradicate emerging invasive species, like Linden viburnum and Oriental photinia. We’ll start the day with an indoor lecture, then take it to the trails for field ID training. RSVP is required, please email aelincompton@fopos.org.
When: Monday, June 4, 9:30 am to 12:30 pm
Where: Mountain Lakes House, 57 Mountain Ave, Princeton, NJ
Friends of Princeton Open Space is a partner of the New Jersey Invasive Species Strike Team.
The Strike Team is an organization aimed at eradicating New Jersey’s newly emerging invasive species before they can cause significant ecological damage to our forests. Friends of Princeton Open Space is contributing to this cause by working to reduce emerging invasive plants on our own preserves. We’re striving to turn Princeton’s open spaces into sources of biodiversity, to the benefit of local wildlife and neighboring ecosystems.
If you’d like to volunteer with FOPOS, to help stop the spread of invasive plants at Mountain Lakes Preserve, please contact AeLin Compton at info@fopos.org. Please also visit the New Jersey Invasive Species Strike Team website for more information on invasive species in the state of New Jersey. Learn how to ID invasive plants with their Target Species Fact Sheets. Also, help to stop the spread of invasive species in your own back yards by following their Do-Not-Plant List!
Friends of Princeton Open Space is working with Sustainable Princeton and other organizations in the community to create an interactive map of Princeton’s natural resources. The Princeton Green Connections Map is intended to show key green spaces and resources available for public enjoyment. Many FOPOS preserves, including Mountain Lakes, John Witherspoon Woods, and Community Park North, are featured for their hiking trails and beautiful natural landscapes.
Follow the link to explore the Princeton Green Connections Map and to suggest a site!
Emile DeVito, Ph.D., Manager of Science and Stewardship for the New Jersey Conservation Foundation, will be the featured speaker at the Friends of Princeton Open Space 2012 Annual Meeting onSunday April 29th at 3:00 PM at Mountain Lakes House. He will speak on “Using Shade to Restore the Forest Floor.”
“Our state and region are facing critical forest management issues and Dr. DeVito is a leader in helping to inform and shape public policy.” said Wendy Mager, FOPOS president. “His talk on restoring the forest floor will be of special interest to the Princeton community, where we are working actively to provide effective stewardship for our more than 1,000 acres of preserved woods and fields. ”
Mountain Lakes House is located at 57 Mountain Ave, Princeton. Following the meetings, refreshments will be served, and Dr. Devito and AeLin Compton, Natural Resources Manager for Friends of Princeton Open Space, will lead a walk in Mountain Lakes Preserve and adjacent Tusculum.
Anyone Wishing to attend is urged to RSVP by April 23 — phone (609) 921-2772.
Dr. DeVito received his doctorate in Ecology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1988 for research on bird communities and vegetation landscapes in New Jersey’s Pine Barrens. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Zoology from Rutgers University. Dr. Devito develops management plans designed to protect and enhance biological diversity for NJCF’s 20,000-plus acres of holdings. He is a trustee of the Pinelands Preservation Alliance and the NJ Natural Lands trust, and serves on the Endangered and Non-Game Species Advisory Committee within the NJ Division of Fish and Wildlife; the New Jersey Invasive Species Council; and the Science Advisory Committee of the NY-NJ Trail Conference.
Join Friends of Princeton Open Space on April 14th for a series of walks to celebrate Princeton's natural areas.
The walks, over long, medium and short courses, will commence at three different starting points and traverse paths and trails leading to Mountain Lakes House in the Mountain Lakes Preserve.
The Long Walk, about 90 minutes each way, will commence at the Hun School at 1 p.m. Walkers will follow a trail along the Stony Brook to connect to a bike path, local sidewalks, and ultimately across Coventry Farm into Mountain Lakes Preserve to Mountain Lakes House. Meet at the flag pole by the Athletic Center parking lots.
The Medium Walk, about 30 minutes each way, will start at the Stuart School parking area at 1:30 p.m. Participants will walk through the woods and fields of the 280+ acre preserve that is Princeton’s “central park” on their way to Mountain Lakes House.
The Short Walk, about 20 minutes each way, will begin at 1:45 at the Community Park North parking area off Mountain Avenue. The walk will go through the “piney woods” and across the fields of Tusculum on the way to Mountain Lakes House.
Each walk will be have a leader to show the way, and routes will be clearly marked. Walkers are urged to wear sturdy shoes that can get muddy and to be prepared to navigate some rocks and tree roots along the way as they explore our local open space.
The event is designed so that all walkers will meet at Mountain Lakes House at approximately 2 p.m. for refreshments before completing the round trip back to the parking areas. At Mountain Lakes House, Steve Hiltner, clarinetist with the Sustainable Jazz Ensemble (sustainablejazz.com), will be joined by Janet Vertesi on harp to play original compositions and standards with a spring theme. Steve also maintains the nature blog princetonnaturenotes.org.
Thanks to Good Food Naturally and Whole Earth Center for providing delicious and healthy snacks for hungry walkers! Please follow the links to their websites for more information.
To register, click here. For more information, email info@fopos.org or call 921-2772
