Forest Facelift at Mountain Lakes Preserve

Friends of Princeton Open Space, in partnership with Princeton Municipality, began efforts to restore a section of heavily degraded forests within Mountain Lakes Preserve. Last week, the partnering organizations oversaw complete removal of invasive plants across the 2-acre restoration site, clearing the way for lasting improvements to the forest community.

Dense thickets of aggressive, non-native plants, including Oriental photinia and exotic honeysuckles once dominated the forest floor. The invasive plants provided little value to local wildlife and heavily impacted the forests’ long term health and sustainability.

Before restoration work

Invasive plant removal marks the first phase in the long-term ecological restoration of the forest community. Next, FOPOS and Princeton aims to reestablish a diversity of native plants, to the benefit of local wildlife and enjoyment of park visitors. FOPOS will partner with local volunteers and school groups in the coming months to replant the forest floor with hundreds of beneficial shrubs, grasses, and wildflowers. Protective fencing will surround the site to provide a necessary barrier between the native seedlings and overabundant deer.

After invasive plant removal

Funding and assistance for this project was also provided by Conservation Resources’ Franklin Parker Small Grant Program, and the NJ Fish and Widlife’s Partners Program.

If you’d like get involved with the project, please contact FOPOS’s naturalist at aelincompton@fopos.org.

And stay tuned!

Plant Discovery Walk with YMCA

Princeton’s forests are filled with a diversity of beautiful, beneficial, and sometimes delicious plants. Earlier this week, an eager group of 20 “Kamping Kids” discovered that truth at Mountain Lakes Preserve. The YMCA camp group joined FOPOS Naturalist, AeLin Compton, for an Edible Plants Walk. Together, they hiked through Mountain Lakes’ trails, stopping to explore some of the Preserves’ most interesting and edible plants. They feasted on wineberries (an invasive relative of the domestic raspberry), sampled jewelweed seeds, wood sorrels, and many more.

Join Us for These Exciting Summer Events

The Edge of Darkness

Families (children 5yo+) and adults are invited to join SBMWA Education Director Jeff

Hoagland on an evening walk at the Mountain Lakes Preserve in Princeton to explore the wonders of the natural world during dusk on a summer evening. Discover the intersection between the diurnal and nocturnal worlds as we observe feeding fish and bats as well as singing insects. Bring a picnic meal to enjoy on the terrace at Mountain Lakes House before our walk. Call the SBMWA Education department, 609-737-7592, to register. Fee is $5 per person. This program is co-sponsored by Stony Brook-Millstone Watershed Association.

When: Wednesday, July 31, 7:00-8:30PM

Where: Mountain Lakes Preserve, 57 Mountain Avenue, Princeton

Lake Carnegie Paddle

Join us for a guided morning paddle on Lake Carnegie, in cooperation with Griggstown Canoe and Kayak Rental in Princeton. Naturalist and Education Director Jeff Hoagland will share some of the many wonders of Lake Carnegie. View the lake from a different perspective, discovering firsthand a wide array of plant and animal life. Fee ranges from $25 – $50, depending on watercraft rental. Call the SBMWA Education department, 609-737-7592, to register. Co-sponsored by Stony Brook-Millstone Watershed Association.

When: Saturday, August 3, 9:30AM – 12:00PM

Where: Turning Basin Park, Alexander Road, Princeton

Girl Scouts Celebrate Earth Day with Service Project at Mountain Lakes Prerserve

The Princeton Girl Scouts Service Unit joined Friends of Princeton Open Space for an Earth Day Celebration at Mountain Lakes Preserve, on April 21. The group honored the holiday with a service project to plant 40 new trees and shrubs along the Preserve’s woods and lake. Afterwards, the girls enjoyed crafts and snacks at the Mountain Lakes House. FOPOS’s naturalist also led them through a nature scavenger hunt in Witherspoon Woods, where they explored the many trees, flowers, and fungi growing in our local environment.

A big thank you to Jean Crider, Elizabeth Monroe, and all the wonderful Girl Scouts for donating their time to bring new life in Mountain Lakes’ forests.

Thank you also to the New Jersey Tree Foundation for providing trees and shrubs, as part of their Celebrate Arbor Day program to plant over 10,000 trees across the state.

Explore Witherspoon Woods

Adults and families with children 6 and older are invited to join Jeff Hoagland, Education Director of Stony Brook-Millstone Watershed Association, for an enlightening look at the geology, ecology and human history of this unique forest in Princeton. We will discover ‘life and death’ in the forest while examining a myriad of adaptations in various species. This hike will take us through mature forest, along old stonewalls, across small streams and through a memorable boulder field including Devil’s Cave. Registration is required – please email mpolefka@thewatershed.org or call 609-737-7592 for more information and to sign up. Fee is $5 per person, payable that day. This program is co-sponsored by Stony Brook-Millstone Watershed Association and Washington Crossing Audubon.

When: Saturday, May 4, 2013, 9:30AM – 12:00PM

Where: Cherry Hill Road, Princeton, NJ. Meet at gravel parking lot; sign at entrance reads “Witherspoon Woods”