Fall into Autumn Hike

Bring your family out for a morning hike on the trails at the Mountain Lakes Preserve. Tammy Love, Teacher-Naturalists of Stony Brook-Millstone Watershed and AeLin Compton, FOPOS’ Naturalist, will help you will explore the Preserve and discover what the insects, birds, and mammals are doing to prepare for the impending cold weather. Together we will take a peek into the annual climax of the wild lives of wildlife! Fee of $5per person, payable that day. This hike is appropriate for children 6 and older.

RSVP is required, email mpolefka@thewatershed.org.

When: Saturday, November 2, 10:00AM – 12:00PM

Where: Mountain Lakes Preserve, Princeton; Parking lot off Mountain Avenue

Stuart School 7th Graders Help Restore Biodiversity in Mountain Lakes’ Forests

On Monday, September 16, Stuart Country Day School’s seventh grade class joined Friends of Princeton Open Space for an ecological restoration project at Mountain Lakes Preserve. They spent the morning planting a diversity of beneficial wildflowers in area once dominated by invasive plants.

Last month, FOPOS and Princeton cleared thousands of invasive plants from a section of degraded forest in Mountain Lakes Preserve (project detailed here). FOPOS staff and volunteers returned to the site this week with a group of 38 Stuart School students, armed and ready with gloves, shovels, and hundreds of native plants. They worked along the sunny edge of the restoration area, replanting it with a diversity of beneficial wildflowers. By the morning’s end, the students had successfully planted, mulched, and watered over 230 individual plants, including cutleaf coneflowers, wild bergamots, tall meadow rues, and several other species. These native wildflowers will create a beautiful border of yellow, white, and purple blooms, and provide critical habitat to important pollinators and bird populations.

A big thank you to all of the Stuart School volunteers! They’re hard work is creating a lasting impact on Mountain Lakes Preserve’s forest communities.

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