Mountain Lakes is now a Monarch Waystation
The Mountain Lakes Nature Preserve is now a certified Monarch Waystation, sponsored by Monarch Watch. Monarch Watch is a non-profit organization started by the University of Kansas, Department of Entomology. On their website you can view a map of certified Monarch Waystations, report a tagged monarch butterfly, and read up on monarch conservation.
These butterflies are endangered due to lack of habitat and pesticide usage. Monarchs only lay eggs on milkweed plants, as it is the only plants the caterpillars can eat. Tusculum Meadow and the J. Seward Johnson, Sr. Trail, bordering Coventry Farm, starting on Great Road, are both fantastic monarch habitats and contain lots of milkweed and nectar providing plants. Mountain Lakes is proud to be a certified stop for monarchs on their incredible migration south to Mexico for the winter.
For more information on monarch butteflies and how to help their conservation efforts, visit Monarch Watch and The Xerces Society.
Woodfield Reservation Update
This summer, the FOPOS Trail Crew has been hard at work restoring and repairing the trails at Woodfield Reservation. Last year, the crew cleared several thousand feet of trails to make it walk-able. This year’s project has been constructing boardwalks over swampy and wet trails. Thus far, in June and July, the team had 9 workdays with a total of 14 volunteers resulting in 162 work hours, 360 feet of constructed boardwalks and 130 feet of relocated trails.
If you are interested in helping our volunteer crew for the remainder of the summer, and into the fall, please email us at info@fopos.org.
Friends of Princeton Open Space Receives Franklin Parker Grant
Friends of Princeton Open Space (“FOPOS”) is pleased to announce that it has recently received its third Franklin Parker Excellence Grant, through a grant program administered by New Jersey Conservation Foundation. Previous grants were used for projects in the 400-acre Mountain Lakes Open Space Area that surrounds FOPOS’s headquarters at Mountain Lakes House, and included installing native plants, constructing deer exclosures to protect native trees, shrubs and plants, and removing invasive species.
This year’s grant will be used to purchase resources to teach children from local schools and summer camps the importance and wonder of the natural world. The children will be able to use equipment such as microscopes, insect nets and water quality testing kits to study plants and animals in our parks, and will also be given supplies for activities to do at home.
Since receiving the grant in June, FOPOS has already hosted 36 children from the Princeton YMCA Outdoor Living Skills camp. FOPOS Natural Resources Manager Jeff Geist, along with summer interns Anna Korn and Katrina O’Donnell, gave the children a guided hike, pointed out edible wild berries, identified trees and wildlife, and taught basic outdoor first-aid. FOPOS hopes to partner with many other school and camp groups to continue its environmental education work with the new equipment.
FOPOS Hosts Princeton YMCA Outdoor Living Skills Camp
The Friends of Princeton Open Space hosted 36 kids from the Princeton YMCA Outdoor Living Skills Camp on Tuesday, July 18 from 10:00-2:00. During their time here, the campers learned about, and practiced, Leave No Trace, the set of guidelines for all hikers, campers, etc.
FOPOS Natural Resource Manager, Jeff Geist, and two summer interns, Anna Korn & Katrina O'Donnell, guided the group around the property. During their 2 mile hike, the kids learned about tree identification, how to identify edible plants (they all loved wineberries), and the guides helped them with bird and other animal identification. We rounded out the hike with butterfly and other bug collecting at the Tusculum Meadow.
The group then enjoyed lunch at Pettoranello Gardens, followed by a brief lesson on outdoor first aid. Finally, the group all created key chains to remind them of the 7 Principles of Leave No Trace.
