My friend James Degnen called me up recently, and with his deep baritone voice invited me to explore the Bulk Farm Nature Center--a new nature preserve in Plainsboro, NJ. A former tree nursery, the preserve has cherry blossoms in the spring, leaf color in the fall, and lovely vistas through the winter. Note: The back portion of the preserve, with trails that reach the Millstone River and a bald eagle nest high in a tree, is closed from January through July, to avoid the bald eagles' nesting activity.
Acquired in 2008, the property took fifteen years to prepare for public use, opening in September, 2023. Some soil contamination was found, likely requiring a lengthy bureaucratic process of remediation.
Though the 80 acre preserve is easily accessed at 179 Cranbury Neck Road, you'll need to navigate past the unusual name. It's called a Nature Center, but there's no building, and "Bulk" refers not to any particular aspect of the preserve, but instead to the family that once owned the farm. Like those housing developments that are named after whatever natural feature was destroyed during the course of development, this nature preserve may ironically be named after a building demolished after the land was preserved. Similarly, the gravel road bisecting the property is called Homestead Drive, leading presumably to a homestead that no longer exists.
James explained that the soft gravel of the Homestead Drive is to be avoided in favor of the mowed trails winding back along either side.
The map conveniently marks where benches can be found, built to last well into the next century.
The groves of nursery trees prove yet again that it's easier to plant a tree than to sell it.
Most trees are small, but somewhere towards the back right of the trail system we encountered an extraordinarily large river birch.
Towards the back of the preserve, you reach a gate that will be closed and locked for the first seven months of the new year. Bald eagles nest in a tree near the river, and are not to be disturbed.
It not being January yet, we were able to hike all the way to the back of the preserve, and see the very impressive eagle nest. The tree appears to be a red oak fighting a bad case of bacterial leaf scorch.
Beyond the eagles' nest, the trail ends at a tranquil spot along the Millstone River. James said the water continued to flow through the long drought this fall.
On the way back, James partook of a pet pleasure--releasing milkweed seeds to the wind.
One curious plant you may encounter in the expansive meadows is this shrub with red stems. Though multiflora rose is a highly aggressive, thorny invader of our natural areas, it is sometimes slowed down by a disease that spread to NJ from the midwest. Called rose rosette disease, the disease stunts the leaves of the multiflora rose and turns the stems red, particularly in sunny locations.
A gray birch's bark doesn't flake like the bark of a white birch. Both of these birch species are native further north.
The hike took about an hour. Thanks to James for making me aware of this new preserve a fifteen minute drive from Princeton. James' rich baritone voice, by the way, is in demand for doing voice-overs, and we collaborated back in 2019 on a film project in which we recast The King's Speech as a call for action on climate change.
Past adventures up Plainsboro way:
And another tree nursery turned nature preserve, in Lawrence Township:
No comments:
Post a Comment