Princeton--A Town of Idle Mini-Farms

Sometimes, returning home from travels can cause as much culture shock as going abroad. This time around, driving home after ten days in Spain, my neighborhood in Princeton looked suddenly very strange. Why, I wondered, are all the houses separated one from another? I had gotten used to seeing stand-alone houses in Spain only on farms we passed on the highway. In town, all dwellings were apartments or townhomes.

And what is all this vacant land around each house? What is it for? You mean we have to mow the lawns ourselves, with odd-looking, noisy machines? This perception--this "out of culture" experience--lasted only a few minutes before I again donned my cultural blinders and assumed the way we live our lives is normal.

In Spain (these photos are from the Extremadura region, where Pizarro came from), we only saw large expanses of "lawn" out in the country,

and the mowing was conveniently done by horses, sheep and cattle.

As is the case most anywhere, kids love to run out into a field of low cut grass, but in a pasture the grass is also serving to convert solar energy into something useful. Our lawns may look clean and subdued, but they grow nothing more than yardwaste.

So those were the few minutes of insight, gained through ten days of travel, that though Princeton is a town, it can also be seen as a particularly concentrated gathering of farmhouses, each surrounded by a miniature pasture that has long since forgotten its reason for being. With grazing animals long gone, we mow these pastures, not knowing quite why, other than that everyone else does, and it makes the idle land look tidy.

This is written at a time when two movements are pointing out how potentially useful these clusterings of idle mini-farms could be. The Eat Local movement sings the praises of vegetable gardens--in the backyard or right out front. Portions of schoolyards are being converted to vegetable gardens with great success. And environmentalists are encouraging us to convert parts of our lawns to native plant habitat.

Are these movements to be seen as radical change, or simply a means for the American landscape to find its way home after a very long and curious journey?

Exotic Plants and Disconnected Solar Panels

I tried googling exotic plants and disconnected solar panels, but didn't get much, despite the fact that they have a lot in common. Both plants and solar panels convert solar energy into forms that can be used in natural or human economies. A plant, if wildlife finds its leaves edible, transfers that captured solar energy up the food chain, from leaf to butterfly larva to bird. Solar panels transfer captured solar energy into a grid, to feed the machine world.

The leaves of exotic plant species--those that did not evolve in this area--are generally not edible to local wildlife. Many insect species, for instance, have become over countless millenia very specialized in their tastes, and will only eat certain native species. The energy captured in the foliage of most exotic plants, therefore, does not get transferred up the food chain. In that way, planting exotic plants in the yard is much like installing solar panels that remain unplugged.

The question can come up as to why one would want to plant something in the yard that's just going to get devoured by the local insect life, but there seems to be a balance struck. A few leaves are sacrificed, but the general appearance is not affected. I had one swamp milkweed plant stripped by monarch butterfly larvae, but that's been the exception. The response to that serendipitous "problem" was to plant more milkweeds, so there'd be plenty to go around the next year.

Walls Go Green in Madrid

Here's a figure deep in thought on a plaza in the museum district of Madrid, Spain. It's a beautiful spring day. What could he possibly be so perplexed about?

Nearby, there's a garden with many kinds of flowers, some of which look suspiciously like foamflowers native to the U.S.

Some others look like hostas and wild geraniums. Nothing particularly unusual.

But wait a minute! They're growing on a wall! Now that IS something to puzzle over.

From the side of the wall, it looks like the plants are growing in nothing much more than a thin wool-like fabric with small pockets cut into it, and a strong nylon backing. One thing about wall gardens: They're easy to water. Water is released from the top of the wall and trickles down through all the vegetation below. And you get a big effect while using next to no real estate.

Deciding What Nature To Bring Home

It's usually hard to find the silver lining in back pain, but a few days of incapacitation caused me to glance over at the bedside table and notice a book that had been waiting patiently there for nearly a year. Bringing Nature Home, it's called, by an entomologist named Douglass Tallamy, and inside its cover is a more meaningful journey than I had been managing of late with all powers of mobility intact.

What does a scholar of the insect world have to tell us about our own? Take for instance the decisions many homeowners are making this time of year about what new plants to bring into the garden. We usually make these decisions based on what looks pretty, what will grow to the right size, what will provide privacy or hide an unwanted view.

All of these qualities matter, but if one´s seeking meaning in a garden beyond pleasing views, Tallamy provides as good a guide as any to how your garden can either shun the local ecology or become an integral part thereof. In so doing, he provides answers to some basic questions like the difference between native and exotic plants, and the ecological consequences of planting one or the other. Establish enough of these building blocks of understanding in your thinking, and you´ll begin to see how decisions made about backyard plantings will help determine the fate of many species of wildlife that are becoming ever more marginalized. Each of us in our own small way has the power.

As my back pain (negative but instructive) and the accelerating local initiative to make Princeton more sustainable (highly positive) began mixing with Tallamy´s narrative, I started developing a Unified Theory that would finally explain the hidden connections between nature, local economies, and the ecology of back muscles. All of this may come out in subsequent posts, along with the answer to the question, How is an exotic plant like an unplugged solar panel?

PUBLIC MEETING ABOUT SUSTAINABLE PRINCETON PLAN

An important meeting for the environmental future of Princeton is coming up on Wednesday, March 11. The public will get a chance to learn more about and comment on the Sustainable Princeton Plan. This is the document that will guide Princeton's community-wide shift towards greater sustainability. Everyone--residents, schools, businesses, local governments--has both a stake and a hand in this effort. Please come to this event, to learn and give input.

At the March 11th workshop (7 p.m., Suzanne Patterson Center behind Princeton Borough Municipal Building, One Monument Drive), the draft document will be summarized, general comments will be made, and then the participants will break into small working groups to discuss how to carry out specific actions of the plan. Light Refreshments will be available.
For further information, please contact the Princeton Planning Director Lee Solow: 609/924-5366 or lsolow@princeton-township.nj.us

Additional information:

Sustainable Princeton Steering Committee, composed of municipal officials, representatives of Princeton groups and institutions, and local residents invites the public to participate in a Tuesday, March 11th, 7 p.m., workshop at the Suzanne Paterson Center , 1 Monument Drive, Princeton to review and comment upon the Sustainable Princeton Community Plan (SPCP). The draft plan outlines the goals and objectives of the Sustainable Princeton Initiative. The workshop will provide the input needed to finalize the SPCP and to launch the community on a course of achieving – and sustaining - a green and greener Princeton. Copies of the draft are available at the municipal buildings, the public library and online at http://www.princetontwp.org/Sustainable-Princeton-Draft2-5.pdf

The SPCPoutlines goals, identifies the sectors of the communities that would be implementing these goals, and presents action plans for fulfilling the goals, as well as strategies for measuring/tracking progress. The six goals are: green the built environment; improve transit/transportation; build local green economy; protect health and natural resources; curb greenhouse gases; foster community. The sectors - schools, businesses, residents, government - would be tasked with implementing specific action plans.

Sustainable Princeton had its roots within the Princeton Environmental Commission, which asked the municipalities to form a Sustainable Princeton Steering Committee two years ago and to hire New Jersey Sustainable State Institute (NJSSI) to help the municipalities embark upon a cohesive and effective plan to make the Princetons a model of sustainability in New Jersey. With a grant from the Municipal Land Use Center of New Jersey, the municipalities were able to sustain the Sustainable Princeton Initiative and to develop the Sustainable Princeton Community Plan on which the public is being asked to comment.

The Case of the Missing Babies

Princeton has quite a few natural areas, but in another way, I would say that we are not providing for the needs of kids for nature. Take for instance the strong need in children to witness the wonder of creation and growth. By this, I mean the birth and growth of baby animals. The breeding of dogs is largely left to professionals. Kittens are scarce, which may be just as well, given the toll stray cats can exact on local birds. Farms open to the public are few and require a drive.

What do we have to fill this void? Some people are lucky to have birds nest close to a window. My daughters have seen Monarch caterpillars grow into butterflies, and seen cicadas emerge from their shells. They were delighted to find baby goldfish in our backyard miniponds, and promptly gave them all names. But really this is slim pickins when compared to all the joy, wonder and learning that could be taking place. 

So, what do I tell my eight year old when she pleas to buy an exotic frog at the local store? We know that the trade in exotic pets, as with the importation of exotic plants, has contributed to the unraveling of our ecosystems, as well-meaning owners release exotic animals into the wild when they can no longer care for them at home. 

This situation is akin to the difficulties gardeners face when they seek out native plants to buy. What we have in both cases is a void in local native offerings that people then seek to fill by importing exotics. There are, fortunately, some steps being taken to supply local native plants to buy. The Friends of Princeton Open Space has held small native plant sales the past two years. Bowman's Hill Wildflower Preserve sells native plants, and other local organizations like Stonybrook Watershed Association and the Mercer County Master Gardeners have periodic sales. Most promising, in terms of scale and sticking to local genotypes, is D&R Greenway's efforts, which began with a sale this past fall. 

The more difficult problem is how to fill the void in children's lives, when demonstrations of nature's fecundity are so hard to find. I remember as a kid bringing a couple tadpoles home from some nearby pond and watching them grow legs in our aquarium. That's the kind of thing I have in mind. Though nowadays we're discouraged from foraging in the wild, there must be an alternative to teaching kids that nature is something they buy at the local store.

Nature Hike Sunday, Feb. 15

All yee cabin fevered,

You're invited to participate in a nature hike this Sunday, Feb. 15, at Autumn Hill Reservation on the eastern side of Princeton. Meet at 10:30am at the parking lot on Herrontown Road, north of Snowden Lane and south of Bunn Drive. Though the walk is primarily a chance to venture out of doors and explore one of Princeton's less-known preserves, we'll also be taking notes on the condition of the trails and signage, and acquiring the bare necessities for tree identification in the winter. We'll be talkin' twigs and bark to our hearts' content. These hikes stick to the trails, but conversations often veer far from the beaten path.

There may be some muddy patches, so wear boots. Below are some relevant websites.

Steve Hiltner

Natural Resources Manager, Friends of Princeton Open Space

http://www.princetontwp.org/authill.html

http://www.njtrails.org/trailguide.php?TrailID=97

Patterns In Carnegie Lake Ice

Such joy and mystery a frozen lake holds. The Princeton recreation department declared Carnegie Lake safe two days ago, and we managed to get out there before last night's snow came down, like a curtain on a fantasy play. The ice was smooth in places, a bit rough in others, whispering its secrets to us as we skated from hither to yon and back again.

There was the pleasure of joining the impromptu Skaters Without Borders club, of escaping the tyranny of counter clockwise motion imposed by all skating rinks, as if the whole population is incapable of turning to the right.


But most fascinating was the story the ice was quietly telling, through the language of its patterns, of how it formed. I have no idea how the ice makes eyes--those circles that look like a dark pupil with rays of the iris radiating outward.
The others? My guess is that the white plates embedded in the ice reveal that the ice froze some weeks ago, then broke apart, then refroze, capturing the leftover chunks in the new formation.


Snow then fell, obscuring the ice and preventing the township from testing the ice to declare it safe. During this time, an intrepid cross-country skier and two hikers traversed the lake, leaving their tracks. When the snow melted on a warm day, the tracks melted differently than the uncompressed snow, then refroze.




In other photos, a fish frozen in the season's amber of ice.



A gathering of geese left their unmistakable traces.


And broad lines traversing the lake give a mini-lesson in plate tectonics, showing where the expanding ice formed fractures.

Droop du Jour

Most of the year, this evergreen shrub is an inexpressive green blob in the yard, but nothing says cold like a Rhododendron. When the temperatures dipped down into the 20s and teens recently, most trees and shrubs looked unperturbed. But all the Rhododendrons in town struck a compelling pose, telling every passer by what they already knew: "It's cold out here!"

SKATING ON CARNEGIE LAKE!

Spread the word. The township rec dept. has given the green light for skating on Carnegie Lake. I haven't been down yet, so don't know how smooth the ice is, but that's definitely the afterschool destination. Here's the website where the township provides up to date info on skating conditions at three locations in Princeton: http://www.leaguelineup.com/welcome.asp?url=princetonrecreation.

Mountain Lakes Dams To Be Restored

Long-existing plans to restore the historic dams at Mountain Lakes are now moving ahead. Last week, engineers and historians did a walk through to discuss various details of the plans. The dams were built around 1900 in order to harvest ice, which was stored in three-story barns just below the lower dam.

The photo shows the old spillway, now reinforced with loose rock to prevent it from collapsing. There was some uncertainty about whether the lakes could be dredged as part of the restoration, but the township is now more optimistic about funding, including the possibility of tapping into the upcoming federal economic stimulus package. A great deal of silt has accumulated in the lakes over the past 100 years. Two small dams upstream that used to trap the silt are completely filled, and now the upper lake has six feet of silt, with only one foot of water on top.

A Distinguished Backyard Thief

A typical backyard scene on an atypically warm December day. But wait what is that speck of gray near one of the mini-ponds?


I happened to look out the back window today just as a great blue heron swooped in to take a close look at my water features. After scrutinizing one for awhile, and finding it lacking in edible objects, the big bird strolled over to the other minipond and almost immediately plunged its long neck into the water. Its bill flashed orange as it emerged with lunch, in the form of the one goldfish it hadn't managed to get on its last observed visit two years prior.


Looks like it's time for a restocking program.

Where Do The Children Play?

For anyone interested in the role of nature and play in child development, and the effect thereon of suburban development and school policies, I highly recommend checking out (literally, from the Princeton Public Library or elsewhere) the movie Where Do The Children Play. The Waldorf School sponsored a showing of the movie at the Princeton Public Library last night, with some of those involved in its making on hand to answer questions afterward.

The premise is that children whose schedules are overbooked, who spend large amounts of time in front of computer and TV screens and who are kept indoors by overly protective parents, are at risk. The lack of opportunities to be in nature or to explore their creativity in free play can cause children to lose touch with their creative impulses and capacity for free thinking. Connected to this is the reduced sense of place many suburban kids feel, growing up in neighborhoods where neighbors don't know one another, and where the ability for them to walk or bike to destinations is limited by sprawl. Some excellent interviews with Richard Louv and others are featured.

The movie was developed in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where I lived for many years. Though Ann Arbor is one of the safest towns around, an effort to get kids to walk to school failed miserably, apparently due to pervasive fears of "stranger danger".

More info on the movie can be found at:
http://www.wfum.org/childrenplay/index.html

The library has copies of the movie and companion books.

Movie Thursday at Public Library

"Where Do The Children Play", a movie about how "sprawl, congestion, and endless suburban development" have changed the landscape for childhood and may be affecting children's mental and physical health, will be presented at the Princeton Public Library this Thursday, Dec. 4 at 7pm.

It's interesting to note that Princeton used to have high school kids playing the role of "camp counselors" at various parks throughout town during the summer, where kids in the neighborhood could go at any point during the day and play various games. Whereas now the system is centralized, with a rec dept. summer camp at Community Park South, it used to be a free-flowing, neighborhood-based system. Harrison Street Park and Little Brook Elementary are two home bases I've heard about, and there were no doubt others. I've heard, too, that neighborhoods would play each other in sports contests, though this hasn't been corroborated. That would certainly have created a sense of neighborhood identity.

The Forgotten Pleasure and Utility of Autumn Leaves

(First appeared in the Princeton Packet)

Of all the contrasts in perspective between children and adults, none is more striking this time of year than in how we view autumn leaves. For children, leaves are a crisp sound underfoot, a source of beauty in color and flight, a gift from above to revel and play in. For many adults, that joy and gratitude mutates into resentment and complaint. Glorious leaves become an unwieldy burden called “yardwaste”.

There is plenty of adult logic to suggest that the child’s view is less naïve. Each time leaves get piled on the curb for pickup, the urban soil becomes less fertile, less absorbent, less hospitable to birds and other wildlife. The yard’s loss then becomes a public hazard, obstructing traffic and polluting local streams with nutrients. The CO2 spewing from battalions of leaf blowers, and the municipal convoys that scoop up the leaves and haul them out of town, hastens spaceship earth towards the tipping point of ecological havoc.

But I can understand why people grow resentful. Trees, in their own quiet but relentless way, are ongoing critics of our way of life. They are constantly dumping some sort of detritus on our patios, our houses, our idle lawns. Whether it's spent flowers in spring, seeds and sticks through the summer or dead leaves in the fall, the message is clear. Trees are predisposed to bury our coiffured human habitats and bring back a cool, moist forest floor into which they can spread their roots.

It’s best not to take this personally. And though our adult bodies may not be ready to leap into a pile of leaves for the sheer pleasure of it, there are ways to smuggle into adulthood a child’s gratitude for leaves. To get along with nature, and to sustain hospitable conditions on our one and only spaceship, it helps to work as nature works, by finding opportunity in discarded things. Nature has no landfills. All “stuff” travels in an endless circle, from life to death and back again. Think, therefore, of your yard not in terms of leaf exports and fertilizer imports, but as an economy unto itself, where plants extract nutrients from the soil, then send them dancing back down again as spent leaves to replenish the soil and all the life it holds.

To accommodate autumn's harvest in our tidy urban landscapes, become a connoisseur of leaves. For each type there is a strategy. Pine needles make an attractive mulch under shrubs and trees. Locust leaves are so small they require no raking at all. Silver maple leaves curl up and quickly decompose, so can be raked into flower beds or ground up by the lawn mower and left on the grass. Oak leaves, being thicker and longer lasting, will need to be corralled in a corner of the lot to settle back into the earth over time.

Children may push their vegetables away, but they know a thing or two about appreciating leaves. For the leaf-spurning adult world, it’s worth taking a fresh look at autumn’s harvest. Surely there is some measure of happiness to be regained when a foe becomes a friend, when the eye sees not burden but opportunity falling all around.

More information can be found in the Fall Leaf Management brochure, published by the Princeton Environmental Commission, available at town halls and downloadable from www.princetonboro.org.

Native Shrub Border

A fine example of using native shrubs in a foundation planting was in its fall glory at the Princeton Junior School earlier this month. The yellow is sweet pepperbush (Clethra alnifolia). Virginia sweetspire (Itea virginica) is burgundy, with a bit of blueberry (orange) in the lower right.


Dwarf witchalder (Fothergilla gardenii) is the dazzling orange in the second photo, with Clethra to the left, then the evergreen inkberry holly (Ilex glabra). Another holly in the planting, not shown, is winterberry (Itea verticillata). Most of these shrubs are rarely found in the wild (Fothergilla does not even include NJ in its natural range) but grow easily in gardens.

The colors are particularly brilliant because these shrubs get a good dose of sun, but they'll do well even when planted in mostly shade.

The rainbarrel, by the way, is connected to soaker hoses that run through the planting, and actually provided some decent water pressure for the attached hose and spigot. There's a screen on top to filter the water and keep out mosquitoes.

Most rainbarrels, this one included, are way undersized when compared to how much water pours down a typical downspout.

Fall's Last Flowers

From the outside looking in, the Princeton High School wetland ecolab looks pretty spent, as it should by the end of October. But a few flowers are hanging on.


This post's second photo is of native black-eyed susan blooming on top of black plastic laid down to contain weeds in some areas.

Third photo is of Helianthus tuberosa, a.k.a. Jerusalem Artichoke--a strangely named native sunflower whose tubers were eaten by American Indians. It's now grown as an edible ornamental.


The pale blue flower in the fourth photo is mistflower--a native perennial that looks like an exotic annual that's sold at nurseries.
Though most flowers are lingering from the summer, the fourth photo shows marsh marigold, a spring bloomer that the weather apparently fooled into blooming in the fall.

In the fifth photo, red clover, a good example of an exotic species that doesn't take over.

The last photo shows not a flower but the color of silky dogwood, a native shrub often found in the wild.

Happy Halloween Update

Some art is not destined for immortality. I was dismayed to find this grizzly scene in my front yard the other day. The Ivy Tailed Deer featured in a Halloween post must have had its dinner of native wildflowers rudely interrupted, as its table, dishware and wine were repossessed by budding art critics, unbeknownst to me. This appears to have been an inside job.

Uptick in Squirrel Graffiti

There's been a noticeable uptick in squirrel graffiti this fall, as pumpkins all over town have been literally defaced, or perhaps refaced. My daughter carved a fine ghost at a halloween party, only to have the ghost consumed the next day by a resident rodent.

One interpretation is that squirrels have turned their substantial intelligence and expressive range to the art of pumpkin carving. Since they aren't afraid of ghosts, they choose to refashion pumpkins with what they consider to be far scarier images--car wheels and cats, for instance. Thus, the circular nature of their carvings, with something ear-like sticking out on top.

Richard Louv in Princeton Thursday, Nov. 6

Richard Louv's book, Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children From Nature Deficit Disorder, struck a chord among many of us who wonder about where the next generation of environmentalists will come from in an age more and more dominated by urban and electronic experiences. Current educational movements like No Child Left Inside owe much to Louv's research and writing.

Come hear him speak at the Princeton High School Trego-Biancosino Auditorium at 7:30 this Thursday, Nov. 6. The talk is free and open to the public, and is sponsored by Common Ground and the Princeton Junior School. For more information on Common Ground, go to http://www.princetoncommonground.org/page.cfm?p=57.

Happy Halloween!

The Ivy-Tailed Deer, an English species known for its taste in French wine, was caught here dining on native wildflowers. Deer traditionally dress as invasive pest plants on Halloween, just to scare the dogwoods (background).

A Strange Fox at Greenway Meadows

A couple days ago, Christy and Brian Nann sent me these photos of an animal they had seen at Greenway Meadows. In the first photo, it almost looks like a young deer, but the second photo suggested to us a strange version of a coyote.

I sent the photos to the Mercer County Wildlife Center for identification. Diane Nickerson emailed back that "it appears to be a red fox with a severe case of sarcoptic mange", and that the Center could treat it if it were trapped. Unfortunately, if the photos were taken back in August, there's little chance the fox has survived this long.

Odd Invasives Showing Up

During frequent visits to local nature preserves, I am periodically surprised to see a new plant on the scene. This has been happening more frequently lately, for some reason, and the new plants tend to be exotic species that may or may not prove to be invasive.

The first photo, taken in August at Greenway Meadows in a wooded area, is cutleaf blackberry (Rubus laciniatus).

The second, which I found growing both at the D&R canal and at Mountain Lakes, is water lettuce (Pistia stratiotes).

One day, I was in the Rogers Refuge parking lot and happened to look down at the plants growing along its edge, and was surprised to find a vine with five leaflets (third photo) It is most likely chocolate vine (Akebia quinata).

Thanks to Rachel Mackow for help with identifying these species. Rachel works for Friends of Hopewell Valley Open Space, and is very involved with organizing the Central Jersey Invasive Species Strike Team.

As with all problems, it's far easier to reduce the negative ecological impact of invasive species by intervening when they first show up, rather than waiting until they have spread so much as to be uncontrollable. The Strike Team's mission is to detect invasions early, and respond as quickly as possible. Up to now, New Jersey has not had that capability.

Name That Tree

Warning. This is a trick question. That lovely shade of gold in the distance looks like a tree. But a closer look reveals leaves of three. And why does it look like the trunk continues up past the gold, to a part of the tree that's lost all its leaves?

Turns out this bright contribution to fall's glory is a poison ivy "tree"--a vine that has climbed halfway up a tree, then sent out branches to flower and set seed on. One thing to take note of in the forest is that vines never bloom when they're crawling on the ground. Only upon making an ascent, up a tree trunk or up and over a shrub, do they send out flower shoots.

There's something else telling about Princeton woods in this photo. The tree canopy at the top of the photo has lost nearly all of its leaves, while the understory is still green. One distinguishing feature of many exotics is that they hold their leaves later in the fall and green up earlier in the spring. As evidenced here, the trees are mostly native, while the understory is predominantly exotic. This difference in timing may have to do with the different climate in which the exotics evolved.

Planting Session, Upcoming Talks, Wildlife Sightings

This Saturday, October 18, I'll be leading a planting session at Mountain Lakes. Come help if you can. We'll be planting some native shrubs grown from "live stakes" this past spring, some wildflowers, and a few tree seedlings lovingly cared for over the summer by FOPOS volunteer Kim Frances. Bring shovels and/or trowels, and gloves. Should be brisk but sunny. We'll meet at Mountain Lakes House, up the long paved driveway at 57 Mountain Ave.

Upcoming talks I'm aware of are by Peter Raven, Director of the Missouri Botanical Garden, speaking this Monday at 4:30pm at Princeton University on Sustainability and the Future, and a talk by Richard Louv at the Princeton High School on Nov. 6 at 7:30. Louv is best known for his very influencial and timely book, Last Child in the Woods: Combatting Nature Deficit Disorder.

Recent wildlife sightings: a flying squirrel gliding between trees in my backyard and a hatching of thousands of craneflies that have been incongrously hanging out on the JW middle school athletic field. And of course it's a good time of year to fill your memory banks with vivid fall colors, the better to hold you over through the muted visual fare of winter.

Rogers Refuge in the Fall

It was a good year for wild rice at Rogers Refuge, down next to the Stony Brook in Princeton. This broad marsh, seen from the observation deck, looks monochromatic this time of year, but actually harbors a great diversity of native wetland species.

The second photo shows the seeds maturing a few at a time, soon to fall off or be grabbed by birds.


Like corn, wild rice is an annual grass that in just a few months can grow twelve feet high from a small seed that sprouts in the mud in shallow water.

The third photo shows towering wild rice stalks, already stripped of seed. Some years are better than others for the wild rice, though 2008 was a banner year, aided by the removal of an acre or two of Phragmitis by the Partners for Fish and Wildlife in 2006.

Providing some bright color at the refuge is Virginia Creeper. Like many other vines, it only blooms and bears seeds when it climbs up a tree.

Water Watch Cleans Up Along the Canal

On September 20, twenty Princeton University students gathered at Turning Basin Park to clean up litter and remove invasive species. Megan Prier of Princeton's Water Watch organized the event. Half the crew took to the canal in canoes, in search of floating debris, while the rest of us took on a grove of Ailanthus (Tree of Heaven) growing on a slope overlooking the D&R canal.

The Ailanthus, like porcelain berry, purple loosestrife, lesser celandine and other exotics, uses the canal as an avenue for spread. Water lettuce, shown in the photo, may be another one to add to that list.

The Ailanthus was competing with some ornamental cherry trees growing next to the towpath, and was also blocking the view of the bench. For many of the students, it was a first encounter with the art of canoe paddling, the citrony fragrance of native spicebush leaves, and the satisfaction of completely clearing an embankment of an invasive weed. Thanks to Water Watch and the university students for helping tend to this popular trail corridor and entryway into town.

Free Invasive Plant Identification Workshop

Below is some info on a free invasive plant identification workshop.

Central Jersey Invasive Species Strike Team Plant ID Workshop

D&R Greenway - Johnson Education Center, Princeton, NJ

Tuesday, October 14

9:30 am - 12:00 pm

D&R Greenway Plant Sale Thursday

The D&R Greenway is having an exhibit opening tomorrow that will include the first selling of native plants from the nursery they're developing. The plants have been propagated from local genotypes, meaning that these plants carry genetic material from plants that have grown in the Princeton area for millenia. Some characteristics of a native species can vary across its range. Selling local genotypes preserves these special characteristics.
Below is information on the event, and also a list of plants being sold. Most are trees, but there are a couple wildflowers, most notably boneset (see recent posts).


From http://www.drgreenway.org/:

"The Land That Feeds You, Celebrating Farms and Farmers"
- a mixed media art exhibition celebrating agriculture in the Garden State

Join us for the Opening Reception on Thursday, September 25th, 5:30 - 7:30 p.m.
featuring art, local foods and wines.
Featured Speakers: Charles Kuperus, Secretary, NJ Dept. of Agriculture, "Import of Agriculture to the Garden State" and Michelle Mulder, Counsel to Congressman Rush Holt, on the Congressman's New Community Supported Agriculture Bill.

Purchase the first specimens from D&R Greenway's Native Plant Nursery! This event is free, but reservations are requested. Music by Bill Flemer Riverside Bluegrass Band. Art is available for purchase, 35% of the purchase price is a tax-deductible contribution to D&R Greenway's land preservation mission.
RSVP requested: 609-924-4646

Plant List for the plant sale:

Spicebush

Arrowwood

Winterberry

Serviceberry (A. Laevis)

Persimmon

Shagbark Hickory, White Oak, Chestnut Oak, N. Red Oak (all one-year old as they are deep tap-rooters)

Black Birch

Tuliptree

Boneset

Golden Ragwort