Fall foliage walk with a history focus

Saturday, October 24h, 1:00 p.m.

The Kingston Greenways Association will be holding their annual Fall Foliage Walk on Saturday, Oct. 24th at 1:00 p.m. (The walk was rained out on Oct. 17th, so has been rescheduled.)

This year's event will be led by the D & R Canal State Park's historian, Vicki Chirco. This leisurely 2-mile stroll will start at the Mapleton Preserve/D&R Canal State Park, 145 Mapleton Road in Kingston, NJ.

We will proceed from the headquarters building through a portion of the Mapleton Preserve (the former Princeton Nurseries site) towards the canal towpath and the Kingston Canal House before turning back.

The fall foliage should be in full display so come enjoy an afternoon outdoors, learning a bit about the historic and natural resources of the D & R Canal State Park and the Princeton Nursery Lands! For more information, call 924-5705, or email tari@kingstongreenways.org

"Bug’s-Eye View” - A Macro Photography Workshop with Wil and Donna Hershberger

Common virtuoso katydid

photo by Wil Hershberger

Saturday, August 8th, 7:00-11:00 am

On Sat. August 8, 2009 from 7 to 11 am, Friends of Princeton Nursery Lands (FPNL) is sponsoring a four-hour macro photography workshop by noted naturalist and photographer Wil Hershberger, focusing on insects and other natural subjects. A “classroom” session exploring equipment, shooting techniques, and ways of handling small, difficult subjects at close range will be followed by an outdoor photography session.

The workshop will start at the Education Building, D&R Canal State Park Headquarters, 145 Mapleton Road in Kingston. The cost of the four-hour session is $20 for FPNL members, $25 for non-members. In addition to cameras, tripods are desirable.

Preregistration is required; the workshop is limited to 15 participants, and it is almost full. To reserve, please call 609-514-2416 to make sure that there is still space, and then send name and contact information with payment to: FPNL, PO Box 113, Kingston NJ 08528-0113.

Wil Hershberger - workshop presenter

Wil Hershberger first learned photography in his dad’s basement darkroom, and honed his skills after becoming an accomplished and well-respected birder. He is best known for his high quality recordings of insect and bird song (to date he has archived nearly 2,000 recordings at Cornell’s Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds). This collection, in concert with recordings in a friend’s library, was the genesis of an audio CD guide to the “Songs and Calls of the Crickets and Katydids of the Mid-Atlantic States.”

As a result of the popularity of this CD, Wil was approached to be co-author of a book/CD project to be called, “The Songs of Insects.” Using film, and then digital cameras, he has shot thousands of insect photos through the macro lens, and his photography has become an extension of his passion for the natural world. He has an innate ability to capture the natural world in an artistic way.

A few years ago, Wil and his wife Donna formed Nature Images and Sounds, LLC. Together, they photograph everything from birds to bugs, participate in art shows and teach photography workshops. Through their photography and sound recordings, they hope to instill in others the desire to protect and save these sacred natural treasures.
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Please visit http://www.musicofnature.com/

for more information about insect songs, song samples, nature recording and photography, Wil and Donna Hershberger, Lang Elliott, and the Society for the Appreciation of Insect Songs.

Eagle scout project "clearing" project at Flemer Arboretum

Sunday, May 31st, 10 am-4 pm

Greetings Friends,

As many of you may know, the Flemer Arboretum, located in the Mapleton Preserve/D&R Canal State Park, 145 Mapleton Road in Kingston, has fallen into disrepair and dishevelment. This once beautiful swath of land, punctuated by tree rows, has become overgrown with weeds and undesirable plants.

I desire, as I am sure you do, to see this land returned to its original splendor. I have taken on the task of helping to restore the arboretum as an Eagle Scout project. I can not accomplish this on my own. Therefore, I request your help in assisting me in my eagle project and in cleaning up this wonderful piece of park land.

Please, join me and other volunteers on Saturday, May 31st from 10 am to 4 pm, and also on June 6th and 7th to help clear a row of flowering crab apples from their shroud of vines.

For more information call Brian Dixon at 732-940-3101. The project will be postponed for a reasonable amount of rain, if you have doubts call the number above. If you can attend please email me at b.bri5@verizon.net, and put 'Eagle' in the subject line.

Thank you,
Brian Dixon, Troop 90

FPNL Annual Meeting - Elegant Little-Known Native Plants

Virginia Bluebells - Photo by Anne Zeman

Wednesday, June 10th, 7:30-9 pm

Noted Princeton author, Patricia A. Taylor will present a slide talk on “Elegant, Little-Known Native Plants” at the Friends of Princeton Nursery Lands Annual Meeting. The presentation will be given on Wednesday, June 10th (7:30-9:00 p.m.) in the Education Building at the D&R Canal State Park Headquarters/Mapleton Preserve, 145 Mapleton Road, Kingston. It is free and all are welcome. Call 609-683-0483 or see http://www.fpnl.org/ for directions.

The speaker is the author of many gardening books and hundreds of articles that have appeared in numerous publications, including The New York Times, Horticulture, and Green Scene. Her talk will focus on elegant but mysteriously unappreciated native plants, especially those that can survive benign neglect and the presence of munching animals.

Bluegrass at Mapleton Preserve

Saturday May 9th, ~11 a.m. -1 p.m.

After the Hands Across the Canal event, come hear Central New Jersey’s favorite Bluegrass band, “Riverside” at Mapleton Preserve, at 145 Mapleton Road in Kingston.

Bill Flemer, Jerry Steele, David Olsen, and Steve Hendershott are longtime Princeton-area musicians, and central Jersey's favorite bluegrass band. The band’s collective experience in rock, country, and folk idioms gives Riverside a unique approach to traditional bluegrass music and adds a bluegrass flavor to songs by the Beatles, the Byrds, and to country and western swing favorites.

It’s free and all are welcome! This concert is sponsored by Friends of Princeton Nursery Lands, in the hope that participants in the Hands Along the Canal event (and others) will want to pack a lawnchair and a picnic lunch, and plan to make a day of it.

For more information, contact Karen Linder, Friends of Princeton Nursery Lands at 609-683-0483.

Hands Along the Canal

Saturday, May 9th at 10 a.m.

This year marks the 175th anniversary of the Delaware and Raritan Canal. To celebrate the Park and raise awareness of this important recreational resource, the Kingston Historical Society and East Coast Greenways are sponsoring Hands Along the Canal —a bold undertaking that will attempt to line thousands of hand-holding park users along the historic towpath from Millstone Aqueduct to Rocky Hill.

Those of you who love and use the D&R should mark your calendars, register at the website and plan to be a part of this show of support for the park!

Participants will link hands at 10 am, and you must plan to arrive early, in order to be in place at this time. If you plan to be a part of this "human chain", please register ASAP at the East Coast Greenways website (www.greenwaynj.org) so the organizers can keep track of where everyone will enter the park. The registration form is also available at the D & R Canal State Park website (www.dandrcanal.com/programs.html#hands).

Because there is limited parking at the entrances to the D&R Canal, organizers are asking bicyclists and runners to park a distance away and bike or walk/run to the park entrance of their choice (Rocky Hill at Rt. 518; Rockingham Historic Site at Rt. 603/Laurel Ave; Kingston Lock at Rt. 27; D&R Canal State Park/Mapleton Preserve at 145 Mapleton Road; Millstone Aqueduct and Footbridge at Mapleton Road). These locations highlighted in yellow on the map in the April 2009 newsletter at www.fpnl.org.

If you plan to enter the Canal at the Kingston Lock on Rt. 27, parking is limited. However, ample parking will be available at Mapleton Preserve/D&R Canal State Park at 145 Mapleton Road in Kingston – those who park there can follow a trail to the canal. Friends of Princeton Nursery Lands will be at the Preserve to provide directions to the Canal.

After the event, there will be a special bluegrass concert from ~11-1 at the Headquarters for the D&R Canal State Park (D&R Canal State Park/Mapleton Preserve, 145 Mapleton Road, Princeton, NJ 08540) by Riverside, Central New Jersey’s favorite bluegrass band. Its free, and all are welcome.

Birding "Big Day" at Mapleton Preserve/D&R Canal

Male baltimore oriole photo courtesy of Mdf (Wikipedia)

Saturday, May 2nd, 8:00-11:00 am

Join Karen Linder and the Friends of Princeton Nursery Lands for a Birding “Big Day” on Saturday, May 2nd. We want to find as many bird species as we can at Mapleton Preserve and along the adjacent sections of the D&R Canal. Meet at the D&R Canal State Park Headquarters, 145 Mapleton Road in Kingston for an 8 am start. See http://www.fpnl.org/ for directions and map.

Expect good birding, as breeding season and spring migration will be in full swing. Birds that reside here year round, those that winter here and those passing through on their way north in migration should be present. The event is free and will be held "rain or shine" from 8 am to ~11. Volunteers do not need to be experts - just a pair of eyes and the desire for a fun day are required, but binoculars are recommended. Strong birders are especially welcome. If this has piqued your interest, please contact Karen Linder at 609-683-0483.

This walk is part of a larger effort to inventory all the bird species seen along the D&R Canal and adjacent preserved areas in one day. The effort is being championed by NJ Audubon volunteer Arlene Oley and the D&R Canal State Park in recognition of the 175th anniversary of the Canal. FPNL will be covering the Princeton Nursery Lands on Mapleton Road and adjacent sections of the D&R Canal.

If you want to help cover another section of the Canal or volunteer to lead a walk on the Canal on that day, please contact Arlene Oley (arobirder@aol.com). It is free and all are welcome.