Clean-up Day - National Day of Service

MONDAY, JAN 18, 12 - 3 PM (Martin Luther King Day)

Mapleton Preserve, 145 Mapleton Road, Kingston (For MapQuest etc, use 145 Mapleton Road, Princeton 08540 for address).

Join Friends of Princeton Nursery Lands for an invigorating Clean-Up Day at Mapleton Preserve! We will be clearing small trees, brush, and trash around the Propagation House and the Flemer Arboretum in preparation for our ARBOR DAY EVENT, later in the spring.

Bring tools such as saws, clippers, loppers and rakes. Dress for the weather, whatever it is. It is free and all are welcome.

In case of extreme weather, the event will be postponed until Saturday, January 23, 2010 (from 12-3).

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ONE AND ALL!
From the trustees of Friends of Princeton Nursery Lands"

Friends of Princeton Nursery Lands
http://www.fpnl.org/
For more information, call 609-683-0483

Kingston Loop Trail Hike

Sat. Nov. 14th, 10:00 am:

Join the naturalist and historian of Delaware and Raritan Canal State Park in a walk along the loop trail system in Kingston, NJ. The trail leads through the historic D & R Canal State Park, Mapleton Preserve (former site of Princeton Nurseries), Cook Natural Area and Middlesex County Open Space Park, Heathcote Meadow Preserve and is ~3.5 miles along mostly dirt/gravel pathways and is along flat terrain. The program will start at 10:00 am. Participants will meet at the Delaware and Raritan Canal State Park’s Kingston Office located at 145 Mapleton Road. Pre-registration IS REQUIRED (609-924-5705). Weather permitting.

Register for this program

Why go Native?? The Importance of Biodiversity

November 7th - 10:00 am:

Robert Wells, Certified Tree Expert and Associate Director of Arboriculture Outreach of the Morris Arboretum, will be at the old Princeton Nursery headquaters located at 145 Mapleton Road in Kingston (now the Kingston office for the D & R Canal State Park) to discuss NJ native plants and the importance of biodiversity. His presentation will be based on Dr. Doug Tallamy’s book, Bringing Nature Home: How native plants sustain wildlife in our gardens.

Did you know:

Around 50,000 alien species of plant and animals have colonized North America.

Native plants supported 35 times more caterpillar biomass (amount by weight) than did alien plants.

96% of North American birds rely on insects, and the spiders that eat them, to feed young.

One large sugar maple can sequester 450 pounds of CO2 per year!

Fall is a perfect time to landscape your yards. Please join us in learning how landscape designs can create critical wildlife habitat, and the importance of "Going Native". The presentation will last approximately 45 minutes. Afterwards visitor are encouraged to explore the trails in the Mapleton Preserve. Registration is NOT required and admission is FREE!

For MapQuest/Google directions to the site, use 145 Mapleton Road, Princeton 08540 as the address, as the D&R Canal Kingston office has a Princeton mailing address.

Fall bird walk with John Maret

Sat. Oct. 24th, 8:00 am:
Join John Maret and the Friends of Princeton Nursery Lands for an early morning bird walk through the Mapleton Preserve. The Preserve and its surroundings contain both wooded and grassland habitats – the varied offerings of evergreens, hardwood trees, open fields and bountiful berries draw many species of birds, ranging from sparrows to hawks.

On the walk, the group will be watching for bird behaviors that provide clues to identification, as well their songs and call notes. Learning these sounds takes a good pair of ears and lots of practice. John Maret, the leader for this walk, has “educated ears”, is an excellent birder and a fabulous teacher. Meet at the D&R Canal State Park Headquarters/Mapleton Preserve, 145 Mapleton Road, Kingston. The event will be held rain or shine. It is free and all are welcome. Call 609-683-0483 for more information.

National Public Lands Day at Mapleton Preserve

Sat., September 26, 1 to 4 PM

Friends of Princeton Nursery Lands, Kingston Greenways Association, and the D&R Canal State Park will jointly sponsor a work session in the Mapleton Preserve. Meet us at 145 Mapleton Road in Kingston, and choose the task that suits you: Brush cutting, Litter removal, vine clearing, tree planting or photo documentation.

Some tools will be available on site, but participants are welcome to bring their own favorites (loppers, saws, clippers, rakes etc). Work gloves, long pants, long-sleeved shirts, and hats are advised. For more information, contact tari@kingstongreenways.org, or call the Park at 924-5705.

National Public Lands Day is the nation’s largest hands-on volunteer effort to improve and enhance the public lands Americans enjoy. National Public Lands Day began in 1994 with three federal agencies and 700 volunteers.

In 2008, 120,000 volunteers built trails and bridges, removed trash and invasive plants and planted over 1.6 million trees. It keeps the promise of the Civilian Conservation Corps, the "tree army" that worked from 1933 to 1942 to preserve and protect America's natural heritage.

This annual event:

• Educates Americans about critical environmental and natural resources issues and the need for shared stewardship of these irreplaceable lands
• Builds partnerships between the public sector and the local community based upon mutual interests in the enhancement and restoration of America's public lands
• Improves public lands for outdoor recreation, with volunteers assisting land managers in hands-on work.

To learn more, please visit http://www.publiclandsday.org/

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.