The Nature of the Meadowlands - With author Jim Wright

Rutgers Cooperative Extension

of Middlesex County

May 2013

Calendar of Events

 Unless otherwise noted, the following events take place at the

EARTH Center, in Davidson’s Mill Pond Park 42 Riva Ave. North Brunswick, NJ

The following programs are available this month. For more info contact 732-398-5260.

We are on Facebook. Search “Earth Center of Middlesex County”, then “Like Us”.

Last minute Reminder

Tuesday, April 30, 6 pm to 8 pm

Watershed-Friendly Resident Program with Lawrence Brook Watershed Partnership

Learn to manage your property in an environmentally-friendly way.

Register with LBWP to attend. 732-249-LBWP (5297)

EARTH Center, Davidson’s Mill Pond Park,

May’s offerings are as follows:

Wednesday,  May 1,    6 – 9 pm

Beginner Farmer Series- Suburban Organic Homesteading

An exciting new program for those interested in farming or

implementing farming techniques on their residential property.

Monroe, NJ location disclosed upon registration.

Register at 732-398-5262

Saturday May 4, 10 am - 4 pm

Master Gardeners Garden Q & A Day

4-H Youth Center, 645 Cranbury Rd., East Brunswick, NJ

Gardeners can learn about best gardening and landscaping practices.

Visit with our Master Gardeners and take home some great quality plants .

An enormous variety of vegetables, flowering vines, annuals and perennials will be available.

Saturday, May 11, 9 am- Noon

Beginner Beekeeping

Have you ever wanted to become an amateur apiarist? Try this introduction.

Learn the basics on establishing a hive on your own property.

Weather permitting there will be a brief walk outside.

Register by May 8 at 732-398-5262

Saturday, May 11, 8 am-2 pm,

May 11, 4-H Yard Sale

Looking for some good bargains? Join 4-H for this sale.(raindate: May 12) 

4-H Log Cabin/Youth Center, 645 Cranbury Rd, East Brunswick.

Saturday, May 18, 10 am – Noon 

Organic Lawn & Landcare for Your Home

We will present surefire ways to have a beautiful lawn without pesticides.

Dress for some outside demonstrations.

Register by May 15 at 732-398-5262

If you would like to be removed from our list, simply reply with

“remove from IPCT” in the subject.  Thank you.

Rutgers Cooperative Extension, a unit of the Rutgers New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station

is an equal opportunity program provider and employer.

Join PROJECT MOVE-OUT: free bulk waste recycling initiative for Rutgers students living in New Brunswick

Rutgers University and the City of New Brunswick are partnering in Project Move Out to recover discarded furniture, appliances and textiles in order to keep these items out of landfills and reduce our carbon footprint.

Project Move Out provides for FREE curbside pick-up of bulk items ONLY for Rutgers students who pre-register between April 29 - May 22 (noon).  The collection will take place between May 23-29.  Items eligible for pickup include:

• Appliances (refrigerators, window air conditioning units, microwaves)
• Electronics (televisions, video game consoles, cell phones, computers, monitors, printers)
• Furniture (mattresses, couches, chairs, tables, book cases, desks, rugs)

Registration for Project Move Out will open April 29.  Be part of the solution and check back between April 29 - May 22 to register!

For more informaton visit the website - http://ruoffcampus.rutgers.edu/projectmoveout

Butterfly Park is ready for butteflies and people!

Thanks to the many volounteers - youth council members, community garden members and other residents, all the flower beds are mulched, the paths are cleaned and the park looks beautiful!

See more pictures on the Friends gallery - click here.

The recent road closing attracted lots of attention from the news media.  Although the salamanders did not move on the nights the road was closed, the story of the East Brunswick Amphibian Protection Project was featured in news articles and videos. To see some of the articles and videos aobut the project since it started in 2005 - Click here.

To get email with informatoin on road closing and other Friends projects - join the Friends, it's easy, free and your information will never be shared.  Click here!

Join at the East Brunswick Farmers Market, April 20th from 10am to 2pm at the East Brunswick Cultural Arts Center. 

For more information and  a list of vedors click here.

Bald eagles over Edgeboro Landfill.

Photo credit: Dan Brill

Big Day 2013, East Brunswick’s winter bird count, was held on January 19th.  Board members of the East Brunswick Environmental Commission, The Friends of the Environmental Commission, ‘Friends’ members and local birders spent the day looking for and cataloging bird speciesat different locations in East Brunswick. 

We met at 8am near the EB Public Library and made our way to the first birding location – the EdgeboroLandfill. Other locations visited during the day were: Keystone Park, Jamesburg Park, Dallenbach Lake, Duhernal Lake, Heavenly Farms,  ‘Pig Farm’ near the Ireland Brook and Farrington Lake. By the end of the day we counted a total of fifty two bird species..

Thank you to everyone who participated – it was a fun and exciting day and our efforts addedto our knowledge of wildlife and nature in our town.

Click here to see list of bird species

For many years the Friends of the East Brunswick Environmental Commission has gone birding in early January to search for as many different species of birds as we can find in town. It is what is called a "BIG DAY" by birders and is basically a day-long avian treasure hunt. This year the BIG DAY will be on Saturday January 19th. Over the years we have found all kinds of great birds, from diving ducks, to sparrows to Bald eagles. No BIG DAY is ever the same and we just never know what we might find.

This year we are encouraging anyone that wants to join us to come along. We will be visiting all kinds of different habitats, including Duhernal Lake (great for waterfowl and herons), Farrington Lake (great for ducks), the Pig Farm (great for sparrows and other skulking songbirds), Heavenly Farms (hopefully bluebirds, pippits and who knows what else), woodlands like Jamesburg Woods (for winter songbirds), farmfields (horned lark?), Edgeboro Landfill (raptors) and anywhere else we think we will find some cool birds. Regardless of the birds we find, it will be an opportunity to explore some areas around town that many people don't regularly visit. 

The only requirements are an interest in birds and having your own binoculars. Boy Scouts might find the Big Day useful for Birding Merit Badge too. We will have a spotting scope for distant birds and field guides to help with ID's. We will caravan around town but will not be providing transportation, so consider carpooling with a friend.

We will meet at 8 a.m. at the parking lot of the East Brunswick Public Library. Check the Friends website for any weather issues and other updates on Friday January 18th. People can join us during the day if they can't make it in the morning - check the website or Facbook [link on the right side menu bar] for updates during the day.

Last year the Friends also developed an online field guide to common birds around town. It is a good resource for many of the birds we will likely find and a great guide for birds at your backyard feeders. It features photos and ecological notes about each species.         

As with all Friends events and programs, the BIG DAY is free. Consider joining the Friends too, it's also FREE! Membership takes only seconds on the Friends website which also features loads of information about nature in and around East Brunswick. 

Published on the East Brunswick Patch, 5 Jan 2013

Registration is now open for new gardeners at the award winning East Brunswick Community Garden. A limited number of plosts are availble for East Brunswick residents and employees..

Click here for information and registration form.

Happy New Year from the Friends!

New Jersey State Parks Celebrate the New Year with First Day Hikes across the state on January 1, 2013.

Click here for information on guided hikes in NJ state parks and  forests.

Thanks TJD for the info.

If you are looking for uniqe gifts this holiday season - check out the 'Friends' Cafe Press shop.

You will find one of a kind items for the special people you shop for. Shirts, hats, accesorries and more.

Show your appriciation for the Friends of the East Brunswick Environmental Commission.

Click here to connect to the Friends store.

click for the December newsletter from Rutgers Gardens.

Tuesday, December 4th, 7:00pm until 9:30pm

TBD--in East Brunsiwick

Please RSVP to Therlam@yahoo.com or on the https://www.facebook.com/events/178318568975651/" target="_blank">Facebook Event page. Seating is limited.

Attendees: Though not required, you may bring your laptop to make this an interactive event.

What if we realized that in spite of the news about the economy that we are as wealthy as we have ever been. Our skills, our services, our stuff are truly abundant and if we utilize a time currency based on equality as a means of sharing this abundance, how strong would our communities be? What if we realize that unemployment in the cash economy means we are able to be of service in the time economy? Or the outsourcing of a job to a land far away is an opportunity for re-sourcing our attention to our local economy?

hOurworld holds this vision as our call to action. We seek and are finding like minded hearts and minds to create this reality all across the country.

Frost Woods, one of East Brunswick's parks, is featured on a new Podcast from the Encyclopedia of Life's One Species at a time.  Listen to sounds of  Moth Night at the park and other National Moth Week events around the ocuntry.

Click here to listen to the podcast, click on 'extra' to read more about moths and moth nights and see photos. Click on  meet the scientists (whom many of you already know).

Provident Bank Commited To Share -

Provident Bank is offering New Jersey residents a chance to win big and support their favorite charities, too.

The bank is hosting its “Committed to Share” sweepstakes through Nov. 28 to give a financial boost to consumers and charities alike. Participants can enter for a chance to win one of three top cash prizes with a matching donation to a charity.

In addition, one winner will be selected each day at random to receive a $100 Provident Visa® Gift Card for themselves and a $100 donation to a charity of their choice.

NO PURCHASE OR ACCOUNT OPENING NECESSARY.

Fill out the online form (http/www.committedtoshare.com), choose 'The Friends of the East Brunswick Environmental Commission' as your charity.

Thank you!

The Fall Freecycling event has been canceled, and will not be re-scheduled.

The next East Brunswick Freecycling event will be held in Spring 2013.

A 2012 summary of 'The Butterfly Park - What's Flying" on the East Brunswick Patch.

Click here to read

http://eastbrunswick.patch.com/blog_posts/the-butterfly-park-the-year-in-review

Due to the upcoming storm - Sunday's Freecycling event is canceled.

New Freecycling date will be published soon.

The 'Friends' received an Association of New Jersey Environmental Commissions (ANJEC ) 2012 Environmental Achievement Award for the Freecyle program.  The award was presented to the ‘Friends’during the ANJEC 39th Annual Environmental Congress, on October 20th, 2012.

“The Friends group,a nonprofit organization that supports the work of the East Brunswick EnvironmentalCommission, started a FreeCycle program that resembles the nationwide initiative, but with added unique elements. A typical FreeCycle event invites residents to drop off unwanted items and to take home other people’s discarded treasures. While most FreeCycling events require people to take back any items not claimed, the East Brunswick group make arrangements with various charities and recyclers to accept what was left behind so that landfill impact was minimal. Over 1.000 people attended the first two events and claimed 90 to 95 percent of the items dropped off. About 58 tons were diverted from the landfills.”

The next FreeCycling event will be held on Sunday, October 28th, at the Crystal SpringsAquatic Center Parking Lot. Bring anything you don't need - kitchenware, clothes, furniture, sports equipment, furniture, toys, linen and blankets, tools, etc.  Do not bring mattresses, televisioins, monitors, paints and any hazardous material. Drop-off and pick-up start at 9am. Items can be dropped off until 2pm, and items can be picked up until 3pm.

For more information logon to the Freecyling page at www.friendsebec.com.