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PAST EVENTS
Earth Day Cleanups
Saturday, April 18, 2026
Morning and afternoon crews did a superb job of cleaning up around the Rockingham Historic Site and along Laurel Avenue, and on the D&R Canal State Park
towpath, turning basin, and environs.
Our heartfelt thanks to all the volunteers for their efforts and good cheer!
New Jersey’s Changing Climate: A talk by David Robinson, PH.D, New Jersey's State Climatologist
Wednesday, November 5, 2025
Photo by Kiana Miranda
As the New Jersey State Climatologist, Dr. Robinson’s research focuses on weather-related issues like drought, flooding and climate change as they affect
agriculture, public safety, transportation and commerce in New Jersey (see Office of the New Jersey State Climatologist).
His office operates one of the most spatially dense weather observation networks in the nation, providing timely information to decision makers, the
research community, and the public. Please visit njweather.org/
Dr. Robinson is also a Distinguished Professor of Geography at Rutgers. His academic research has focused on local and global snow cover and its
interaction with other climate elements, like temperature. He maintains an internationally-recognized database of snow extent in the Northern Hemisphere.
He is also active in CoCoRaHS (Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Network), a network of volunteers working together to measure precipitation
across the nations: Cocorahs/
We left the firehouse with a lot more understanding of what is happening and why, and how each of us can play a part in mitigating the damage we humans
have caused and are continuing to cause. We are grateful to Dr. Robinson for sharing his time and extensive knowledge with us, to Charlie Dieterich and
Doug Miller for making the Zoom possible, and to the Kingston Volunteer Fire Company for the generous use of their hall.
Fall Foliage Walk
Sunday October 12, 2025
Our walk leader, Jeff Cramer, is the South Brunswick Township arborist and a New Jersey Licensed Tree Expert with extensive background in urban forestry.
He was a former utility arborist for JCP&L, and past president of the NJ Shade Tree Federation. He is currently a safety/compliance inspector for NJDEP
Board of Tree Experts and serves as Chair of the South Brunswick Shade Tree Commission.
Photo by Charlie Dieterich
Jeff and his wife Amy pointed out various trees in Heathcote Park, including pin oak, red oak, Atlantic white cedar, assorted maples and hickories, hop
hornbeam, zelkova, and more, and described their assets and challenges. We visited one of New Jersey's recently nominated "Big Trees," a swamp white oak (Quercus
bicolor), was added to NJ DEP Forestry Department's Big and Heritage Tree Registry in September 2024, which was nominated by Mr. Cramer. It is approximately 240 years old, has a circumference of 151", a
diameter of 49", a height of 71', and a crown average of 92'.
We also learned about South Brunswick Township's tree ordinances, tree removal (for disease or utility incursions) and replanting options.
KGA Fall Foliage Walk Video
Earth Day Cleanups
Saturday, April 19, 2025
Volunteers come in all sizes--but with the same enthusiasm! Our heartfelt thanks to all who partcipated in the morning cleanup along Laurel Avenue and the
vicinity of Rockingham Historic Site...
...and in the afternoon, in the Mapleton Preserve, along Mapleton Road and on the berm path alongside the canal.
Bamboo Clearing
March 29, 2025
We had a wonderfully successful bamboo removal event and were able to remove all bamboo from our targeted areas. Thanks to our hard-working volunteers, and
especially, KGA trustee and AmeriCorps NJ Watershed Ambassador Claire Paul, who expertly organized and coordinated the work session!
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service Work Session
Monday, January 20, 2025
In partnership with Friends of Princeton Nursery Lands, 20 volunteers liberated vines from trees, erased graffiti on signage, collected trash, and
cleaned the Clivus. Thanks to all for your hard work on a frigid day!
Photos by Boël Denne-Hinnov
KGA Annual Meeting and Program: Thinking Outside the Box about Your Woods and Bogs: How Private Forestry Practices Can Protect Rare Turtles
Wednesday, November 29, 2023 on Zoom
Turtles are well-known for their longevity. The oldest member of this group (a Seychelles giant tortoise named Jonathan) celebrated his 191st birthday
earlier this year! While a long lifespan is certainly a credit, it also lends a false sense of security when it comes to the stability of a species. High
density does not equal “healthy” if young individuals are not rejuvenating a population.
Bog Turtle, photo by Eric Sambol
New Jersey has been proactive in protecting native turtles through state law, but since much of the remaining habitat available for our rarest species
occurs on private property, landowner collaboration is essential for their continued survival. During this talk, Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New
Jersey (CWF) biologist Christine Healy, introduced us to three of our local turtles (box, wood, and bog), discussed management strategies that can be
employed in our forests and wetlands to benefit them, and shared resources that provide financial and technical support to turtle champions.
Christine Healy's full presentation is highly recommended, and is now available on youtube:
Christine Healy on NJ's Rare Turtles
FALL FOLIAGE WALK--"Seeds, Nuts, and Whirlygigs"
Saturday, October 21, 2023
Karen Linder led an absorbing and educational walk through the Mapleton Preserve. We examined the multiple mechanisms that trees have evolved to survive
and replicate. Fall colors were particularly and vividly beautiful following a good rain and favorable temperatures the week before.
Photos by Boël Denne-Hinnov
BLUE MOON WATCH
Wednesday, August 30, 2023
Although the moon was obscured by clouds and trees as it was rising, it was a beautiful early evening in Heathcote Park. The air was pleasantly warm, and
insect choruses serenaded an appreciative gathering. Those of us who continued to watch the night sky from home were rewarded with the spectacle of a
glorious moon almost too bright to view with the naked eye.
Earth Day Cleanups
Saturday, April 22, 2023
The hearty morning corps of volunteers cleaned up around Rockingham and along Laurel Avenue on the Franklin Township side of Kingston, while
the afternoon crew focused on litter in Mapleton Preserve and roadside trash along Ridge Road and Division Street on the South Brunswick side.
Our warm thanks to all who participated in making our community cleaner and safer!
AUDUBON CHRISTMAS BIRD COUNT
Sunday, December 16th, 2022
The counting area for this year’s Audubon Christmas Bird Count CBC) included Mapleton Preserve and seedbeds, the upper nursery, Heathcote Farms, and the
Cook Preserve. Some highlights included a calling red-shouldered hawk, a raptor that has been seen (and heard) multiple times near Basin Street in
recent years. Hear their call, and learn more at Red-shouldered Hawk
Red-tailed hawks were well represented, with 8 seen on the count day, including an amorous pair sitting close to one another on a tree branch. The “best
bird of the day” had to be a lovely male Northern harrier; a slim grey bird with a long banded tail, who was gliding low over the seedbeds looking for
breakfast.
One of “our” eagles was spotted in a tree, not far from the Canal. Both birds have been observed at their nest on Mapleton Road. According to
NJDEP, in 2022 this pair fledged two chicks, adding to the total of 335 eaglets raised in New Jersey last year, from 250 active nests. This is a dramatic
comeback from the 1970s and 1980s, when, due to widespread use of DDT, the New Jersey eagle population was reduced to a single pair in a remote part of
Cumberland County.
There were a lot of flickers (9) and blue jays (22) observed, and more juncos (28) than we saw last year. However, no yellow-rumped warblers were found,
for the third year in a row. Cedar waxwings were absent as well, although close to 100 robins were seen eating holly, callery pear and bittersweet near
Ridge Road. A flock of 22 turkeys was also seen.
Click here to see the full count results: CBC 2022
Many thanks to our counters this year!
DOUG TALLAMY ON THE NATURE OF OAKS
Wednesday, October 5, 2022 on ZOOM
Professor Tallamy's webinar is now available on youtube: Doug Tallamy on The
Nature of Oaks
Did you know...
Oaks are the best soil stabilizers?
Oaks and blue jays evolved together?
Oaks make great street trees?
Oaks' excellent leaf litter protects soil communities?
Learn more about these incomparable trees and the tremendous diversity of life they support!
Doug Tallamy is the T. A. Baker Professor of Agriculture in the Department of Entomology and Wildlife Ecology at the University of Delaware, where he has
authored 106 research publications and has taught insect related courses for 41 years. Chief among his research goals is to better understand the many
ways insects interact with plants and how such interactions determine the diversity of animal communities.
His book Bringing Nature Home was published by Timber Press in 2007, The Living Landscape, co-authored with Rick Darke, was published in
2014; Nature's Best Hope, a New York Times Best Seller, was released in February 2020, and his latest book The Nature of Oaks was released
by Timber press in March 2021.
In 2021 he cofounded Homegrown National Park with Michelle Alfandari. His awards include
recognition from The Garden Writer’s Association, Audubon, The National Wildlife Federation, The Garden Club of America, and The American Horticultural
Association.
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