Some 30 tires are stuck on the river bottom near Highland Park’s Donaldson Park. The LRWP and our Central Jersey Stream Team friends have wanted to get in there all year. Saturday October 26 is our last chance for a super low tide in 2019, and if the weather holds out we should be able to wrestle these guys out of the muck.
This will be a VERY muddy clean-up, requiring muscle and perseverance. There are few small items to collect in this area it is mostly buried tires.
Registration starts at 12:30pm, we want to get out onto the mud flats quickly to take advantage of the low tide at 2:11pm. We expect to have things wrapped up by 3pm.
Please wear appropriate clothing and footwear that can get wet and (VERY) muddy.
Please park by the basketball courts, we will fan out onto the mud flats from there.
Registration requested. This is a “shine only” event, and we will not hold the clean up if the water is high because of recent rain. Please be sure to check our event page for updated information.
Our Middlesex County Parks friends have made a special request for our October 13 clean-up: “can the LRWP help rally a team to clean-up the run-off areas near Jamesburg Lake”?
The clean-up areas we will focus on are not streams, not quite detention basins, but on depressions in the landscape that collect run off and LOTS of trash. Heavy stormwater flows then funnel the trash right into Jamesburg Lake. Yuck!
On Sunday October 13 we will meet at 10 am in the kennel parking lot at 652-654 Old Stage Road. Look for the Middlesex County Corps signs and truck, and the LRWP turtle.
For this event please wear long pants with closed toe shoes – boots or sneakers are best. And be sure to dress in layers! Our Parks friends suggest that everyone wears bug spray.
On May 12, 2018 more than 150 people joined the Lower Raritan Watershed Partnership, Greater Brunswick Charter School, Esperanza Neighborhood Partnership, Friends of Mile Run Brook and Elmwood Cemetery for a multi-site community clean-up and celebration of New Brunswick’s Mile Run Brook. The clean-up was enlivened by our roving “Trash Troubadour” – Dave Seamon – who engaged our volunteers with song and stories as they cleaned-up the stream.
Our Trash Troubadour traveled with a large sculptural bread-and-puppets style bottle (made from trash found during prior clean-ups) that clean-up volunteers covered with messages of environmental hope. With thanks to all the volunteers for a great day of stewardship and celebration. And huge thanks to filmmaker Jessica Dotson for capturing this story of our wonderful New Brunswick, NJ community.
Please plan to join the LRWP and Middlesex County Division of Parks on Sunday February 3, 10-noon for a winter clean-up of the Jamesburg Park Conservation Area in Helmetta!
This beautiful area is in the Manalapan Brook subwatershed. We will be cleaning the roadsides along Helmetta Boulevard, Port Street and Washington Street. Meet at the Helme Mill Park parking lot (directions below).
Registration required.
Driving Directions to Helme Mill Park parking lot:
From Route 130:
• Turn East onto Davidsons Mill Road
• Turn left onto Cranbury/South River Road (County Road)
• Turn right at the traffic light onto Helmetta Blvd
• Slow your speed as you enter the town of Helmetta
• Turn right onto Maple Avenue
• Park will be on your right hand side
From Route 18:
• Take the exit for County Route 615 South
• Turn right onto Main St (CR 615)
• Continue onto Manalapan Road (CR 615)
• Continue onto Main Street (CR 615)
• Turn right onto Maple Street
• Park will be on your left
From the NJ Turnpike:
• Take Exit 9 for Route 18(New Brunswick/East Brunswick)
• Keep left at the fork, follow signs for NJ-18 S
• Follow directions from Route 18 above From 287
• Take exit 1B for US 1 South towards Trenton
• Take exit for Route 18 South
• Follow directions from Route 18 above
Since its inception in 1970, Earth Day has brought millions of people together to celebrate our world’s environment. The day has also focused our attention on environmental problems such as pollution, flooding and littering.
Join the Lower Raritan Watershed Partnership, Franklin Township Environmental Commission, the New Brunswick Environmental Commission, the Watershed Institute, Friends of Mile Run Brook, New Jersey Americorps Watershed Ambassadors and others for an Earth Day clean-up of Mile Run Brook!
WHAT: a clean-up of Mile Run Brook on Saturday April 13,
WHEN: 9:30-noon
WHERE: Meet at the corner Of Hamilton Street And Woodbridge Street, New Brunswick (parking available at Sts Peter and Paul Church)
SPECIAL NOTE: Please wear closed toe shoes and clothes you are willing to get dirty. Bring a reusable water bottle. Gloves, bags and light refreshments will be provided!
REGISTRATION REQUIRED.
***For more information contact Stan Jaracz, Franklin Environmental Commission member at jaraczs@yahoo.com or Von Scully wsamb@raritanbasin.org***
You may wonder why it is so important to keep our waterways clean. Streams, rivers and other waterbodies make up the watershed where we all live. Watersheds are areas of land where runoff from rain and snow drains into a lake, stream, river or wetland. These watersheds are full of life. They provide habitat for fish, birds and wildlife. They are also a source of drinking water for homes and businesses. The Lower Raritan Watershed Partnership and The Watershed Institute share a joint mission to keep water clean, safe and healthy through conservation, advocacy, science and education.
~SAVE THE DATE~ Join the Lower Raritan Watershed Partnership, Central Jersey Stream Team and the Sierra Club for a clean-up of the Green Brook!
WHAT: a clean-up of the Green Brook on Saturday December 8 from 10AM to 1PM
WHERE: Green Brook Regional Center, 275 Greenbrook Rd, Green Brook Township, NJ 08812
This Event is Co-coordinated by the Lower Raritan Watershed Partnership, Central Jersey Stream Team and the New Jersey Sierra Club. With special thanks to the Green Brook Department of Public Works for cartage and supplies.
Please wear closed toe shoes and clothes you are willing to get dirty. Gloves and bags will be provided!
*** For more information contact Heather hfenyk@lowerraritanwatershed.org ***
By Arianna Illa, Coordinator, Civic Engagement and Experiential Learning, Middlesex County College
The Watershed Sculpture Project: Middlesex County College
On Tuesday, November 21st of last year, students enrolled in Integrated Reading and Writing (ENG 096) at Middlesex County College (MCC) did something unusual for a typical college course. Rather than meeting in their classroom, they boarded a college van to travel to the Fox Road underpass, a stretch of road off the highway in Edison, NJ. This class excursion was the culminating event following a semester focused on reading, writing, discussing, and learning about environmental issues faced by local communities. In collaboration with the Lower Raritan Watershed Partnership (LRWP) and the Edison Environmental Commission, students planned and executed a community cleanup service project as part of the greater service learning initiative happening at the College.
Students Jessica Colon or Rahway (left) places trash in the bag held by Carolyn Muncibay of Old Bridge.
The cleanup involved spending 3 hours of class time bagging trash and recyclables along the underpass. The location of the cleanup was especially significant as it is uphill from the Raritan River. When it rains, trash and other contaminants travel downhill, further polluting the already vulnerable river. By the end of the cleanup, 17 bags of trash and recyclables, nine tires, a suitcase, car seats, as well as other large trash items were collected.
John Keller, Director of Education and Outreach of CoLAB Arts, assists students during the hand sculpture creation process.
During the cleanup, students selected one small trash item to bring back to campus. In collaboration with local arts advocacy organization CoLAB Arts, students created cement hand sculptures which are now on display in the MCC College Center in an exhibition titled The Watershed Sculpture Project: Middlesex County College. Each sculpture is of a student’s hand holding the trash item they saved from the cleanup.
The display demonstrates the large impact seemingly “small” amounts of littering can have on the environment as a whole, and likewise demonstrates the power of simple acts of stewardship (including stream clean-ups and socially engaged art) to effect positive environmental change. This work seeks to raise awareness of issues of environmental damage happening in the local community, and to prompts viewers to examine and reflect on their own relationship and interactions with the environment.
If your non-profit organization is interested in getting involved with service learning at MCC, please contact Arianna Illa, Coordinator of Civic Engagement and Experiential Learning, at ailla@middlesexcc.edu.
It was a gloomy, rainy Saturday, but on May 12, more than 150 people joined the Lower Raritan Watershed Partnership, Greater Brunswick Charter School, Esperanza Neighborhood Partnership, Friends of Mile Run Brook and Elmwood Cemetery for a multi-site community clean-up and celebration of New Brunswick’s Mile Run Brook.
Friends of Mile Run Brook
The clean-up was enlivened by our roving “Trash Troubadour” – Dave Seamon – who engaged our volunteers with song and stories as they cleaned-up the stream. Our Trash Troubadour traveled with a large sculptural bread-and-puppets style bottle (made from trash found during prior clean-ups) that clean-up volunteers covered with messages of environmental hope.
The clean-up was followed by a free community celebration and picnic in New Brunswick’s Boyd Park – with delicious contributions of dishes donated by Panico’s Brick Oven Pizza, La Poncena, Harvest Moon, Pizza Mia and Popeye’s Louisiana Kitchen.
At the end of the clean-up we joined together for a picnic and celebration, the Trash Troubadour created and performed a new song from the messages received.
Filmmaker Jessica Dotson is working on a music video story of the day – a gift for our Mile Run Brook and New Brunswick Community. But for now, click on the photo of our Trash Troubadour to enjoy a youtube video of his riverside performance:
With tremendous thanks to New Brunswick Department of Public Works, North Brunswick Department of Public Works and Rob Hughes, our Americorps Watershed Ambassador for helping with planning, coordination, supplies provision and arranging for disposal of the trash and recycling. Thanks also to the Highland Park Ecology and Environmental Group and Central Jersey Stream Team for bringing your muscle to the clean-up for the day!
Trash Collected at the Hamilton Street Site
Esperanza Neighborhood Project Volunteers!!
The Elmwood Cemetery volunteers (coordinated by the New Brunswick Environmental Commission), removed 14 bags of trash and 6 bags of recycling.
The Greater Brunswick Charter School removed approximately 1,275 pounds of trash and 720 pounds of recycling.
The Esperanza Group removed an estimated 875 pounds of trash and 390 pounds of recycling.
The Friends of the Mile Run removed about 400 pounds of trash and 210 pounds of recycling.
In addition, 20 bulk items and 6 tires were removed as well.
Collectively volunteers removed approximately 2 tons of litter and bulk items from Mile Run Brook!
~VOLUNTEERS NEEDED~ Please join the LRWP, our Americorps Watershed Ambassador and community partners including Friends of Mile Run Brook, Greater Brunswick Charter School, Esperanza Neighborhood Project, the New Brunswick Environmental Commission, Elmwood Cemetery and the New Brunswick Department of Public Works for a multi-site clean-up of Mile Run Brook, culminating in a community celebration in Boyd Park!
WHAT: a clean-up of Mile Run Brook, followed by a community picnic and celebration
WHEN: Saturday May 12
9:00 AM to noon – clean-up of multiple sites.
12-1:30 pm community gathering / picnic in Boyd Park.
WHERE: Multiple sites in New Brunswick
Site 1: Friends of Mile Run Brook / Corner of Hamilton Street and Woodbridge Street
Site 2: Esperanza Neighborhood Project / Corner of French Street and Sandford Street
Site 3: Greater Brunswick Charter School (closed group)
Site 4: Elmwood Cemetery / Entrance at Commercial Avenue
Please wear closed toe shoes and clothes you are willing to get wet and dirty. Gloves and bags will be provided!
Help us kick-off the New Year by giving some clean-up attention to Middlesex County’s Johnson Park (Piscataway). Since we last cleaned that area a pair of Bald Eagles has moved in! We’ll stay clear of their nesting grounds, but there is plenty to do in the rest of the floodplain. We will meet 9:30am at the Middlesex County Parks Department offices, and from there caravan to the clean-up site.
WHAT: a clean-up of Johnson Park on Sunday January 14 from 9:30 AM to 11 AM (cutting things short because of the nip in the air)
WHERE: Clean-up kick-off at 1030 River Road in Piscataway, Middlesex County Parks Headquarters lobby.
PLEASE NOTE: if there is snow on the ground on January 14, we will have to postpone the clean-up. (Its hard to find litter when you can’t see it!) – check on the event webpage to verify
This Event is co-coordinated by the Lower Raritan Watershed Partnership and the Middlesex County Department of Parks. With special thanks to Middlesex County for cartage and supplies.
Please dress appropriately for the weather. Gloves and bags will be provided!
*** For more information contact Heather hfenyk@lowerraritanwatershed.org ***
