Yesterday, at a special listening session on recreational access to blue and green spaces within the Lower Raritan Watershed, one watershed resident shared their favorite way to access nature: “Lately, I’ve really enjoyed watching the bald eagles over the River.” Even 20 years ago, the idea that bald eagles could be a regular facet of our highly industrialized central New Jersey environment would have sounded like a fever dream, and now it is reality. During the June 11, 2024 listening session, hosted by the Lower Raritan Watershed Partnership (LRWP) and NY/NJ Harbor & Estuary Program (HEP), participants communicated a vision for the next 20 years: a robust network of blueways and greenways connecting local parkland and foot and bike paths within the Lower Raritan Watershed to larger regional and national networks of trails.
The input from this session, summarized below, will not only inform the LRWP’s understanding of recreational priorities but also help shape the HEP Action Agenda for recreation in our region for the next decade and beyond. The session was attended by 31 community members who contributed thoughts on recreational access and the larger state of the watershed. A recording of the session will be available on the LRWP youtube channel, and a bulleted summary of community member responses to a set of questions framed by HEP, is shared here:
Key takeaways can be summarized in response to two questions. The first, “If you could pick one change that’s necessary to have a greener, healthier, and more resilient community — what would that be?” and the second, “What are the challenges and obstacles that face local communities connection and access to nature?”
To the first question regarding required changes to realize a greener, healthier, more resilient community, participants communicated six core visions:
23% of respondents advocated for a shift towards environmentally centered leadership, policy, and planning, emphasizing the urgent need for eco-conscious governance.
23% of respondents voiced their desire for increased access to natural features, highlighting the intrinsic connection between human well-being and proximity to nature.
23% of respondents emphasized the critical role of environmental education, advocating for initiatives to raise awareness and empower communities to become stewards of their surroundings.
15% of participants underscored the importance of enhancing habitat connectivity, recognizing the significance of preserving ecological corridors for biodiversity and ecosystem resilience.
8% of respondents pinpointed increased funding as the key catalyst for change in the Lower Raritan Watershed, emphasizing the tangible impact of financial investment in environmental initiatives.
8% advocated for granting rights — akin to human rights — to the Raritan River, signaling a growing movement towards recognizing the intrinsic rights of natural entities.
To the second question regarding challenges and obstacles to realizing this vision, central concerns focused on infrastructure, transportation, and habitat fragmentation.
One participant highlighted how infrastructure like Route 18 acts as a formidable barrier, impeding access to many natural areas. Others pointed to lost opportunities for retrofits that could remedy past disconnections to natural spaces through, e.g. reengineering roadways or repairs of Landing Lane Bridge. As was noted in our session, the construction of Route 18 started as a slum clearing project. This reflects a historical pattern of social injustices where urban planning decisions disregarded not only the environmental impacts but also equity impacts on our communities, and highlights the need for a holistic approach to restoring community health. By acknowledging the historical context of such projects and their environmental implications, we can work towards more equitable and environmentally responsible solutions for our communities.
Limited mass transit connections to green/blue spaces was another concern voiced by participants, with suggestions made to not only prioritize transportation between live-work activities, but also to open and natural spaces. Addressing these challenges requires advocacy for infrastructure improvements, such as championing Boyd Park’s transformation into a state park, as suggested by community members at the session yesterday.
Additional questions included:
Do you wish you had more and/or different opportunities to experience the natural environment?
What kind of opportunities come to mind?
What are other concerns or stressors that your community is currently facing?
How has climate change impacted your community?
Are there places/sites in your community where these concerns are more prevalent?
We invite you to read through the full set of ideas generated during the community engagement session (see above), to watch the video of the session, and welcome your thoughts on how to improve recreational access to blue and green spaces within the Lower Raritan Watershed and beyond.
Although the information in this document has been funded wholly or in part by the United States Environmental Protection Agency under agreement to the Hudson River Foundation for the New York-New Jersey Harbor & Estuary Program, it has not undergone the Agency’s publications review process and therefore, may not necessarily reflect the views of the Agency, and no official endorsement should be inferred. The viewpoints expressed here do not necessarily represent the belief or opinions of the New York-New Jersey Harbor & Estuary Program, Hudson River Foundation, or United States Environmental Protection Agency. They assume no responsibility or liability for the contents or use of the information herein nor does mention of trade names, commercial products, or causes constitute endorsement or recommendation for use.
Article and photos by Theo McDermott-Hughes. The LRWP is grateful to the PSEG Foundation for generous funding support through the PSEG Neighborhood Partners Grant Program for our “Youth Empowerment Through Boat Building”.
Aadharsh, 16, has always feared the water, making him a perhaps unlikely volunteer for the Lower Raritan Watershed Partnership boat build. This LRWP program aims to increase engagement with and understanding of the Raritan River. Moving water is something Aadharsh had avoided for years, yet this was his second year participating in building a canoe as a member of the Sewa International Central Jersey youth program, which he participates in as a junior at JP Stevens high school.
Aadharsh was drawn to the boat building project and the LRWP because of his love for the environment and dream of being an engineer. After building these boats, starting from the paper designs and research all the way through the construction process of fixing the panels in place and weaving the cane seats, Aadharsh now leads his engineering class at school as they use the same processes and skills he’s already learned in the boat house.
Even more than practical skills and insight into the engineering process, he’s gained deep sense of fulfillment, one he struggled to express as he laid his hands on the lacquered hull of last year’s canoe. “Watching the boat come to life” under his hands gives him the energy to come back each week. He gazed at the panels striping the side of the boat with a sense of awe, bordering on reverence. “You see that?,” he said. “We did that.”
As Aadharsh’s father, Sakkaravarthy, watched his son work with other volunteers to attach the paneling, he expressed his great pride. He always tries to sign up to chaperone the teen volunteers when Aadharsh comes to the build. Not only does he get to watch his son explore his passion, when they return home and Aadharsh inevitably spends dinner enthusiastically talking about what he did at the boat build, Amid can smile along with understanding and pride.
Now, both father and son look forward to the boat launch, when the new canoe will hit the water for the first time this summer along with past years’ boats. Aadharsh can’t wait to paddle down the river that was once such a source of fear.
Join LRWP volunteers like Aadharsh and Sakkaravarthy at our boat-building session on Wednesdays from 6-8 and Saturdays 9-11. Pre-registration required. See you soon!
Article by LRWP Streamkeeper Coordinator, Jon Dugan
In this month’s volunteer spotlight, we are going to learn a little bit about the Ambrose Brook and one of its volunteer Streamkeepers, Mike Vacca.
Ambrose Brook Streamkeeper Mike Vacca on the left, with LRWP Streamkeeper Coordinator Jon Dugan
Ambrose Brook is a tributary of the Green Brook in Middlesex County, New Jersey in the United States. The Ambrose originates underneath what is now a Volkswagen dealership along Route 27 in Edison. It then flows into Lake Papaianni, which is within an Edison Twp. municipal park. The Ambrose then continues flowing northwest, parallel to County Route 529, eventually crossing Route 529 and Ethel Road West, it forms a border to some businesses in Piscataway.
Upon flowing into Lake Nelson, the brook takes a more westerly route into Ambrose Doty’s Park. The brook then takes a southwest turn and flows into the Green Brook near Lincoln Boulevard in Middlesex just before the Raritan River. During this entire course of flow, the LRWP monitors two key locations along the Ambrose Brook, selected for the location to their confluence.
Mike Vacca is one of the Streamkeepers for the two sites along the Ambrose Brook before it connects with the Green Brook. Mike started his volunteer days with the LRWP back in May 2019, where he started learning about the Visual Monitoring Program. He volunteers for the Spring and Fall session on monitoring, and often will attend workshops to sharpen his habitat-assessing skills. Mike takes measurements and graded-evaluations of the stream in order to give it an overall Habitat Assessment score. These scores are compared with prior years to “paint a picture” of the stream health of the course of several years.
When Mike is not out monitoring the Ambrose, his interests are gardening, hiking, movies, music, painting, video games, and spending time with his nieces. Mike also likes collecting glass and interesting looking rocks (especially ones that he finds when walking up and down the river or hiking). Keep an eye out for him the next time you find yourself in the Ambrose Brook watershed!
A fox sparrow takes refuge from a late March snowstorm as it migrates north to its breeding grounds
The fluffy white blanket of an early March snowstorm, preserved by the cold days that followed, began to shrink as the sun fought the darkness for dominance. The snow cover was still unbroken as it grudgingly settled lower each passing day. Eventually the white blanket would lose its loft and become threadbare, unveiling the gravid brown earth.
The days following the storm dawned clear and cloudless. The night sky was a showcase of brilliant white diamonds, alive with energy as they sparkled in the infinite celestial darkness.
An hour before sunrise the west facing snow covered hillside reflected enough light to reveal the fine detail of the skeletal silhouettes of every tree and bush that stood above the white ground cover. Even as the sky began to brighten, the entire hillside remained in shade, preserving the dramatic pre-dawn contrast. For a few slow minutes, the sky above the hill was bathed in a diffuse aura of gold, fading into white, which blended into the palest blue, growing more intense as the brightest stars lingered and were lost among the deepening blue background. For a long moment, night and day, past and present coexisted at one glance. The dynamic scene, frozen on an imaginary vertical tapestry, the black and white hillside held in sharp contrast to the gold and sunlit blue sky above.
In a way, that dawn was symbolic of the dichotomy of March, as the month ushers in the last cold breath of winter and departs amid life emerging from dormancy under the influence of increasing daylength.
Maroon, orange, green, and red buds decorate the bare tree branches to rival fall color, as early spring flowers tolerate the mercurial weather and defiantly poke through any errant late Match snowfall.
Bird migration is now in full swing as flycatchers, osprey, and colorful warblers make their appearance.
Great horned owls, hatched a month earlier, are flightless and near adult size.
March is the best time to find migrating woodcock and observe the unique mating flights performed by the males at dusk, choreographed to impress a potential mate. Woodcock were common locally in open woods and damp fields. As habitat dwindles, any sighting becomes a rare treat. When March rolls around I head for a likely spot where a swale is formed by the earlier mentioned hillside. The hillside is drained by a seasonal stream which remains wet where the gradient levels. The saturated soil creates a perfect environment for earthworms, the main food source for migrating woodcock. Woodcock, also known as Timberdoodles, will often sit tight and allow a close approach.
All migrating birds must deal with unpredictable weather anywhere along their migration path. So, arrival at any one location will vary from year to year. It is somehow comforting when birds that migrate through, show up on schedule. All is right with the world. When snow buntings, headed to points north, stop over at a specific location year after year, a dependence of sort can develop on behalf of the observer. The snowbirds become a reference point, much as a birthday or anniversary.
March provides the ‘wind beneath the wings’ of migrating birds as well as sweeps the land and grooms the trees, wind and March are inseparable.
March has earned the reputation as the month of relentless wind as it rushes mercurial weather on and off the stage to stir the breeze. Think about the wind and the scale of expression from hurricanes and tornadoes to a gentle whisper, where the wind uses a dried stem of grass or tree branch to etch its thoughts in the snow or on the side of an old wooden barn.
The first day of spring will happen on the nineteenth day of March, 2024, at 11: 06 pm. Day and night reach perfect equilibrium for a split second as winter surrenders to spring.
Author Joe Mish has been running wild in New Jersey since childhood when he found ways to escape his mother’s watchful eyes. He continues to trek the swamps, rivers and thickets seeking to share, with the residents and visitors, all of the state’s natural beauty hidden within full view. To read more of his writing and view more of his gorgeous photographs visit Winter Bear Rising, his wordpress blog. Joe’s series “Nature on the Raritan, Hidden in Plain View” runs monthly as part of the LRWP “Voices of the Watershed” series. Writing and photos used with permission from the author.
WHAT: A clean-up of the Old Bridge portion of the South River floodplain
WHEN: Saturday March 2, 10am-noon
WHERE: Park at Miller Elementary School / 2 Old Matawan Rd / Old Bridge, NJ 08857, follow signs to the clean-up staging area behind the school
WHO: The LRWP, Middlesex County Division of Parks, and the Township of Old Bridge
There is plenty of litter in the floodplain, and still some tires we didn’t get in 2020. We need folks willing to pick up plastic bottles and cans as well as those who can heave, hoist and lift the larger items.
By LRWP Monitoring Outreach Coordinator Jocelyn Palomino
The Lower Raritan Watershed Partnership and Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Middlesex County run a volunteer pathogens monitoring program from May to September every summer along the Raritan River. We collect water quality samples at non-bathing public access beach sites, provide our samples to the Interstate Environmental Commission for analysis in their laboratory, and report the results to the public on Friday afternoons.
Our lab results for water quality samples taken on June 15, 2023 show that Enterococcus bacteria levels DO NOT exceed the EPA federal water quality standard at any of our sites this week. Green smiles on the chart and map indicate sites with bacteria levels safe for recreation which includes all of our sites this week: Riverside Park (Piscataway), Rutgers Boathouse (New Brunswick), Edison Boat Ramp and Ken Buchanan Waterfront Park (Edison), South Amboy Waterfront Park (South Amboy), and 2nd Street Park (Perth Amboy).
Pathogens/Enterococci levels are used as indicators of the possible presence of disease-causing bacteria in recreational waters. Such pathogens may pose health risks to people fishing and swimming in a water body. Possible sources of bacteria include Combined Sewer Overflows (CSOs), improperly functioning wastewater treatment plants, stormwater runoff, leaking septic systems, animal carcasses, and runoff from manure storage areas.
Our goal in reporting these results is to give area residents an understanding of potential health risks related to primary contact (touching) the water during water based recreation. Even though our results show water quality levels are safe for recreation this week, please wash thoroughly after all activities if you choose to recreate on the Raritan!
Views as we collect our samples from the Rutgers Boat Dock, Photo Credit: Rose Lawless
We had a large group on the docks this week with a few visitors from Rutgers who joined the team to observe, Photo Credit: Jocelyn Palomino
Rose Lawless carefully logging the data onto the YSI, Colleen Georges collecting samples in the back, and Frank Dahl observing the area with his binoculars behind her, Photo Credit: Jocelyn Palomino
Colleen is always happy to jump into the waders and collect some samples, Photo Credit: Genevieve Ehasz
At our last stop in Perth Amboy, we were joined by the 4th Grade class of Mrs. Laura Toto who came out to observe our work, Photo Credit: Rose Lawless
Special thanks to Mrs. Toto and the 4th Grade students at RN Wilentz Elementary School in Perth Amboy for joining us at our last site to learn all about water quality! Photo Credit: Rose Lawless
Article by Ellie Sroczynski, Team Lead 4H Eco-Maniacs
The past two years LRWP Streamkeeper Volunteer Outreach Coordinator, Jon Dugan, trained two groups of Middlesex County 4-H Ecomaniacs. We monitored sites along the Ireland Brook in East Brunswick and Middle Brook in Bound Brook. Both sites were representative of very different habitats, both forested and developed. The 4-H Eco-Maniacs were taught how to take measurements of temperature, velocity, and ten different environmental factors including items like tree canopy cover and aquatic vegetation. The goal of our training is to empower individuals to become stewards of their local watersheds and continue to monitor these sites yearly.
The Eco-Maniacs are part of the Middlesex County 4-H Youth Development program, focusing on educating themselves and others about environmental issues, on providing service to the community, and on enjoying the outdoors and each other! Engaging in one to two events per month, for example hiking, beach clean-ups, service days at the Mary Denver Native Plant Sanctuary in Highland Park, library programs, street fairs, visual stream assessments with the Lower Raritan Watershed Partnership, and many more! More information can be found on their website at https://ecomaniacs.bss.design/index.html and Instagram @eco_maniacs4h.
Blaze orange leaves adorn this local black oak. Nature’s seasonal clock has struck 10, autumn has arrived as October takes out a full page ad to showcase its array of brilliant color.
The hot breath of August turns September mornings into a smoldering mist as embers of summer’s end burst into an explosion of October color.
The early morning autumn mists, so prominent along the rivers and brooks that flow gently across the landscape, stir the imagination to reach back in time to a place where magic was the accepted answer to the wonders of nature.
Dark green leaves turning to fluorescent orange is the stuff of wonderment. The purpose of which is to generate thought and build creative answers to perplexing questions. It is as if nature is guiding human evolution to higher intelligence by flashing colorful prompts to articulate a creative response. Creativity is the foundation of knowledge and its application. A warm up exercise for the immersion into disciplined technology, ruled by logic and reason.
The heavy white mist, rising from the river, overflows the pastures, providing a blank slate, into which the light of dawn infuses clouds of ever-changing color. A band of intense pastels emerge from the night and rest upon the horizon to await the sun’s arrival. The first color to appear is a layer of fireball red which cools to an orange glaze, so intense, it appears the world is on fire. Purple streaks fading to rose, pink and salmon support layers of golden yellow, chartreuse and sulfur. This celestial palette, stirred by the rushing wind, spurred on by the sun’s heat clashing with the night’s cool air, disperses the colors to tint the rising river mist.
The predawn light begins to color the rising mist along the South Branch
The early morning light show vanishes into thin air as the sun rises to its zenith above earth. Brilliant blue sky, unmarked by clouds, stand in contrast to the colorful October foliage. Late afternoon herds of fluffy white clouds appear animated as their structures are constantly reshaped by the whim of the wind. Each bold cloud, composed of delineated puffs of white, bordered by shades of gray, compel interpretation as they resemble earthbound faces, animals and objects. Again, a playground for the imagination to run wild, compliment of autumn weather. It is easy to understand how humans used the sky to interpret messages from the beyond, as true in paleolithic times as it is today. Playing with clouds is to share the exact same emotion and interpretive conclusions as long-gone ancestors. The clouds become a portal in that way, piercing the impenetrable wall of time to prompt creative interpretation, likely more aligned than different.
Fluffy white clouds invite the viewer to ride the sea of imagination.
It is the colorful autumn foliage which garnishes the late day clouds and dramatic morning river mists of October. At a distance, woodlands appear as a single undulating blanket, woven with colorful threads, showing irregular swatches of yellow, green and scarlet. Viewed as a time lapse, the colors expand southward, while the northern edge reverts to earth tones of grayish brown as if consumed while on the run, from the hungry wolves of winter.
Brilliant, blaze orange oak leaves defy imagination in their intensity, and stand in bold contrast to the conservative green, brown and gray tones that dominate the landscape. Like a flash of fire, its sight demands our absolute attention as sure as the flash of a lightning bolt. In that long moment of awe, imagination, held in abeyance by reality, rushes in to disrupt the continuity of time.
October is totally dedicated to autumn and all its glorious color, a time when golden mists and billowy white clouds mark the transition between summer and winter; a perfect agreement between two polar opposites.
The trail of Octobers past, is a familiar well-worn path through time, lit with the brilliance of golden leaves, beckoning the traveler deeper into a world of timeless beauty.
The trail of Octobers past, is a familiar well worn path through time, lit with the brilliance of golden leaves, beckoning the traveler deeper into a world of timeless beauty.
Author Joe Mish has been running wild in New Jersey since childhood when he found ways to escape his mother’s watchful eyes. He continues to trek the swamps, rivers and thickets seeking to share, with the residents and visitors, all of the state’s natural beauty hidden within full view. To read more of his writing and view more of his gorgeous photographs visit Winter Bear Rising, his wordpress blog. Joe’s series “Nature on the Raritan, Hidden in Plain View” runs monthly as part of the LRWP “Voices of the Watershed” series. Writing and photos used with permission from the author. Contact jjmish57@msn.com.
Gabriella (Ella) Robinson, a freshman at Seton Hall and former resident of Piscataway, has earned her Gold Award after completing over 80 hours of community service in partnership with the Lower Raritan Partnership, the 4H Club, Jack and Jill of America, the Central NJ chapter, and the township of Piscataway and Middlesex County. The Girl Scout Gold Award is presented to fewer than 6 percent of Girl Scouts annually.
Ella’s Gold Award Project, called “Go Green Central New Jersey,” was designed around bringing awareness to the water pollution of the Raritan River. Go Green Central New Jersey’s goal is to protect the Raritan River Watershed and educate residents about the importance of environment at Raritan via cleanups and other community environmental stewardship opportunities. She also created a rain garden in Columbus Park in Piscataway.
Gabriella faced a great deal of adversity to accomplish Gold Award distinction. Working on the award since 2019, she worked throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Hurricane Ida nearly curtailed her plans and she had to move the location of the rain garden because the original location was flooded because of Ida.
“This award is important because it shows not only the importance of each of us helping the environment but why community partners are so important,” explained Gabriella. Gabriella will attend Seton Hall University in the School of Diplomacy and International Affairs where she hopes to make a difference on the global scale.
