Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation

This is the second of two posts from our friends at the Hunterdon Land Trust, led by Executive Director Margaret Waldock. In case you missed it last week, read Margaret’s blog post about the linkges beween farms, farmers markets, community building and your local economy. Today, Margaret is talking about the importance of land preservation:

By Margaret Waldock
Executive Director
Hunterdon Land Trust

A few weeks back my 8 year old niece, Irene, who hails from the wilds of Western New York State, told me that when she grows up she is going to move to New Jersey because it’s beautiful and green, and the people are friendly and talk to you. When you consider the prevailing negative impressions of our fair state and that they come mostly from driving on the New Jersey Turnpike or watching reality television, this is kind of astounding.

The reason Irene has formed such a positive impression of our state is that she has directly experienced the fruits of decades of land preservation efforts throughout New Jersey. When Irene and her older sister visit me, we tube down the Delaware River, sun bathe on public beaches, and cycle down bike paths. Her experiences make land preservation relatable to her, so she appreciates what many others fail to see in New Jersey and dreams of one day living in such a green and friendly place.

Making land preservation relevant is essential to efforts to protect New Jerseys farms, forests, and waterways and to fostering a sense of stewardship and responsibility in the next generation.

Recently, my organization hosted a day for the public to explore our Lockatong Preserve in Delaware Township, NJ. Local naturalists and a professional photographer donated their time to lead visitors on guided walks, instructing visitors on the best photography techniques to capture the beauty of nature and pointing out native flora and fauna and our management practices to foster those communities.

Some of the folks that came were people who knew of the land trust, but most didn’t know the preserve existed and that this was a place they could come and enjoy with their families. It’s become apparent to me as executive director of a county wide land trust that events like these are essential to building long term support for our mission.

There is a saying that we protect what we love and we love what we know. Those of us concerned for the future of New Jersey’s unique and special landscapes should follow my niece Irene’s lead – get outside and share the places you know and love with the ones you know and love.

For more information about Hunterdon Land Trust:
Website | Blog | Facebook | Dvoor Farmers’ Market

Images courtesy Hunterdon Land Trust

David Grant, President and CEO

My first entry on the Dodge Blog last fall described a bike ride on the East Coast Greenway from the Rahway Train Station north into Union Township.  The route meandered through municipal parks and along uncrowded residential streets, and it was reassuring to know one could move through that crowded section of central New Jersey under one’s own power.

This beautiful Sunday afternoon, my wife Nancy and I biked from Franklin Township, just north of Princeton, south to the outskirts of Trenton and enjoyed a long stretch of the East Coast Greenway along the D&R Canal towpath.  If you haven’t had the experience of waving to boaters and appreciating the fall colors while pedaling slowly underneath I-295, you should give it a try.  You won’t be alone either, as walkers, hikers, bikers, boaters, fishermen and joggers with strollers have all discovered this historic path.

My own sense of how one can move through New Jersey close to the ground took on an added dimension on Monday, though, when Nancy and I decided to spend Columbus Day afternoon biking on the Patriot’s Path in Morris County.  We noticed a new logo – new to us, that is – deep in the woods, and we stopped to study it and read about it.

We realized we were on the relatively newly created Liberty Water Gap Trail, which connects the Delaware Water Gap in the West to the Hudson River Walkway behind the Statue of Liberty in the East.  It incorporates four existing trails: the Lenape Trail in Essex County; the Patriot’s Path in Morris County; the Sussex Branch Trail in Sussex County; and the Paulinskill Trail in Sussex and Warren Counties.  Eventually it will cover 156 miles and pass 15 sites on the National Register of Historic Places, cross over 36 rivers and streams, and connect you to 46 national, state, county and municipal parks including America’s first county park—Branch Brook Park in Newark.

Why hadn’t I heard of this trail?  When I got home, I checked the website of Rails to Trails and found out why – the coordinating Committee for the Trail is still engaged in a four-year Public Awareness Project.  So let me help.  For all of us interested in a sustainable and healthy New Jersey, for all of us who think physical connections between places foster social and cultural connections as well, for all of us who know the physical beauties of our State when you get off the highways, isn’t it nice to think we can walk from the New York/New Jersey Harbor to the Delaware Water Gap?