annual appeal, land preservation, nature
FOPOS
2024 Annual Membership Letter

Since 1969, your generous support has fueled our success. Read Friends of Princeton Open Space’s annual membership letter to see how your contributions are driving vital conservation efforts, from habitat restoration to mentoring young environmental leaders. Help us make even greater strides in 2025.

2024 Annual Membership Letter
FOPOS
FOPOS Seeks Program Coordinator

FOPOS seeks a part-time program coordinator to work directly with FOPOS’s Director of Natural Resources and Stewardship to manage the organization’s year-round volunteer stewardship program and community events series. The selected candidate should be detail-oriented and able to manage emails, databases, program messaging and schedules as well as improve upon existing systems and workflow. Ideally, the program coordinator will be an enthusiastic person supportive of and tapped into land stewardship and preservation within the greater Princeton area. Web design skills, and experience in fundraising or marketing and promoting a business are a plus. This is an administrative job that offers flexibility in location, with the ideal candidate available to participate in regular in-person meetings and work sessions, as well as be present for key events located at the Billy Johnson Mountain Lakes Nature Preserve in Princeton, NJ.

This is an ongoing position that has the potential to grow with the right candidate, and is suitable for professionals as well as recent graduates with applicable skill sets.

FOPOS Seeks Program Coordinator
annual appeal, land preservation, nature
FOPOS
Recruit A Friend To Be A Friend

Over the past twelve months, Friends of Princeton Open Space has focused on ecological restoration projects and on educating the next generation of conservationists, including those from communities of color. We are happy to report that, with your support, we have chalked up major successes.

Recruit A Friend To Be A Friend
photo contest
FOPOS
Princeton, We Have A Winner!

We’re thrilled to announce the winners of this year’s photo contest. While it’s never easy to choose, we think these top three are pretty outstanding.

Princeton, We Have A Winner!
annual appeal, land preservation, nature
FOPOS
A Message from Wendy Mager, FOPOS President

The past twelve months have been filled with new projects and new achievements for Friends of Princeton Open Space that advance our mission to preserve and care for open space, educate the public on environmental issues, and advocate for sound governmental decisions. Here’s some of what we’ve accomplished with your support.

A Message from Wendy Mager, FOPOS President

Princeton Green Connections Map

Friends of Princeton Open Space is working with Sustainable Princeton and other organizations in the community to create an interactive map of Princeton’s natural resources. The Princeton Green Connections Map is intended to show key green spaces and resources available for public enjoyment. Many FOPOS preserves, including Mountain Lakes, John Witherspoon Woods, and Community Park North, are featured for their hiking trails and beautiful natural landscapes.

Follow the link to explore the Princeton Green Connections Map and to suggest a site!

Friends of Princeton Open Space Annual Meeting 2012

Emile DeVito, Ph.D., Manager of Science and Stewardship for the New Jersey Conservation Foundation, will be the featured speaker at the Friends of Princeton Open Space 2012 Annual Meeting onSunday April 29th at 3:00 PM at Mountain Lakes House. He will speak on “Using Shade to Restore the Forest Floor.”

“Our state and region are facing critical forest management issues and Dr. DeVito is a leader in helping to inform and shape public policy.” said Wendy Mager, FOPOS president. “His talk on restoring the forest floor will be of special interest to the Princeton community, where we are working actively to provide effective stewardship for our more than 1,000 acres of preserved woods and fields. ”

Mountain Lakes House is located at 57 Mountain Ave, Princeton. Following the meetings, refreshments will be served, and Dr. Devito and AeLin Compton, Natural Resources Manager for Friends of Princeton Open Space, will lead a walk in Mountain Lakes Preserve and adjacent Tusculum.

Anyone Wishing to attend is urged to RSVP by April 23 — phone (609) 921-2772.

Dr. DeVito received his doctorate in Ecology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1988 for research on bird communities and vegetation landscapes in New Jersey’s Pine Barrens. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Zoology from Rutgers University. Dr. Devito develops management plans designed to protect and enhance biological diversity for NJCF’s 20,000-plus acres of holdings. He is a trustee of the Pinelands Preservation Alliance and the NJ Natural Lands trust, and serves on the Endangered and Non-Game Species Advisory Committee within the NJ Division of Fish and Wildlife; the New Jersey Invasive Species Council; and the Science Advisory Committee of the NY-NJ Trail Conference.

Walks Across Princeton

Join Friends of Princeton Open Space on April 14th for a series of walks to celebrate Princeton's natural areas.

The walks, over long, medium and short courses, will commence at three different starting points and traverse paths and trails leading to Mountain Lakes House in the Mountain Lakes Preserve.

The Long Walk, about 90 minutes each way, will commence at the Hun School at 1 p.m. Walkers will follow a trail along the Stony Brook to connect to a bike path, local sidewalks, and ultimately across Coventry Farm into Mountain Lakes Preserve to Mountain Lakes House. Meet at the flag pole by the Athletic Center parking lots.

The Medium Walk, about 30 minutes each way, will start at the Stuart School parking area at 1:30 p.m. Participants will walk through the woods and fields of the 280+ acre preserve that is Princeton’s “central park” on their way to Mountain Lakes House.

The Short Walk, about 20 minutes each way, will begin at 1:45 at the Community Park North parking area off Mountain Avenue. The walk will go through the “piney woods” and across the fields of Tusculum on the way to Mountain Lakes House.

Each walk will be have a leader to show the way, and routes will be clearly marked. Walkers are urged to wear sturdy shoes that can get muddy and to be prepared to navigate some rocks and tree roots along the way as they explore our local open space.

The event is designed so that all walkers will meet at Mountain Lakes House at approximately 2 p.m. for refreshments before completing the round trip back to the parking areas. At Mountain Lakes House, Steve Hiltner, clarinetist with the Sustainable Jazz Ensemble (sustainablejazz.com), will be joined by Janet Vertesi on harp to play original compositions and standards with a spring theme. Steve also maintains the nature blog princetonnaturenotes.org.

Thanks to Good Food Naturally and Whole Earth Center for providing delicious and healthy snacks for hungry walkers! Please follow the links to their websites for more information.

To register, click here. For more information, email info@fopos.org or call 921-2772

Westerly Road Church Youth Volunteer at Mountain Lakes Preserve

On Saturday, March 24, the Westerly Road Church Youth Group volunteered their time to help with land stewardship at Mountain Lakes Preserve. Friends of Princeton Open Space Naturalist, AeLin Compton, with the help of Steve Hiltner and Andrew Thorton, led the group of volunteers in a morning of invasive plant removal.

The day began with a short talk by AeLin on the importance of preserving native plant communities and the threats posed by invasive species. Then the group learned to identify a few plants, including native spicebush and invasive honeysuckles. For the remainder of the morning, they worked along the entrance of the Mountain Lakes driveway, removing invasive shrubs and vines. The energetic volunteers cleared entire patches of Oriental privet, Amur honeysuckle and multiflora rose, and rescued several large spicebush from aggressive Japanese honeysuckle vines. Through all of their efforts, they’ve given the Preserve’s native plant communities an opportunity to grow and flourish into the growing season!

Below are a few pictures of the day’s fun!

Special thanks to Westerly Road Church Pastor of Youth, Robert Olszewski, and the wonderful group of volunteers for all of their hard work!

If you’d like to volunteer with Friends of Princeton Open Space, please contact AeLin Compton at aelincompton@fopos.org.

FOPOS Welcomes New Natural Resources Manager

AeLin Compton, Natural Resource Manager

AeLin Compton, Natural Resource Manager

Friends of Princeton Open Space welcomes its new natural resource manager, AeLin Compton. AeLin succeeds FOPOS’s outgoing resource manager of 6 years, Steve Hiltner. She comes to Friends of Princeton Open Space after working with the NJ Invasive Species Strike Team, where she helped defend the state’s native ecosystems through the mapping and rapid removal of emerging invasive plant populations. She has her BS in Ecology and Natural Resources and certificate in Environmental Geomatics from Cook College at Rutgers University.

As natural resource manager, AeLin plans to to continue Friends of Princeton Open Space’s land stewardship efforts through strategic invasive species management and active habitat restoration across its preserves. She looks forward to working together with members of the Princeton community to help improve the biodiversity of our open spaces.

Please contact AeLin Compton at aelincompton@fopos.org for volunteer opportunities or additional information on land stewardship at Friends of Princeton Open Space’s preserves.