Join Us for These Exciting Summer Events

The Edge of Darkness

Families (children 5yo+) and adults are invited to join SBMWA Education Director Jeff

Hoagland on an evening walk at the Mountain Lakes Preserve in Princeton to explore the wonders of the natural world during dusk on a summer evening. Discover the intersection between the diurnal and nocturnal worlds as we observe feeding fish and bats as well as singing insects. Bring a picnic meal to enjoy on the terrace at Mountain Lakes House before our walk. Call the SBMWA Education department, 609-737-7592, to register. Fee is $5 per person. This program is co-sponsored by Stony Brook-Millstone Watershed Association.

When: Wednesday, July 31, 7:00-8:30PM

Where: Mountain Lakes Preserve, 57 Mountain Avenue, Princeton

Lake Carnegie Paddle

Join us for a guided morning paddle on Lake Carnegie, in cooperation with Griggstown Canoe and Kayak Rental in Princeton. Naturalist and Education Director Jeff Hoagland will share some of the many wonders of Lake Carnegie. View the lake from a different perspective, discovering firsthand a wide array of plant and animal life. Fee ranges from $25 – $50, depending on watercraft rental. Call the SBMWA Education department, 609-737-7592, to register. Co-sponsored by Stony Brook-Millstone Watershed Association.

When: Saturday, August 3, 9:30AM – 12:00PM

Where: Turning Basin Park, Alexander Road, Princeton

Girl Scouts Celebrate Earth Day with Service Project at Mountain Lakes Prerserve

The Princeton Girl Scouts Service Unit joined Friends of Princeton Open Space for an Earth Day Celebration at Mountain Lakes Preserve, on April 21. The group honored the holiday with a service project to plant 40 new trees and shrubs along the Preserve’s woods and lake. Afterwards, the girls enjoyed crafts and snacks at the Mountain Lakes House. FOPOS’s naturalist also led them through a nature scavenger hunt in Witherspoon Woods, where they explored the many trees, flowers, and fungi growing in our local environment.

A big thank you to Jean Crider, Elizabeth Monroe, and all the wonderful Girl Scouts for donating their time to bring new life in Mountain Lakes’ forests.

Thank you also to the New Jersey Tree Foundation for providing trees and shrubs, as part of their Celebrate Arbor Day program to plant over 10,000 trees across the state.

Explore Witherspoon Woods

Adults and families with children 6 and older are invited to join Jeff Hoagland, Education Director of Stony Brook-Millstone Watershed Association, for an enlightening look at the geology, ecology and human history of this unique forest in Princeton. We will discover ‘life and death’ in the forest while examining a myriad of adaptations in various species. This hike will take us through mature forest, along old stonewalls, across small streams and through a memorable boulder field including Devil’s Cave. Registration is required – please email mpolefka@thewatershed.org or call 609-737-7592 for more information and to sign up. Fee is $5 per person, payable that day. This program is co-sponsored by Stony Brook-Millstone Watershed Association and Washington Crossing Audubon.

When: Saturday, May 4, 2013, 9:30AM – 12:00PM

Where: Cherry Hill Road, Princeton, NJ. Meet at gravel parking lot; sign at entrance reads “Witherspoon Woods”

Friends of Princeton Open Space Annual Meeting 2013

• Talk by Dr. Anthony Broccoli, Professor of Atmospheric Science, Department of Environmental Sciences at Rutgers University.

• Walk through Mountain Lakes' Tusculum, lead by FOPOS' naturalist.

Dr. Anthony Broccoli, Professor of Atmospheric Science in the Department of Environmental Sciences at Rutgers University, will be the featured speaker at the Friends of Princeton Open Space (FOPOS) 2013 Annual Meeting, Sunday, April 28th at 3:00 P.M., at Mountain Lakes House. He will speak on “Climate Change and Extreme Weather: A New Normal?”

“In the wake of Hurricane Sandy and other recent powerful storms in our region, there is tremendous interest in the relationship between climate change and extreme weather events,” said Wendy Mager, FOPOS president. “Professor Broccoli will discuss this relationship as well as the implications for how we prepare for the impacts of future extreme weather events.”

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

The talk is open to the public. Anyone wishing to attend is urged to RSVP by April 24th — phone 609-921-2772.

Dr. Broccoli serves as Director of the Rutgers Climate and Environmental Change Initiative. His primary research interest is climate dynamics, especially the simulation of past climates and climate change. He currently serves as Chief Editor of the Journal of Climate, and he has been a contributor and reviewer for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Prior to coming to Rutgers, Dr. Broccoli spent 21 years at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory in Princeton, one of the premier climate modeling centers in the world. He is a Fellow of the American Meteorological Society and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Welcome Winter Walk

Adults and families with children 5 and older are invited to join Jeff Hoagland, Education Director of Stony Brook-Millstone Watershed Association, on a winter morning walk at the Mountain Lakes Preserve in Princeton. Together we will explore the wonders of the natural world in winter. Discover the unique survival strategies of local plants and animals from milkweed to meadow vole and red oak to robin. Learn where animals store food and how they survive the season’s relentless chill. And enjoy the fun of the ‘Hibernation Game’. Dress warmly, boots are recommended, and bring your sense of wonder. Registration is required – please email mpolefka@thewatershed.org or call 609-737-7592 for more information and to sign up. Fee is $5 per person, payable that day. This program is co-sponsored by Stony Brook-Millstone Watershed Association.

When: Saturday, January 5, 2013, 9:30-11:30AM
Where: Mountain Lakes Preserve, Parking area at 34 Mountain Avenue, Princeton
(Community Park North Parking Lot)