Join Watershed Institute Education Director Jeff Hoagland on a morning walk at the Billy Johnson Mountain Lakes Nature Preserve in Princeton to explore and celebrate the wonders of the natural world in winter.

Discover the unique survival strategies of local plants and animals, learn where animals store food and how they survive the season’s relentless chill. Dress warmly; boots are recommended. Presented in partnership with the Watershed Institute and co-sponsored by the Washington Crossing Audubon Society.

Registration begins on December 1 and is required to attend.

Register here: https://thewatershed.doubleknot.com/event/welcome-winter-walk/2866008

Cheers to Volunteers!

Join Friends of Princeton Open Space for a festive Oktoberfest event celebrating our incredible crew of volunteers and the accomplishments of 2020/2021.

Enjoy Oktoberfest local craft beers, hard cider, festive fare + live music with the country sounds of Owen Lake and the Tragic Loves in the beautiful setting of the Mountain Lakes House overlooking the Billy Johnson Mountain Lakes Nature Preserve in Princeton, New Jersey.

Sunday October 17, 2021 | 5:00PM - 7:00PM
Mountain Lakes House | 57 Mountain Road | Princeton
Members: $50 / person + online ticket fee

CLICK HERE FOR TICKETS

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Sponsor Oktoberfest!
We offer a wide range of sponsorship levels to support this event
CLICK HERE FOR SPONSORSHIP INFO

Not a FOPOS member?
Your membership supports Friends of Princeton Open Space
$25 single membership
$40 family membership

Free parking is available in the lot near the Mountain Lakes House or in the public lot on Mountain Road with "Community Park North" signage. NO parking is permitted in the driveway of the Mountain Lakes House. You may drop-off in the driveway.

Oktoberfest event is RAIN or SHINE. The event is scheduled to take place on the covered terrace of the Mountain Lakes House. No refunds - if you are unable to attend, feel free to give your ticket to someone else.

Attendees must be 21+ to be served alcohol.

About Friends of Princeton Open Space: Founded in 1969, FOPOS is a nonprofit organization dedicated to acquiring open space in Princeton for preservation, protecting natural resources, maintaining accessibility to trails, and providing environmental education. As part of their mission, they work with groups in the Princeton region to support efforts to preserve and protect open space and the environment.

For more information about FOPOS, please visit fopos.org. For questions about this event, please email events@fopos.org with OKTOBERFEST in the subject line.

Whole Earth Center, Friends of Princeton Open Space, and Sustainable Princeton invite you to this workshop on selecting and caring for native plants in your garden and yard. Along with beautifying your property, native plants provide food and other crucial support services for native birds, butterflies, and bees — and they require less maintenance than many common garden plants.

This outdoor workshop includes a presentation by Judith K. Robinson, along with a short walk to the Louise Sayen Meadow of Native Plants. Native plants will be available for sale, with a percentage of proceeds benefiting the Friends of Princeton Open Space.

Registration is required to attend - space is limited.
CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

ALL PAID ATTENDEES WILL RECEIVE A $5 WHOLE EARTH CENTER GIFT CARD AND SUSTAINABLE PRINCETON'S TOOLBOOK FOR SUSTAINABLE LANDSCAPING

JUDITH K. ROBINSON has been studying the relationship between soil, plant, and pollinator health since her first organic food garden. She gives workshops on creating beautiful gardens filled with native plants, designs garden pollinator ecosystems for all garden sizes, and teaches Native Plant Garden Design at Mercer County Community College and Princeton Adult School. Learn more at Judith's Our World, Our Choices website.

THIS WORKSHOP WILL BE HELD IN A COVERED OUTDOOR SPACE AND WILL BE HELD RAIN OR SHINE.
Mountain Lakes House
57 Mountain Ave | Princeton, New Jersey

MEN OF COLOR, YOU ARE INVITED!

RETREAT with Dana Hughes Moorhead and Romy Toussaint & Guest Teacher James Siri Sevak Singh. Explore the beauty of nature in Princeton in the Billy Johnson Mountain Lakes Nature Preserve, unplug from the week, unwind from the many demands of life and connect with other men of color.

Here's what to expect:

• Light stretching standing, no mat needed

• Trekking along the trail

• Light vegetarian dinner

• Gong Meditation with guest teacher James Siri Sevak Singh. A gong bath is an amazing form of meditation that is easy and accessible to all. Participants will sit or lie down in a very relaxed position while listening to the gong sounds. A gong meditation is a form of sound healing designed to offer deep relaxation, pain and stress relief, induce a state of calm and deep relaxation.

This retreat will take place rain or shine. Registration is required to attend - space is limited.

Fee: $20 + Eventbrite handling fee // CLICK HERE to register

Because the event is rain or shine, there will be no refunds if you are unable to attend. Feel free to pass your ticket along to a friend.

This event is sponsored by Friends of Princeton Open Space with the goal of increasing access and engagement for communities of color to Princeton's open lands and preserves.

BYO: Mask, water bottle, comfortable shoes for walking (areas of the trail can be muddy) and dress in layers.

We ask that if you are feeling sick, or have potentially been exposed to the COVID-19 virus, to please stay home and join us at another time.

Meeting Location: We will meet at the Mountain Lakes House, 57 Mountain Ave, Princeton New Jersey. Be sure to take the long driveway entrance to the Billy Johnson Mountain Lakes Nature Preserve, marked by a series of white mail boxes, the gravel parking lot is on your left about a 1/2 mile down the paved driveway.

FOPOS gratefully acknowledges the support of Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson for this event.

About Friends of Princeton Open Space:

Founded in 1969, FOPOS is a nonprofit organization dedicated to acquiring open space in Princeton for preservation, protecting natural resources, maintaining accessibility to trails, and providing environmental education. As part of their mission, they work with groups in the Princeton region to support efforts to preserve and protect open space and the environment. For more information, please visit fopos.org.

Earth Day Spring Planting Sessions

Join Friends of Princeton Open Space for a special Earth Day Spring Planting Event!

Volunteers will work under the guidance of Natural Resources and Stewardship Director, Anna Corichi, to plant 5,000+ herbaceous plugs in the Forest Restoration site in the Billy Johnson Mountain Lakes Nature Preserve. Native wildflowers, grasses, and ferns have been selected to provide quality habitat for pollinators, birds, and other wildlife, as well as to withstand tough site pressures, such as those posed by white-tailed deer and invasive species. The plantings will also help to protect local water quality by filtering and slowing runoff before it enters Mountain Brook.

Registration is required to attend. Click MORNING or AFTERNOON to register. [Feel free to join us for both sessions!]

MORNING Session; 9am-Noon
AFTERNOON Session; 1pm-4pm

BYO: Please be sure to bring your own mask, water bottle, and work gloves to the stewardship session. For work days we recommend wearing long sleeves, long pants, and good work boots--it may be muddy out there! We will follow social distancing practices by wearing a mask and maintaining a 6ft distance from others. We ask that if you are feeling sick, have traveled, or have potentially been exposed to the COVID-19 virus, to please stay home and join us at another time.

Meeting Location: We will meet at the Mountain Lake House Parking lot, 57 Mountain Ave, Princeton NJ, and then walk over to the project site as a group. Be sure to take the long driveway entrance to the Billy Johnson Mountain Lake’s Nature Preserve, marked by a series of white mail boxes, the gravel parking lot is on your left about a 1/2 mile down the paved driveway.

Questions? Please email info@fopos.org.

Explore the beauty of nature in Princeton in the Billy Johnson Mountain Lakes Nature Preserve with Dana Hughes Moorhead and Romy Toussaint. We'll stretch, walk, breathe and enjoy all that spending time in nature has to offer.

This event is sponsored by Friends of Princeton Open Space with the goal of increasing access and engagement for communities of color to Princeton's open lands and preserves.

Here's what to expect:

• Yoga Stretch (standing and no mat needed)

• Trekking along the trail

• Sharing time in nature together

Registration is required to attend. Be a friend, register a friend!

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

BYO: Mask, water bottle, comfortable shoes for walking (areas of the trail can be muddy) and dress in layers (spring weather can change quickly).

We will follow social distancing practices and wear masks. We ask that if you are feeling sick, have traveled, or have potentially been exposed to the COVID-19 virus, to please stay home and join us at another time.

Meeting Location: We will meet at the Mountain Lakes House, 57 Mountain Ave, Princeton New Jersey. Be sure to take the long driveway entrance to the Billy Johnson Mountain Lakes Nature Preserve, marked by a series of white mail boxes, the gravel parking lot is on your left about a 1/2 mile down the paved driveway.

FOPOS gratefully acknowledges the support of Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson for this event.

About Friends of Princeton Open Space:
Founded in 1969, FOPOS is a nonprofit organization dedicated to acquiring open space in Princeton for preservation, protecting natural resources, maintaining accessibility to trails, and providing environmental education. As part of their mission, they work with groups in the Princeton region to support efforts to preserve and protect open space and the environment. For more information, please visit fopos.org.

Join Friends of Princeton Open Space for LOVE Your Park Day at the Billy Johnson Mountain Lakes Nature Preserve in Princeton, New Jersey.

During this outdoor work session, volunteer stewards will work under the guidance of our Natural Resource Manager using pruners, loppers, and hand saws to remove invasive vines and shrubs from the woodland habitat that borders the park entrance. Our work will help to ensure a future forest canopy, provide native habitat for wildlife, and enhance the educational and aesthetic experience for visitors of the preserve. We will celebrate our LOVE for nature with a beautification project.

To register for the AFTERNOON session, click on the Eventbrite link here.

BYO: Please be sure to bring your own mask, water bottle, and work gloves to the stewardship session. For work days we recommend wearing long sleeves, long pants, and good work boots--it may be muddy out there! We will follow social distancing practices by wearing a mask and maintaining a 6ft distance from others. We ask that if you are feeling sick, have traveled, or have potentially been exposed to the COVID-19 virus, to please stay home and join us at another time.

Meeting Location: We will meet at the Mountain Lakes House Parking lot, 57 Mountain Ave, Princeton NJ, and then walk over to the project site as a group. Be sure to take the long driveway entrance to the Billy Johnson Mountain Lake’s Nature Preserve, marked by a series of white mail boxes, the gravel parking lot is on your left about a 1/2 mile down the paved driveway.

Questions? Please email info@fopos.org with VOLUNTEER in the subject line.
If you are unable to make this session and would like to be added to our volunteer list, please email info@fopos.org with VOLUNTEER in the subject line.

photo credit: “The Glory of Fall” by Linda Park Photography

Join Friends of Princeton Open Space for LOVE Your Park Day at the Billy Johnson Mountain Lakes Nature Preserve in Princeton, New Jersey.

During this outdoor work session, volunteer stewards will work under the guidance of our Natural Resource Manager using pruners, loppers, and hand saws to remove invasive vines and shrubs from the woodland habitat that borders the park entrance. Our work will help to ensure a future forest canopy, provide native habitat for wildlife, and enhance the educational and aesthetic experience for visitors of the preserve. We will celebrate our LOVE for nature with a beautification project.

To register for the MORNING session, click on the Eventbrite link here.

BYO: Please be sure to bring your own mask, water bottle, and work gloves to the stewardship session. For work days we recommend wearing long sleeves, long pants, and good work boots--it may be muddy out there! We will follow social distancing practices by wearing a mask and maintaining a 6ft distance from others. We ask that if you are feeling sick, have traveled, or have potentially been exposed to the COVID-19 virus, to please stay home and join us at another time.

Meeting Location: We will meet at the Mountain Lakes House Parking lot, 57 Mountain Ave, Princeton NJ, and then walk over to the project site as a group. Be sure to take the long driveway entrance to the Billy Johnson Mountain Lake’s Nature Preserve, marked by a series of white mail boxes, the gravel parking lot is on your left about a 1/2 mile down the paved driveway.

Questions? Please email info@fopos.org with VOLUNTEER in the subject line.
If you are unable to attend this session and would like to be added to our volunteer list, please email info@fopos.org with VOLUNTEER in the subject line.

photo credit: “The Glory of Fall” by Linda Park Photography

On Monday, January 18, help us continue our work in the Forest Restoration Site and Trail Beautification Project in the Billy Johnson Mountain Lakes Nature Preserve in Princeton, New Jersey.

Volunteers will work under the guidance of our Natural Resource Manager using pruners, loppers, and hand saws to remove target invasive species for habitat restoration, as well as work to open up the beautiful lake view. Target invasive species for removal include burning bush, privet, and shrub honeysuckle. These efforts will help to support existing natives such as Witch hazel, St. John's wort, Flowering dogwood, Hemlock, and Beech, among others.

To register, simply email info@fopos.org with VOLUNTEER in the subject line.

BYO: Please be sure to bring your own mask, water bottle, and work gloves to the stewardship session. We will follow social distancing practices when working by maintaining a 6ft distance from others and by wearing a mask when unable to maintain this distance. We ask that if you are feeling sick, have traveled, or have potentially been exposed to the COVID-19 virus to please stay home and join us at another time. We recommend wearing long sleeves, long pants, and work boots for volunteer days--it is best to dress in layers and keep in mind it can be muddy out there.

Questions? Please email info@fopos.org with VOLUNTEER in the subject line.
If you are unable to make this session and would like to be added to our volunteer list, please email info@fopos.org with VOLUNTEER in the subject line.