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Wednesday, June 28, 2017

BRING THE WHOLE FAMILY TO PRINCETON TO PICNIC AND EXPLORE THE STONY BROOK

Holly Welles and SBMWSA Stony Brook Stream Walk w Jeff Hoagland at DR GreenwayExplore the Stony Brook at Greenway Meadows Park

WHEN: July 6, 5:30-8:30 p.m. (rain date: July 7). Picnic at 5:30 p.m., walk begins 6:30 p.m.
WHERE: D&R Greenway Land Trust’s Johnson Education Center, One Preservation Place, Princeton
ADMISSION: Suggested donation $5 person; register at rsvp@drgreenway.org 609-924-4646
www.drgreenway.org

Explore the Stony Brook at Greenway Meadows Park with a Walk and Picnic at D&R Greenway Land Trust’s Johnson Education Center.  The walk will be led by Jeff Hoagland (below, right), Education Director, Stony Brook-Millstone Watershed Association.

Bring your own picnic—beverages and dessert will be provided. Eat on the terrace before embarking on an exploratory walk.

MINOLTA DIGITAL CAMERAChildren will search for and learn about creatures that live in the stream. Water shoes/boots are recommended for wading into the water. This fun evening outdoors is for the whole family.

“We’re delighted to partner once again with the Watershed Association for this annual activity that begins at our Johnson Education Center and travels to the banks and riffles of the Stony Brook,” says D&R Greenway President & CEO Linda Mead. “D&R Greenway Land Trust and the Stony Brook-Millstone Watershed Association are the two big environmental groups of the region and there’s a lot of synergy between our groups. We do different work, but our work is complementary.”

clip_image002In fact, D&R Greenway was founded in 1989 through the collaboration and vision of the Watershed Association, Friends of Princeton Open Space, Regional Planning Partnership, and the Delaware & Raritan Canal Commission. D&R Greenway’s founders realized the region's open space was threatened with extinction and their vision for an organization dedicated to the preservation of the region’s remaining natural areas led to the creation of a small grassroots organization that completed the first nonprofit acquisition using Green Acres funds in 1992. Hoagland remembers when “The Greenway Project was nestled at the Watershed Association, perfectly complementing our environmental advocacy and education programs.”

“Keeping water clean, safe and healthy is at the heart of the Watershed Association’s mission,” says Watershed Association Executive Director Jim Waltman. “As a consequence of our work, thousands of acres have been protected through our advocacy efforts, including lands along the Stony Brook where the July 6 walk will take place. Since 1949 the Stony Brook-Millstone Watershed Association has worked to protect water and the environment through a concerted collection of activities including speaking for clean water in a wide range of legal forums, educating people about our place in the watershed, and putting citizen scientists in the waterways to monitor their health.”

“D&R Greenway permanently preserves watershed lands and large-scale landscapes, thereby preventing the loss of open space to development,” says Mead. “We provide the public with appropriate access to these areas, encouraging active lifestyles and a greater appreciation of the natural world, and also seek to inspire a conservation ethic promoting policies, educational programs and partnerships that result in a public commitment to land preservation.”

Hoagland has dedicated more than 30 years to the Watershed Association and environmental education. As Education Director he leads workshops and programs for teachers, students and the public, partners with local organizations and municipal groups, speaks at community events and inspires others to love the natural world. He is most at home out there, in the wild.

D&R GREENWAY LAND TRUST IS IN ITS 28TH YEAR of preserving and protecting natural lands, farmlands and open spaces throughout central and southern New Jersey. Through continuous preservation and stewardship -- caring for land and easements to ensure they remain protected and ecologically healthy in perpetuity—D&R Greenway nurtures a healthier and more diverse environment for people and wild species in seven counties. Accredited by the national Land Trust Accreditation Commission, D&R Greenway’s mission is to preserve and care for land and inspire a conservation ethic, now and for the future. Since its founding in 1989, D&R Greenway has permanently preserved 20,000 acres, an area more than 20 times the size of New York City’s Central Park, including 28 miles of trails open to the public.

The Johnson Education Center, a circa 1900 restored barn at One Preservation Place, Princeton, is D&R Greenway’s home. Through programs, art exhibits and related lectures, D&R Greenway inspires greater public commitment to safeguarding land.

clip_image001The Stony Brook-Millstone Watershed Association is dedicated to keeping Central New Jersey’s water clean, safe and healthy. Founded in 1949, the Watershed Association protects and restores water and the environment through conservation, advocacy, science and education. The organization is located at the LEED-Platinum Watershed Center for Environmental Advocacy, Science and Education on the 950-acre Watershed Reserve in Hopewell Township. www.thewatershed.org @H2Oshed