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Creating Nature in Our Communities

Sister Cities Park

“Imagine a therapy that had no known side effects, was readily available, and could improve your cognitive functioning at zero cost. Such a therapy has been known to philosophers, writers, and laypeople alike: interacting with nature. Many have suspected that nature can promote improved cognitive functioning and overall well-being, and these effects have recently been documented.”

-Berman, Marc G, John Jonides, and Stephen Kaplan. 2008. “The Cognitive Benefits of Interacting With Nature” Psychological Science 19: 1207-1212

By now, most of us have heard about hospital patients with views of trees recovering faster than those with poor (or no) views from their rooms. These effects are not only very real, but they’re part of a rising tide of research that’s identifying the same pattern over and over: encounters with nature, even on a very small scale, can have significant benefits on our well-being.

But those encounters are exceedingly fleeting or nonexistent for the growing numbers of people around the world who live and work in urban environments.

We need to be more focused on the broader idea of bringing nature – including native plant communities and the beneficial wildlife they attract – into communities in as many ways as possible.  Not just into our parks and green spaces, but into our schools, hospitals, mental health centers, offices, streetscapes, and commercial spaces. It’s not only important from a sustainability perspective, but also a human one, as researchers keep finding more and more mental and physical health benefits stemming from even brief encounters with nature.  

Just the Tip of the Iceberg:

  • A meta-analysis of 143 studies found wide-ranging health benefits associated with green space exposure, including “statistically significant reductions in diastolic blood pressure, salivary cortisol and heart rate.” [see sources below]
  • Populations that are exposed to the greenest and most natural environments have the “lowest levels of health inequality related to income deprivation.”
  • Access to green spaces reduces stress and stress-related illness for urban dwellers “regardless of the informant’s age, sex and socio-economic status.”
  • Interactions with nature “improves cognition and affect for individuals with depression.”
  • “Children with ADHD who play regularly in green play settings have milder symptoms than children who play in built outdoor and indoor settings. This is true for all income groups and for both boys and girls.”
  • Employees with views of nature from their workspaces had higher job satisfaction and lower stress and took fewer sick days than those without nature views at the same companies.
  • Populations that live close to trees showed 8-12% lower mortality rates.

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Nature in the Built Environment

At Wild Roots, we believe that by incorporating naturalistic plant communities into the built environment, we can all experience these benefits.

What do we mean by nature? You don’t have to visit a wilderness or National Park to find it, but it’s more than just open green space. And it’s definitely not beds of mulch with a few of the same old plants poking up at widely spaced intervals.

We believe that to have the greatest effect, we need to create thriving plant communities wherever we can that change with the seasons and over time. These areas should be alive with wildlife, including beneficial insects like butterflies, bumblebees, and other pollinators, as well as native songbirds. We also believe the plantings should reflect the natural landscapes of their regions, one of the many reasons we prefer to use native plants whenever possible.

These benefits can and should be available to everybody. Contact us to discuss how a dose of nature can benefit your community!

Sources

  • Twohig-Bennet, Caoimhe and Andy Jones. 2018. “The health benefits of the great outdoors: A systematic review and meta-analysis of greenspace exposure and health outcomes” Environmental Research 166: 628-637
  • Mitchell, Richard and Frank Popham. 2008. “Effect of exposure to natural environment on health inequalities: an observational population study” The Lancet 372: 1655-1660
  • Grahn, Patrik and Ulrika A Stigsdotter. 2003. “Landscape planning and stress” Urban Forestry and Urban Greening 2: 1-18
  • Berman, Marc G, Ethan Kross, Katherine M. Krpan, Mary K. Askren, Aleah Burson, Patricia J. Deldin, Stephen Kaplan, Lindsay Sherdell, Ian H. Gotlib, and John Jonides. 2012. “Interacting with Nature Improves Cognition and Affect for Individuals with Depression” Journal of Affective Disorders 140(3): 300-305
  • Taylor, Andrea Faber and Frances E. (Ming) Kuo. 2011. “Could Exposure to Everyday Green Spaces Help Treat ADHD? Evidence from Children’s Play Settings” Applied Psychology: Health and Well‐Being 3(3): 281-303
  • Shin, Won Sop. 2007. “The influence of forest view through a window on job satisfaction and job stress” Scandinavian Journal of Forest Research 22: 248-253
  • Elzeyadi, Ihab. 2011. “Daylighting-Bias and Biophilia: Quantifying the Impact of Daylighting on Occupants Health” USGBC
  • Crouse, Dan L, Lauren Pinault, Adele Balram, Perry Hystad, Paul A Peters, Hong Chen, et al. 2017 “Urban greenness and mortality in Canada’s largest cities: a national cohort study” The Lancet Planetary Health 1: 289-297

Ice Age Sand Dunes: Hidden Gems In the Pines

pine barrens paleolithic dune

Walking down a dirt road through the pine barrens in Brendan Byrne State Forest, all of a sudden, the woods open up, and we’re standing in a sandy open area with virtually no vegetation.? People lucky enough to be familiar with the area know that “pine barrens” is a bit of a misnomer given the vibrant plant and animal communities that thrive there.? But my first impression of this clearing is that it’s, well, pretty barren.

A small group of participants in the Rutgers Environmental Stewards Program is touring the pine barrens, and Emile DeVito, ecologist and Manager of Science and Stewardship for the New Jersey Conservation Foundation is our guide.? And we couldn’t ask for a more knowledgeable one.

What we’re standing on, Dr. DeVito informs us, is a paleolithic sand dune, a remnant of the forces that shaped the landscape during the last ice age.? While the ice sheets themselves never reached this far south, the spot where we were standing was only about 70 miles from a wall of ice thousands of feet high.? Hurricane-force winds regularly scoured the sandy former sea floor that makes up southern New Jersey’s coastal plain.? Sand from wetlands was piled up into nearby dunes, many of which persist today.

And sure enough, just a couple hundred yards from the dune area is a vernal pool.? Inundated in the winter and spring but mostly dry in the summer, it has no outlet or connection to nearby waterways, and therefore no fish.? So it makes an ideal breeding ground for frogs and toads.? I made a mental note to bring Mae to this spot in the spring to hear the frog symphony.

vernal pool pine barrens

Though it looks like a regular meadow now, this vernal pool is saturated in the springtime and is teeming with amphibian life.

As for the dune itself, despite appearances, it’s far from barren – in fact it’s a haven for several rare species.? In this particualr area, Dr. DeVito points out a population of Pickering’s Morning Glory (Stylisma pickeringii), one of the many rare species of plants that can be found in the pines.? There are only a handful of populations left, and off-road vehicles are a particular threat.? The plants were going dormant now, but we did see a number of seedpods, which will hopefully lead to new seedlings in the spring.

These Pickering’s morning glory vines don’t look like much as they’ve entered dormancy. But they’re a very special plant that needs to be protected.? Here they’re growing across a carpet of mint-green reindeer lichen.

Dr. DeVito also pointed out the den of a northern pine snake, another threatened species and an excellent burrower.? Growing up to five feet long, their coloring allows them to blend easily with the forest floor.? Off-road vehicles are a threat to the snakes as well, as are poachers (they’re prized as pets for their docility and long life span).? The New Jersey Conservation Foundation is using radio transmitters to track a number of female pine snakes to identify and protect their winter dens, where up to 30 individuals will pass the colder months.? On our dune, we can see that a female had laid eggs this year and the young had shed their skins upon emergence.? Didn’t spot any actual snakes though.

pine snake egg chamber

The entrance to an egg chamber of a northern pine snake. If you look closely in the vegetation, you can see some of the skins shed by the baby snakes.

Later that day, at another spot a few miles away, we did get a chance to radio track a female snake.? After tromping through the woods for about 20 minutes listening for the beeps of the transponder, we were able to locate the snake.? Since it was warm, Dr. DeVito was hoping it would be out and about, but she was below ground in her burrow.? This particular snake was living very close to a popular area for off-roading spot, so we hoped it could stay safe as it moved about in search of food and a winter den.

Other ancient dunes are scattered around the pine barrens, and they’re yet another great reminder of the surprises these landscapes always seem to have in store.

How can you tell where the dune ends? Just look at where the vegetation starts back up again.

 

spiderwebs pine barrens

I looked down and thought, “Cool, the mist looks neat on those spiderwebs.” Dr. DeVito, on the other hand, pointed out that today would be a great day to study the spiders’ territoriality.

 

Mountain Laurelpalooza at Black Run Preserve

mountain laurel flower kalmia latifolia bloom

There’s a lot to love about Black Run Preserve, but maybe the best thing in my mind is how close it is to home. Most other Pine Barrens hikes are a 45-minute to an hour drive for us, but we can get to Black Run in under 25 minutes. (When you have a 2-year-old in the car, that extra 20 minutes can seem like an hour.)

Visiting Black Run feels almost like you’re being transported.? You’re driving in the worst kind of Jersey suburban sprawl, then all of a sudden, right around Route 73, you cross from the inner to the outer coastal plain, and everything changes. The sandy, acidic soils give rise to a completely distinct plant community. Far from being barren, these woods are teeming with life?though it’s limited to a relatively small number of species that have co-evolved to thrive in these infertile landscapes.

We’d never been to Black Run in the spring before, but after seeing the many mountain laurels (Kalmia latifolia) scattered throughout, we made a note to try to get back at the right time to see them in bloom. This past weekend was just about the peak.

Warning: If you get bored easily by pictures of flowers, this may not be the post for you.

mountain laurel bloom

Everywhere we looked we spotted?Mountain Laurel in bloom.

Practicing more naturalistic, ecological landscaping at home makes any walk out into nature more interesting, because inspiration is everywhere. Though we haven’t had much success (any success) growing mountain laurel yet, seeing the way the shrubs mix with ferns and high bush blueberry helps give us a nice reference point when thinking about how to incorporate different types of plants in a (slightly more composed) way that mimics natural plant communities.

mountain laurel ostrich fern flower

Here’s some intermingling with Ostrich Fern (Matteuccia struthiopteris), another common Black Run sight.

Again, it’s amazing how different the landscape is from our own for how close it is.? Note the classic Pine Barrens sand.

Mae rolled in ready for action, having insisted on wearing both her new pants and new skirt at once. She also managed to find the perfect walking stick.

One highlight of our walk was getting to meet this Fowler’s toad.?A family was hiking a few hundred yards ahead of us, and their son very thoughtfully decided to bring the toad he caught back to show Mae.?She was very pleased, but a little nervous about touching it. There were also a lot of what looked like Spicebush Swallowtails (Papilio troilus) and other butterflies flitting about, but none of them stayed still long enough to get a picture.

A Fowler’s toad, attempting to demonstrate how not to be seen

There are only about twenty species of tree that are native to the inhospitable soils of the pine barrens.?Aside from the pines, of course, you’ll see a lot of oaks (mostly swamp oaks) and sweetgum in Black Run, as well as the occasional sassafrass.

sassafrass leaves

A young sassafrass tree (Sassafras albidum), which is a host plant for the Spicebush Swallowtail butterfly

Black Run is fairly heavily wooded, with most of the open, sunny areas being grassy wetlands.? But we did spot a big colony of sweet fern in a bright opening in the upland woods.? It’s actually a small shrub, not a true fern.? And it loves sunny spots with crappy soil, so it’s a good one to try in any problem spots in your yard.? The leaves also smell great when you rub or crush them.

sweet fern comptonia peregrina

Comptonia peregrina

Ok, to wrap things up, here’s one more flower shot, this time with some cool lichen that Lindsay spotted.

Mountain laurel in bloom

Black Run is well worth a visit, and if you get there in the next week or so, you’ll still be able to catch the big show.

Trail Map

We parked at the main lot on the east side of Kettle Run Road.? For our hike, we mostly followed the wide trail marked in blue on the map, turning around when it started getting perilously close to naptime for the youngest member of our party, though there are lots of side trails to head out on as well.? The lot was packed with cars, but with all the side trails it didn’t feel crowded.? Despite the bogs, it didn’t seem buggy, but we did find one tick (luckily unattached), so use appropriate caution.

Spring Blooms at Mt. Cuba Center

When we last made the trip to Mt. Cuba Center, northern Delaware’s native plant showcase, fall bloomers were making their last stand, and trees were shedding their leaves.

It looked pretty different this time around; their woodland-dominated landscape was still bright and sunny in the last weeks before the trees leafed out.? So while most plants were just breaking their winter dormancy, it was a great time to see the spring ephemerals put on a show.? These are the plants that take advantage of the brief window in woodland areas between when the weather and soil warm up and the trees fully leaf out and cast shade over the ground.

toad trillium

Toad Trillium – Trillium cuneatum

Trilliums (a.k.a. wake-robins or toadshades) are the classic example.? They appear in early spring on the forest floor, rapidly complete their full flowering cycle, and enter dormancy as their leaves, stems, and flowers wither away, leaving no trace by early summer.

White Trillium - Trillium grandiflorum

White Trillium – Trillium grandiflorum

Mt. Cuba has a great selection of ephemerals.? Virginia bluebells, Quaker ladies (houstonia), bloodroots, and other species carpet the forest floors.

Other spring flowering plants, like the woodland phlox species, foamflowers, and celandine poppies which were blooming in abundance this weekend, stick around after flowering, and their foliage provides a nice groundcover throughout the summer.

It was also a great time to see other parts of the landscape waking up.? Fern fiddleheads were unrolling everywhere you looked, trees and shrubs were beginning to flower, and leaf buds were opening up.

Bloodroot, foamflower, and trillium

Bloodroot, foamflower, and trillium

 

Ferns unfurl as a small woodland creature darts in the background

Ferns unfurl as a small woodland creature darts by in the background.

 

False rue-anemone (Enemion biternatum) and celandine poppy (Stylophorum diphyllum) blanket the ground

False rue-anemone (Enemion biternatum) and celandine poppy (Stylophorum diphyllum) blanket the ground.

 

Christmas fern (Polystichum acrostichoides) fronds manage to stick around and stay green through the winter, then finally die back just as their replacements emerge

Christmas fern (Polystichum acrostichoides) fronds manage to stick around and stay green through the winter, then finally die back just as their replacements emerge.

 

Newly emerged foliage of an oakleaf hydrangea (Hydrangea quercifolia)

Newly emerged foliage of an oakleaf hydrangea (Hydrangea quercifolia).? First described by Philadelphia’s own William Bartram, this southeast native is at home in mid-Atlantic gardens.


Mt. Cuba Center‘s gardens are open Wednesday through Sunday from 10 am ? 4 pm, April-November 19. We recommend bringing a picnic lunch if you’re headed out on a nice day. Mt. Cuba also offers classes year-round in ecological gardening, conservation, art and more.

Whitesbog Village: Blueberries, Beauty and Feminism

Whitesbog Village building

It’s going to be a cold week with Christmas festivities at the tail end, so I wanted to get outside yesterday despite the rain. We drove about 50 minutes to Whitesbog Village, and it was well-worth the distance and eventual “OMG we’re missing our toddler’s nap window! Now she’s literally pulling her hair out!” moment on the way home.

Whitesbog, a registered national and state historic site, is part of Brendan T. Byrne State Forest. It features a “village” of beautiful old buildings and 3,000 acres of cranberry bogs, blueberry fields, reservoirs, sandy roads, woodlands, streams and trails. Not only that, it’s a site on New Jersey’s Women Heritage Trail due to the work of “Blueberry Queen” Elizabeth Coleman White. She’s the one who brought Jersey blueberries to the masses after extensive research for growth habits, taste, scent and texture.

According to the Whitebog website, White also focused her research on the American holly (ilex opaca). “She even founded her own nursery business?Holly Haven, Inc.?and is credited with having helped to rescue the American holly from obscurity. She was even one of the first members of the Holly Society of America, founded in 1947.”

Volunteers have worked hard for decades to restore and preserve Whitesbog Village, including White’s old house. It’s a gorgeous place to stroll along paths lined with mountain laurel and other native plants, view cranberry bogs, check out White’s original test garden and experience the beauty of the Pines.

 

The Whitesbog General Store was closed yesterday morning, which was a bit of a bummer, because I was looking forward to picking up a few last-minute Christmas gifts. It’s typically open Saturdays and Sundays from 10am to 4pm February through December, and carries blueberry and cranberry preserves, honey, candy, books on the Pine Barrens, and items handcrafted by locals.

whitesbog_generalstore

The store and other buildings within the village date back to the late 1800s and early 1900s. The largest building, which is basically rubble now, was the packing and storing facility that was damaged in two different fires. In the other adorable buildings, Whitesbog Preservation Trust tells the story of Whitesbog Village and holds events, such as art shows, festivals and a holiday craft fair.

We knew we were in a good place when we walked up to find this awesome banner of a Jersey Devil playing banjo. Whitesbog regularly holds a Blueberry Music Jam, an acoustic jam for local musicians, which I’m hoping Tim will attend, banjo in tow. whitesbog_jerseydevil

The trip was still fun without anything in particular going on and a tiny bit of rain. Speaking of that rain, inspired by a story in the Introduction of a book I’m reading, How to Raise a Wild Child, I let Mae try splashing her boots into the puddles. She’s a kid. She should be allowed to splash in that puddle to see what it’s all about, even if it means she gets a little dirty. whitebog_splash

One highlight was meeting a landscaping volunteer who saw me taking pictures and led me to the most awesome looking fungus. He admittedly isn’t a “fungus guy” so wasn’t quite sure what it was, but he did then proceed to show us all kinds of plants, native and not. He’s most certainly a plant guy, a weekend botanist, as he says.

The volunteer showed us a small American climbing fern (lygodium palmatum), a rare native fern with S2 status, meaning there are only 6 to 20 known occurrences in the state due to habitat destruction.

whitesbog_climbingfern

Speaking of destruction, here’s a photo of the old packing and storing facility, or what’s left:

whitesbog_factory

As I’ve mentioned in other posts, when the more showy flowers of spring, summer and fall die off, some of the other aspects of the landscape finally get time to shine. This evergreen moss, which popped up all over the grounds and trails, is a beautiful contrast to the greys and browns of winter. Seeing it here led me to, once again, look into native mosses that could work in our garden. We don’t live in the Pine Barrens — we don’t have that sandy soil — so while this one wouldn’t work, there are others. But that’s for a later post.

whitesbog_moss_closeup

Looking out from the trails closer to Elizabeth’s old home, the scene is stunning even on the gloomiest day just before winter settles in. I can’t wait to return in different seasons to observe how it changes.

 

whitesbog_cranberrybog

Part of the trails has a boardwalk, which Mae loves, and there is a real range of plant species. The forest of Whitesbog includes sweet gum, pitch pine, red maple, black gum, holly, and Atlantic white cedar.

whitesbog_trailboards

We believe this next photo is of a really old American sweet gum, but would love to be corrected if we’re wrong. Identifying trees without leaves while wrangling a dog and toddler can present a challenge at times.

whitesbog_awesometree

The grounds around White’s house have a mix of natives and non-natives, though as far as I understand, the Whitesbog Preservation Trust’s goal with maintenance is to keep her collection of friendly non-natives healthy, get rid of invasives and add only plants native to the Pine Barrens and this region in particular.

This low-growing shrub, bearberry (Arctostaphylos uva-ursi), can be found close to White’s house, and is prettier than this photo suggests. It’s a great native groundcover for those of you with that signature Pine Barrens sandy soil. It’s a host plant for the Hoary Elfin, Brown Elfin and Freija Fritillary butterflies, and its bright berries are edible.

whitesbog_bearberry

As always, we have lots of other plant photos to share, and will continue to do so on Instagram. But all in all, it was a great little family adventure. And again, we weren’t even there when one of the many events was happening!

Franklin Parker Preserve: A Pine Barrens Treasure

Cranberry Meadow at Franklin Parker Preserve

While the Pine Barrens are rightly known for their wild beauty, there’s not much virgin wilderness there. The Pine Barrens were the site of a great deal of early American industry (hence the profusion of ghost towns) and agriculture. We took a quick late-fall hike this morning in one such area, the Franklin Parker Preserve, which was a major cranberry growing operation in its past life.? You can still see the canals, raised levees, and even old railroad tracks, but the land is very much reverting to a natural state.

The area we explored is now a mix of grassy wetlands and pitch pine forest. We started at the trail head across the road from Chatsworth Lake and followed the red trail west and then south, connecting with the green trail for a short 3-mile loop?the perfect hike to enjoy Tim’s birthday and still get home in time for Mae’s afternoon nap.

The 16-square-mile preserve, New Jersey Conservation Foundation’s largest, is a beautiful, fascinating network of sandy trails, short bridges and roads through pitch pines, blueberry fields, swamps, lakes and tributaries of the Wading River. According to the New Jersey Conservation Foundation, Franklin Parker Preserve is home to more than 50 rare, threatened or endangered species.

The preserve is just over 30 miles from Collingswood, mostly down Route 70, which means it takes about 50 minutes. It’s worth every minute.

We didn’t see all that much wildlife on this morning’s hike, save for a kingfisher and lots of dragonflies, but she loved all of the talk about the turtles and snakes that live there. One of the highlights was when a dragonfly kept flying around us and landing on her hat.

I could keep telling you how wonderful the trails around Franklin Parker Preserve are, but some things are best said through photos. Enjoy.

Reindeer Lichen

Reindeer Lichen

Classic Pine Barrens Photo: Pitch Pines

Classic Pine Barrens: Pitch Pines

 

Mae in the Ergo Carrier for Hiking

All Bundled Up, Mae Enjoys the Ride

 

Pine Barrens

Red Trail, In the Pines

 

Pine Tree Lichen

Pretty Pine with Lichen

 

Cranberry Meadow Franklin Parker Preserve

A.R. DeMarco Cranberry Meadows Natural Area, managed by the New Jersey Conservation Foundation

 

franklinparker_beaverdam

Beaver Dam

 

franklinparker_meadowandtrees

The Vibrant Fall Colors of Franklin Parker Preserve

Cardinal Meadowhawk Dragonfly in the Pine Barrens

Cardinal Meadowhawk Dragonfly

A Late-November Trip to Rancocas Nature Center

A morning, or even just an hour, spent walking in a quiet, natural setting can do wonders to ease your mind, de-stress and keep things in perspective. That’s exactly what we did Sunday morning on the 3 miles of Rancocas Nature Center trails, which stretch across the wide range of habitats found within the 210-acre Rancocas State Park.

Rancocas Nature Center Creek

It was a beautiful walk through meadows, wetlands, and pines, with lots of bridges and boardwalks for Mae to run on. (She’s got a thing with bridges.) We saw just one other person, a runner lucky and smart enough to opt for trails over pavement.

It was downright peaceful for the Sunday after Thanksgiving, a couple days after Black Friday with the holiday craze in full swing. Most of the plants had already died back or turned to seed, but the area had not lost its allure. Seeing a field of flowers after their peak season is a reminder that the outdoors should be enjoyed and appreciated year-round.

The browns, grays, and purples with pops of green is a palette I like, and somehow brings on an even deeper sense of calm than the colors of spring and summer.

Goldenrod Gone to Seed, Rancocas Woods

Goldenrod Gone to Seed

When we started down the trail from the main building, Mae spotted a goldenrod that had turned brown and gone to seed and said, “Flower!” I was impressed, because it didn’t look like the flowers we see in most of her books. Kids, man. They’re awesome.

Meadows of Goldenrod in Rancocas State Park

We got there before the building had opened, so we’ll have to return soon to check out the turtles and other wildlife on display. I guess it was about 10AM, and look at that light in the photo above. It was pretty much perfect, though I don’t doubt that an earlier or later walk would be just as good.

I could feel the temperature drop as we walked from the sunny meadow into the pines, which made me wish again that our neighborhood was full of trees (ahem, summer utility bills), but Mae didn’t agree. That was the exact moment she wanted to take off her coat and run around.

Rancocas Nature Center Pines

One of the other neat things about late-fall and winter hikes is that berries, evergreens, and mosses that might not be as visible at other times of the year burst through the many shades of brown.

Moss at Rancocas Nature Preserve

For gardeners, getting out in natural settings this time of the year is also beneficial for strategizing. You can notice what leaves are still hanging on, where the interest remains, and add those plants to your little plot of land if the conditions are similar. I spotted a little eastern red cedar that stood out when it otherwise wouldn’t, and just seeing it there pretty and green proved Tim right that it could work nicely along our back fence.

It’s funny how both having a child and learning more about native plant gardening has changed my perspective. Together, they’ve made me walk slower, look for new things to discover (like, really look), and recognize the beauty in flowers not longer full of life and color.

rancocas_boardwalk_mae

I cannot wait to go back and take photos of the same scenes again as the seasons change. Mae will love the butterfly house, the bees, and the dragonfly pond that will come alive in the summer, and we hope to get some snow so that we can experience it there among the trees.

We didn’t spot any wildlife other than a turkey vulture and a woodpecker, but I’m sure we will during future visits at different times in different seasons.

Also, we weren’t exactly quiet, since we basically had the trails to ourselves and gave Mae the opportunity to run wild a bit. Next time we’ll practice our whisper in hopes of seeing a deer.

Rancocas State Park Pine Tree

The Rancocas Nature Center offers events and educational programs for all ages. They have a summer camp and is just a couple of miles off 295 and a 25-minute drive from Collingswood. The nature center is open six days a week, Monday through Saturday, 10-4 PM, and Sunday 12-4 PM. The trails are open every day until dusk.

Oh, and I should say, because it is Giving Tuesday: It didn’t require more than one visit to Rancocas Nature Center for us to decide on membership. (Note: RNC requires you to apply via snail mail, so we’re not members yet!) All fees all go toward “the continued environmental education of our children,” a cause we can certainly get behind. After all, we should always have places like this to take our children and to escape for a few hours ourselves.

Visit a 600-Year-Old Tree in NJ Before it Falls

Basking Ridge 600-Year-Old Oak Tree

Take a look at this White Oak tree for proof that native trees should be prioritized over non-natives. At 600 years old, this tree’s life finally has come to an end. Meanwhile, those living in developments built in the ’70s are already losing the Bradford Pears lining the streets.

We’re planning to make the hour-long trip up to Basking Ridge to see this beauty in real life before it’s cut down in the spring. It’s just too amazing to miss out on, especially because it’s here in our little state.

That reminds me: If you ever need a reminder that us humans are just passing through and the longer-living species among us deserve more respect than we often give them, check out The Oldest Living Things in the World, a beautiful book by Rachel Sussman. I found it at Inkwood Books in Haddonfield.

While up north checking out the oak tree, we’ll head over to Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge. It’s an 8,000-acre refuge that includes a 3,660-acre Wilderness Area that became the first of its kind in 1966 within the Department of the Interior. It’s an example of what the hard work of some passionate environmentalists can accomplish, as it was local residents battled the Port Authority of NY and NJ in court to prevent them from turning it into a regional airport.

A Fall Visit to Mt. Cuba Center

We’re lucky to have so many public gardens in our area, and even luckier that several of them focus on showcasing native plants.? We recently got a chance to take a trip to one of these: Mt. Cuba Center in the rolling hills of northern Delaware (no, the state’s not entirely flat – there’s a tiny strip of the piedmont running through the northern tip).

With about 50 acres of woodland, meadow, and wetland gardens, plus a rare all-native formal garden, it’s a great place to appreciate the versatility and beauty of natives.? We visited on its last weekend of the season at the end of October (it will be closed through the spring), but even though the biggest blooms of the summer had past, there was still plenty to see.

Oak leaf hydrangea (Hydrangea quercifolia) beginning to show fall color in the woodland garden

Oak leaf hydrangea (Hydrangea quercifolia) beginning to show fall color in the woodland garden

 

Wild columbine (Aquilegia canadensis) makes a great groundcover long after its spring blooms are gone

Wild columbine (Aquilegia canadensis) makes a great groundcover long after its spring blooms are gone

 

Muhly grass (Muhlenbergia capillaris) on the edge of the meadow doesn't do much most of the year, but it puts on a great show in the fall. I don't think I realized the butterfly was there when I took this picture.

Muhly grass (Muhlenbergia capillaris) on the edge of the meadow doesn’t look like much most of the year, but it puts on a great show in the fall.

 

Mae and Lindsay crossing through the hillside meadow area.

 

A wider shot of the meadow

A wider shot of the meadow

 

Seed heads of bee balm (Monarda fistulosa) on the edge of the meadow

Seed heads of bee balm (Monarda fistulosa) on the edge of the meadow

 

Two question mark butterflies (Polygonia interrogationis) doing at best a B- job hiding in the leaves

Two question mark butterflies (Polygonia interrogationis) doing at best a B- job hiding in the leaves

 

One flower that was still blooming profusely was this aromatic aster (Aster oblongifolius 'October Skies').  We planted a whole mess of these in our yard this fall - hopefully they look as good as this in a year or two.

One flower that was still blooming profusely was this aromatic aster (Aster oblongifolius ‘October Skies’). We planted a whole mess of these in our yard this fall – hopefully they look as good as this in a year or two.

 

One of the cool things they’ve been running for a few years is their trial garden, where they test different species and cultivars to see which are most suitable for gardens in the mid-Atlantic.? So far they’ve released thorough reports on asters, coneflowers, baptisia, coreopsis, and heuchera (though not all of them seem to be currently up on their new website).? I’m looking forward to the upcoming monarda and phlox reports.

The trial garden - I think that's part of a bluestar trial you're seeing in the foreground

The trial garden – I think that’s part of a bluestar trial you’re seeing in the foreground

As part of Mt. Cuba’s mission, they try to show the versatility of native plants.? To that end, they’ve tried to combat the notion many gardeners have that natives only really work for naturalistic gardens.? They recently re-did the formal gardens directly next to the house with all native plants.? Personally, I’m more drawn to the naturalistic look (hence our decision not to name this blog Highly Cultivated Roots), but I thought they did a great job.? We didn’t get great pictures of the formal garden, but you can see some photos here on their virtual tour, and read more about how they created them here.

They also offer a wide variety of classes and even a certificate program.

We’re excited about heading back next year – if we’re lucky we’ll be able to swing a spring, summer, and fall visit to catch all of the plants at their best.

 

 

 

One Save

A Morning Walk in Black Run Nature Preserve

Black Run Preserve New Jersey

We often talk about how much we love where we live and how happy we are to be near to our families, but just wish that place also had more natural open space around it.

“This town, but surrounded by mountains.”

“This town and proximity to Philly, but IN the Pine Barrens.”

“This house, but restored and sitting on a lake.”

“All of our families within a 1-hour drive but in California.”

“All of our families within a 1-hour drive but in Golden, Colorado.”

“All of our families within a 1-hour drive but also near Zion National Park.”

But then again, it’s all about finding beauty and happiness wherever you are, and so we make an effort to venture out to those still wild places closest to Collingswood.

Today we made our first trip to Black Run Nature Preserve, just a 25-minute drive but a world away from the suburban sprawl that surrounds it. We’ll be heading back as much as possible, in all seasons.

Black Run is 1,300 acres of preserved land in Evesham Township, between Marlton Lakes and Kings Grant. We can’t say it better than this, from the website: “It is an ecological wonder of Pine Barrens forest, wetlands, streams and old cranberry bogs, and hosts a variety of threatened and endangered plant and animal species.” On this particular trip, which as usual started WAY later than expected with Mae and Buddy in tow and lunchtime too close, we mostly stuck to the 5k trail.

We had a bit of trouble / a total lack of patience with the interactive map on the website. What we really wanted was a good printed map and to NOT be on our phones, so we didn’t want to go too far off of the blue marker-lined trail. (Which were SO well kept, by the way.)

Here are some photos from the walk:

Black Run Preserve Sunflowers

Black Run Preserve Swamp Overlook

 

 

Mae at Black Nature Preserve

Black Run Preserve 5K Trail

 

Pine Barrens Tree

 

Wild Mushroom Black Run Preserve South Jersey

 

Copyright 2019 Wild Roots | All Photos by Lindsay & Tim Ifill