A Salute to Heather Gracie-Petty

It was a privilege to participate in the Somerset Hills YMCA Volunteer Recognition Event last Thursday evening. It was so incredibly inspiring to understand the level of volunteerism that is thriving in our community. The stories and experiences shared by recipients literally left you teary-eyed. URWA was proud to be there and even prouder of our “volunteer of the year” - Heather Gracie-Petty.

Heather is the Chair of our Stewardship Committee. As a certified forester, she brings sound science and professional expertise to a key component of good conservation. When you understand that Heather is a wife, mother, champion marathon runner and that she and her firm are responsible for the sustainable health of over 34 thousand acres of New Jersey’s woodlands…you might wonder…how and when does she find the time to volunteer for URWA? Well she does…all year round!

Some of Heather’s contributions to URWA include:

• She runs our annual Winter Tree Identification program 
• She assists with countless high school and community volunteer events – working just this last year with Bernards High and Pingry students, numerous boy and girl scout troops, corporate “days of caring”  
• Heather has completed surveys and created forest stewardship plans for URWA’s Preserves  
• She spends countless hours helping with the details of implementing our stewardship initiatives; resourcing plant materials and coordinating hands-on projects including the removal of thousands of invasive shrubs from public preserves around the watershed region, followed by the planting of native species  
• Heather has created experimental projects like deer exclosures for the long term study of forest health  

Most importantly, Heather is a strong advocate for sound policies that protect natural resources – she is an effective voice in New Jersey.  In summary, you can understand why we were proud to honor Heather Gracie-Petty as our Volunteer of the Year.

If we didn’t say it enough that evening…THANK YOU to the YMCA for putting together such a special evening and to Recorder Newspapers for giving hard working non-profits an opportunity to showcase their important missions and contributions to the community.

Eating Local for the Holidays

Eating local in New Jersey is a piece of cake throughout late spring and summer; peaches, blueberries, apples and winter squash cycle through my personal menu as the growing season progresses. But as we approach the holiday season, a time to eat drink and be merry (in excess), I’m finding it a bit more challenging to find local sources for my favorite holiday indulgences. It’s my own personal goal to buy as much local produce this winter as I can, and in my research (and through word of mouth), I’ve found that some things are still easy to find once you put your head to it. Fresh eggs, butter, turkey, popcorn, cheese, potatoes, fresh baked goods and fruit preserves from the summer are still around in the local farmers market’s that stay open all year.

If you hurry up and buy a half bushel of apples from Melick’s Farm or Riamede in Chester, you can make about 12 pints of this easy applesauce recipe to keep you warm through the cold weather. It’s great on pumpkin pancakes!

Easy Baked Applesauce (cooked in small batches)

6-8 Apples (I prefer red apples like Macoun, but they all work!)

Zest and juice of 1 orange

Zest and juice of ½ lemon

1 Tablespoon of light brown sugar

2 Teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 Teaspoon fresh ground nutmeg

1/8 Teaspoon ground cloves

4 Tablespoons unsalted butter

Peel, quarter and core the apples. Toss juice, sugar and spices with apples. Pour apples into a deep glass baking dish or corning ware, and dot pieces of the butter around the top of the apples. Cover the dish with a glass lid or aluminum foil and bake at 400 degrees for 1 hour. Once removed from the oven, the apples can be easily mashed. If you scoop the applesauce right away into clean mason jars (while it is still hot), the jars will seal themselves as they cool and the sauce will keep for a few months.


isit JerseyFresh.com to find great local places to find just what you need for the holidays, to support the farmers and other merchants that hail from New Jersey, and to reduce your carbon footprint by eating from your neighborhood. Each listing of roadside markets will give you the location, hours and dates that the stand is open throughout the year, as well as what types of produce you can find there. I recommend Griggstown Quail Farm (Princeton) or Ashley Farms (Flanders) for fresh turkey, and Bobolink Dairy (Milford) for some great cheese and bread!

Alstede Farms

84 County Route 513 (old Rt. 24), Chester

(908) 879-7189

http://www.alstedefarms.com/

Preserves, winter vegetables, cider, baked goods


Amwell Valley Organic Grains

81 Dunkard Church Rd., Ringoes

(609) 397-4583

http://www.farmersteve.com/

NOFA Certified Organic Popcorn


Ashley Farms

25 Hillside Ave., Flanders

(973) 584-7578

http://www.ashleyfarmsonline.com/

Turkey, preserves, winter vegetables, cider, baked goods


Griggstown Quail Farm

986 Canal Rd., Princeton

(908) 359-5218

http://www.griggstownquailfarm.com/



Melick's Town Farm

170 Oldwick Rd., Oldwick

(908) 439-3888

http://www.melickstownfarm.com/








Valley Shepherd Creamery

50 Fairmount Road, Long Valley

(908) 876-3200

www.valleyshepherd.com

Floating Debris

Tuesday was another great day for the Stewards of the Upper Raritan Watershed Association. Early yesterday morning we received an urgent call from former Mayor of Bedminster Joe Metelski, who reported seeing a huge plastic pipe in the North Branch of the Raritan River. Lauren Theis, URWA’s Stewardship Program Manager and I arrived on site just hours after we got the call and found the giant piece of trash located just north of where the AT&T exit ramp crosses over the North Branch. There was no evidence of where the pipe originated from -- it was most likely washed downstream during one of the recent storm events. The pipe was too large to drag out of the river in one piece (it measured eight inches across and was 100 feet long), so we sawed it into seven pieces and then removed them all from the river.

Most of the pollution in our local rivers and streams is in the form of non-point source pollution, which occurs when rain or melted snow moves over and through the ground, absorbing and assimilating any pollutants with which it comes into contact. The pollutants in this runoff can be quite harmful, and their sources numerous. We usually can’t point to one discreet location of nonpoint source pollution like we can with a discharge pipe from a factory or garbage that is casually thrown into a river or stream.

While we doubt that anyone purposely dumped the pipe we found into the river, the fact that it was there means that someone somewhere was, at best, irresponsible because they did not secure the pipe in its intended location. While Lauren and I were happy to be of service in removing the pipe and disposing of it properly, we are much happier when we get to fish, paddle or swim in the great streams and rivers found throughout our watershed!

Keith Bologno is the Property Steward for the Upper Raritan Watershed Association.  An avid fisherman, he was recently named runner up in the First Annual NJ Fly Fisherman of the Year tournament!