Fohvos Spring 2020 Newsletter
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Spring 2020 OPEN SPACE CHRONICLES A newsletter by Friends of Hopewell Valley Open Space Photo by Kathryn Dunham FOHVOS: MAINTAINING CONNECTION AMID THE DISTANCE PROACTIVELY SUPPORTING ENVIRONMENTAL & PUBLIC HEALTH DURING PANDEMIC IN THIS ISSUE As our name implies, Friends of Our first choice will always be to make our Hopewell Valley Open Space (FoHVOS) preserves accessible to the public. There are • MAINTAINING CONNECTION focuses on enhancing the quality of life in plenty of research studies that prove that AMID THE DISTANCE and around Hopewell Valley through land getting outside and connecting with nature • FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR conservation. Specializing in a single region will help you stay happier and healthier. aids us in providing the best outcomes for • FOHVOS FOREST our local community. Does Coronavirus impact the strategy? MANAGEMENT WORK Take, for example, the recent situation with public parks. While the Governor Yes. Connecting with community and • RECENT DEER SURVEY RESUS LT reversed his April 7th order to close state nature improves health. Your life depends • FOHVOS PARTNERED ACTIVITIES and county preserves by reopening on May on it. While we all know that maintaining 2nd, FoHVOS opted to keep our preserves distance will help reduce the spread of the • THANK YOU, LOYAL DONORS open for the duration. virus, it is equally important to take steps to For FoHVOS, the decision was reduce its impact if contracted. grounded in our fundamental values. Our A major cause of death in COVID-19 Board holds a fervent belief that it is our patients is acute respiratory distress responsibility to steward public lands to syndrome (ARDS) which impacts the vast #HVHUGATREE best support the health and welfare of all -- majority of COVID-19 patients admitted to including flora, fauna, and wildlife, and yes, intensive care. Medical research findings at community visitors. the University of Virginia School of Medicine That mindset differentiates our “strongly support” the possibility that organization and is the basis for all of our exercise can prevent or at least reduce the actions. severity of ARDS. Finally, isolation and routine changes What this Means to You can contribute to mental health challenges including stress, sadness, and depression. We are here for you. Our preserve Exercise and connecting with nature reduce management, programs, and activities are anxiety, depression, and negative mood and focused on caring for land to proactively improve self-esteem and cognitive function. support environmental and public health. Learn more on Page 2 SAVE THE DATE! SEPT 19TH 2020 Hopewell Valley Running Man Sreeni Nair FOHVOS ANNUAL GALA hugs a tree at Elks Preserve. pg.5 Watch for details this summer! Spring 2020 February FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR 01 Pollinator Habitat Workshops for February & March We titled the newsletter cover, to local media outlets are scheduled. “Maintaining Connection Amid the that inspired the Distance,” since it is not only the Hopewell Valley News March 02 secret to the success that FoHVOS front page cover story, “Walking Seen Mercer County has achieved, but also my personal as Positive In an Era of Coronavirus.” Parks recognizes strategy for minimizing the anxiety Both our pollinator packets and FoHVOS Stewardship associated with this pandemic. wildflower kits sold well, our trails Excellence in resolutions Since FoHVOS prioritized our were well-used, and the media partners and connections prior coverage asserted a healthy message. 09 Rescheduled Strike to Coronavirus, relying on those FoHVOS was taking a leadership role Team Conference relationships was not a tremendous by providing the community with for Fall. leap and it allowed us to responsibly healthy ways to maintain connections pivot to meet our obligations and amid the distancing. take a proactive leadership role. Let’s A week later we announced State issues Stay-at-13 review our progress. our daily #BotanticalBlurbs a 30- Home order. By February 2020, FoHVOS had day countdown to Earth Day that HVRSD begins e-learning tremendous momentum. We came presented viewers with photos and off a record year for revenues and videos of features to look for while 14 FoHVOS announces engagement in 2019 and started out on our trails. COVID Safe Activities, January with a generous grant. We On April 7th, the Governor reformatting workshops kicked off the year by successfully announced trail closings and once to home-delivered Build-at- Home delivering partnered workshops, a again our partners and connections Pollinator Kits. subset of which are shown on page 4. came into play. Intentional in our The Art Sparks workshops all sold out deliberations, FoHVOS Board Retail Native 21 within 24 hours and the Sky Safari was Trustees and local elected leaders Wildflower Planting literally standing room only. Also, after unanimously agreed that the rural Kit options added with Community Conservation a year of coordination and planning, nature of our locality could better wholesale plant orders. February marked the start of an support the distancing requirements important grant-supported internship than the more densely populated 23 FoHVOS launches program known as “Building areas in North Jersey that the #BotanicalBlurbs as a 30 day countdown Conservation through Diversity and governor needed to consider in his to Earth Day. Teamwork.” The program met weekly statewide deliberation. until mid-March and is now on-hold. Our decision put extra pressure April So now, the rest of the story on our stewardship staff as we put State and County 07 begins. Take a moment to check out extra measures in place to ensure Parks close while FoHVOS the timeline graphic in the sidebar. distancing. They installed one-way Preserves remain We planned February and March signs on loop trails and closed the Open. Pollinator workshops to build habitat trails where we couldn’t ensure safety. for rapidly declining bee populations. On Earth Day we led and hosted 15 Native Plant Sale and Pollinator Kit In February, we held a successful partnered webinars and on Arbor Purchases close, community workshops teaching Day we coordinated 90 Hopewell Earth Day selling 5,505 plants families to make bee abodes. We Valley leaders in a Hopewell-Valley- 50th Anniversary and distributing 45 pollinator kits. confirmed late March dates to work Hug-A-Tree campaign. #HVHugATree with HVRSD, The Pennington School exceeded our expectations and really • FoHVOS Stewardship 22 Director leads and Mercer County Tech School. brightened everyone’s day. While River-Friendly Webinar We heard rumblings about “social you can see a sampling on page 5, distancing” and figured it might make I encourage you to go online and • Gardening with Deer Arbor Day public workshops impossible, but watch the video. Not surprisingly, the Resistant Native Plants since Mother Nature doesn’t cancel secret to the campaign’s success was 24 FoHVOS launches #HVHugATree, her plans, we needed to consider that it connected everyone to both 90 Valley leaders other means for creating pollinator nature and each other. Another way participate. habitat. On March 13th, schools of Maintaining Connection Amid the May switched to remote learning. On Distance. State Parks re-open.02 March 14th, FOHVOS announced we We will stay in touch, provide FoHVOS schedule converted our workshops to build-at- programs, and keep our trails open to remains unchanged. home Pollinator Packets and offered proactively support our environment home delivery. and community. A week later, we offered pre- FoHVOS finalizes 07 Deer Resistant order options for native plants and Be Safe & Stay healthy, Third Edition of its Native Plants for your wildflowers. We had also been Guide to Walking Trails Garden led by FoHVOS in Hopewell Valley Stewardship Director advertising our free Guide to Walking and completes GPS Hosted by Duke Farms Trails in Hopewell Valley, as well as maps for all FoHVOS our interactive GPS maps preserves. At the same time, FoHVOS Board Lisa Wolff Trustee Frank Newport sent a letter Executive Director 2 Open Space Chronicles Spring 2020 FOHVOS FOREST MANAGEMENT WORK: Hopewell Valley’s Best Kept secret On March 2, Mercer County Ph.D. in ecology, shared, “It’s FoHVOS Board President, Dr. Park Commission entered into really nice to be recognized for our Dan Rubenstein is the Director of a formalized land stewardship expertise, I am proud of our fantastic Program in Environmental Studies relationship with the Friends of stewardship team. FoHVOS has had Behavioral Ecology and Conservation Hopewell Valley Open Space, by a close partnership with Parks for at Princeton University and has been passing two resolutions. years and we enjoy working with our trustee for almost 30 years. He Resolution 2020-27 – The their talented staff.” witnessed as FoHVOS evolved from Stewardship Assistance Agreement Van Clef directs the FoHVOS a small grassroots group preserving states FoHVOS will “assist the statewide Invasive Species Strike land to a recognized statewide leader Park Commission in meeting its Team, has written forest health in land stewardship and scientific goal to maintain and improve plans for major preserves across the research. FoHVOS has a deep bench the natural areas under its care state, and manages FoHVOS staff of experts whose impacts far exceed through conservation stewardship specialists that include a botanist the size of our organization. and restoration practices” and specializing in rare plant research Mercer County Parks joins the recognizes FoHVOS “expertise in and ecologists monitoring birds and expanding list of organizations the management, research, and other threatened and rare wildlife. including NJCF, The Watershed, and restoration of natural areas in order FoHVOS Board Trustee Dr. local municipalities commissioning to improve the ecological value off Jeffrey Osborn, Dean of the School our services. “Since much of our said natural areas.” of Science at TCNJ, adds “The work includes forest management Resolution 2020-28 includes ecological work with Mercer County and protecting rare species, it is a detailed description on annual Parks complements the research often not well publicized,” shared Dr.