lisa 
It’s been a stressful winter so far, so it’s pretty clear that I am longing for the therapeutic anticipation that comes with preparing for my spring garden. Just when I think life couldn’t get more complicated, it’s time for National Seed Swap day! National Seed Swap Day, according to daysoftheyear.com, is on the last Saturday … Read more
Mid month, I was able to get some maintenance work done in the SHIP gardens over at Jake’s Branch County Park. I took some video and a few photos. The status of the gardens are as follows: Wet Garden I always seem to start here because it’s closest to the parking lot on the plant … Read more
As winter gives way to spring, we are working to prepare the SHIP gardens for the growing season. Weeds were a big problem last year, so we will begin 2019 with a 3-4 inch layer of wood chip mulch over the native perennial gardens to help with that issue. Since most of the gardens don’t … Read more
The butterfly garden at Jake’s Branch County Park SHIP Garden Project was originally located in an open area field conveniently situated nearby the nature center. Park staff has since determined the area is better suited for park events and gatherings. It’s been decided that it makes sense to move this SHIP garden to a new … Read more
I’m honored to have been asked and am eager to get to work managing the SHIP Gardens at Jake’s Branch County Park in Beachwood, NJ. SHIP Gardens are demonstration gardens created to inspire ideas on how to implement low maintenance, locally appropriate landscaping practices into your own yard. Ocean County Soil Conservation District, through funding … Read more
It was supposed to be really lousy weather the day the Master Naturalist class was scheduled to visit Sedge Island. When I woke up to get ready to leave, it was pouring but by the time we made it all the way down to parking lot A21 the sky had cleared and that naturalist group … Read more
Download this presentation as a .pdf file: Edible Native Plants From my perspective, coming into this certified volunteer master naturalist course, my level of experience and interest is coming from my passion about permaculture. I’m a plant person. Not so much from a scientific standpoint – I don’t know scientific names and origins of all … Read more
We’ve been so lucky with the weather throughout this Master Naturalist course. The trip to Cattus Island Park in Toms River, NJ was a clear, sunny spring day. Our guides were Brian, Nicole and Emily. Brian began by giving a brief tutorial on how to us binoculars. It sounds like a needless exercise, but beginners … Read more
We met with our tour guide, Andrew when we arrived at Double Trouble state park. He’s a local historian and he talked to us about the park property and the legacy of cranberry cultivation in Ocean County, NJ. In 1903 the Crabb family owned it and the Double Trouble company built and managed a sawmill. … Read more
The morning began at Jake’s Branch County Park, a property I’m familiar with because when my kids were very small we lived in Beachwood and visited the nature center and the playground many times. Kate, a naturalist who works at Jake’s Branch, gave us a tour of the nature center. We discussed the taxidermy displays … Read more