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Native Pollinators – What’s the Buzz?

Zoom Webinar Morristown, NJ, United States

Registration closes 2/22 @ 5 PM Your yard, whatever the size, can provide essential habitat for valuable pollinators such as butterflies, bees, and other beneficial insects. Join GSWA for this free, one-hour webinar as we take a closer look at our native pollinators and the important roles they play in our gardens and in supporting healthy ecosystems.  More than 75% of all flowering plants need pollinators to reproduce – and your garden veggies need their help too!  Native pollinators have fascinating life histories, so knowing about gardening for pollinators from the insects’ perspective will enable you to truly welcome them to your yard. Our host, an all-round cool bug guy, Dr. Stephen Mason Ph.D. is an entomologist and faculty at Immaculata University, and a research associate at Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences. He will shed some light on insect life histories to make your yard a hive of activity this summer.  Registration is required for this free Zoom webinar. You will receive your Zoom link prior to the program. This is the second of GSWA’s free, three-part native pollinator plant webinar series in preparation of our Native Plants for Pollinators Sale taking place online April 1-22. Mark Your Calendar: Webinar […]

Free – $40.00

DIY Workshop: Reusable Wrap & Produce Bags

Great Swamp Watershed Association HQ 568 Tempe Wick Rd, Morristown, NJ, United States

Let us help you get your home a little eco-friendlier with 3 simple do-it-yourself projects. All you need to bring is the desire to break your reliance on plastic. We will provide everything else you need to make and take 3 reusable beeswax food storage covers and 3 reusable produce shopping bags.  Not handy with a sewing machine? Not a problem. Our instructors will there to help you every step of the way. We will even show you how easy it is to make an effective, chemical-free household cleaner with 3 simple ingredients you likely already have at home.  New Jersey's plastic bag ban takes effect on May 4. Let's get a jump on it now! This DIY workshop is a great opportunity to learn some new skills while doing something good for the planet. AND, we will send you home with step-by-step instructions to make more and to share with your family and friends. These items are fun to make and they also make great gifts. So, join us for this fun and easy workshop and let’s change some behaviors  together! This workshop is limited to the first 20 people to register - sign up today!

Get Tickets $30.00

Evening Briefing: The Importance of Tap Water

Zoom Webinar NJ, United States

This Evening Briefing is offered in partnership with The Summit Free Public Library Turn on the tap and your most important resource comes flowing out. Come learn about the different factors that affect our drinking water, whether from a well or a public supply. Drinking safe tap water helps reduce plastic waste and preserve our fresh water supplies. Join us for this free Zoom webinar as Sandra LaVigne, GSWA Director of Water Quality Programs, reviews the importance of tap water and its connection to our health and the health of the environment. Zoom link will be send prior to the event.     (This link takes you to The Summit Free Public Library's website for registration)   ALSO... "Test the Tap" - Mark Your Calendar   GSWA and The Summit Free Public Library are partnering up to offer residential well and public water testing at a discounted rate: Basic Well Water Package: $125 Basic Public Water Package: $65 (Add-on testing is available for an additional fee) This water testing program is open to everyone! Click HERE to register and pay a $10 deposit Pick up your kit between March 14-28 at one of the following locations: Summit Free Public Library - […]

GSWA Source-to-Sea Virtual Challenge: 80-mile Run/Walk/Bike/Roll

Ready for a virtual challenge? Here we go! Register to run/walk/bike/roll 80 miles, the length of the Passaic River, from anywhere in the world. You will have 65 days to complete this challenge at your own pace. To give you an idea of how it works, doing an activity every day of the challenge equates to ~1.2 miles per day for 65 days - piece of crumb cake! (Which you will have earned with your daily activity.) Registration takes place on a website called "RunSignup" where you can follow your progress on an interactive map. Every time you enter your mileage from your recent activity, the system calculates your total mileage and updates your location so you can see "where you are" virtually on your journey along the Passaic River. Every 10-mile milestone you achieve, you will learn interesting facts about your "current location" and the importance of this wonderful resource, the Passaic River.   (RunSignup is a 3rd party website managing registration on behalf of GSWA.)   This fundraising event is open to anyone using anything powered by you to complete the challenge! Remember, this is not a race, it's a challenge to keep you active and help you […]

Signs of Spring Hike @ the Refuge

Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge - Orange Trailhead approx 77 Meyersville Rd., Green Village (Harding Township), NJ, United States

Step outside for this relaxing, family-friendly, guided tour of the Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge's Orange Trail. Enjoy a Spring preview in the great outdoors - the red-winged blackbirds and eastern phoebes are the first to get the memo that it's time to return and start nesting, while woodpeckers and spring peepers make their presence known more by sound than by sight. Some of our forest critters will also be scampering about. We will catch witch hazel in bloom, skunk cabbage beginning to emerge, and depending on our winter, the pussy willow may be bursting its buds. Additionally, non-native plants like crocuses and snowdrops will be starting to bloom. These are all indicators that Spring is on the way. This trail can get super wet/muddy, so muck boots/wellies are recommended. The full hike will be under two miles. GSWA members: Free, non-members: donation appreciated.   We will meet at the end of Meyersville Rd, Green Village (83 Meyersville Rd is the closest street address). Click HERE to view the map.  Coordinates: 40.726674, -74.457729

Get Tickets Free – $40.00

Test the Tap – Residential Water Sampling

Summit Free Public Library 75 Maple Street, Summit, NJ

  GSWA and The Summit Free Public Library are offering local residential well & public water testing at a discounted rate. Why test the water inside your house? To take back the tap! The water you drink every day can have impacts on your family’s health. Colorless and tasteless particles can become a health risk without your knowledge. Testing your public or well water is an opportunity to expose any potential areas of concern with the health of your water at discounted prices. Working through Garden State Labs, we can offer this testing at lab-cost.       Basic Well Water Package: $125 We constructed this package specifically for Great Swamp watershed residents based on the geography of the land and past data. Testing includes Total Coliform + E. coli, Nitrate, Iron, Manganese, Lead, and Arsenic. Basic Public Water Package: $65 If your water isn’t from a well but is instead from a municipal source (you pay for your water), this package is for you. It includes pH, Lead, and Total Coliform + E. coli. Additional Testing for Well and Public Water Test add-ons are available for additional fees (due when you drop off your sample on March 30) Please […]

Get Tickets Free – $10.00

REGISTRATION CLOSED: Vernal Pool Exploration Hike

Great Swamp Watershed Association's CMA 1 Tiger Lily Ln, Morristown, NJ, United States

This event has reached max capacity. To be placed on a waitlist, or if you have registered and are unable to attend, please email [email protected].    With temperatures rising, the forest floor will be hopping with new life as frogs and other amphibians crowd into shallow puddles of water to breed and lay their eggs. These puddles, called vernal pools, provide a perfect opportunity to learn more about Mother Nature here in New Jersey. But we have to hurry! They disappear quickly. This annual Vernal Pool Exploration provides a fun, outdoor learning experience for kids and adults alike. Discover the differences between a spring peeper, a chorus frog, and a wood frog. Find out how far an endangered spotted salamander will walk to find a mating pool. And, learn how much everything we have come to appreciate about the springtime depends upon a few unassuming puddles of water on the forest floor. Warm clothing and waterproof footwear, especially hiking boots, are strongly recommended. GSWA members: Free, non-members: $10 for adults, $5 for children ages 6-17. Register at GreatSwamp.org or call 973-538-3500. Registration is required.

Sold Out Free – $40.00

Hike the Path of a Glacier

Pyramid Mountain Natural Historic Area Visitors Center 1 Mars Ct., Boonton, NJ, United States

Looking for a more challenging hike? Spend the afternoon with us for a unique experience where we will hike the path of a glacier and observe some unusual glacial erratics (stones and rocks that were transported by the glacier and then left behind after the glacier melted). Along with way we will stop to check out Tripod Rock, a 180-ton boulder balanced on three smaller boulders. It's truly a sight to behold. A little further on we will see Bear Rock, one of NJs largest glacial erratics, along other fascinating signs of the Wisconsin Glacier that retreated over 18,000 years ago. This is an intermediate hike with some rigorous conditions. Be sure to pack your binoculars, water, and snacks. Location Coordinates:  40.94671186514669, -74.38827526886288

Get Tickets Free – $40.00

Native Pollinator Plant Sale – An Overview

Zoom Webinar Morristown, NJ, United States

Registration closes April 1 @ 10 AM Join Hazel England, GSWA Director of Education, Outreach, and Land Stewardship (our resident pollinator expert) on Zoom to learn how different plants will help you build your pollinator garden to attract a variety of insects along with the plants you will need to attract pollinators. Discover why this type of garden benefits your yard, your neighborhood, and our shared watershed. We will also walk you through our online storefront and simple ordering process with an overview of the native plants and plant kits available at our 2nd annual online Native Pollinator Plant Sale. Choose from 28 individual species to create or enhance your own garden in ways that best fit your needs. To simplify garden design and provide some additional savings, 20 of the species are also sold in 6 different garden kits of 5 species each. Each kit is designed for specific garden sizes and conditions. If you're considering starting or expanding your native pollinator garden, you're going to want to check this out! Registration is required. You will receive your Zoom link prior to the start of the webinar. The 2022 "Plants for Pollinators" Online Sale runs April 1 - April […]

Free

GSWA 2nd Annual Plants for Pollinators Online Sale

Online

2022 Ordering Will Be Open April 1st to 22nd The Great Swamp Watershed Association Native Plant Sale provides a full selection of attractively priced native perennials and simple guidance for planting delightfully alive pollinator gardens that will thrive with minimal care. The Plants for Pollinators Online Sale is operated with the promotion and volunteers from Community Plant Sale Partners that include ten towns and seven community organizations. Our joint goal is to foster broad adoption of native plant gardens across our area to create necessary habitat for the pollinator insects and bird communities that are foundation elements of our local ecosystem – pooling our private yards to create what the popular lecturer and entomologist Doug Tallamy describes as a Homegrown National Park™. Selection – Peruse the native pollinator plant kits and individual species add-ons in the GSWA Native Plant Catalog. How Do I Pick Up My Orders? Order are to be picked up locally at your town’s participating pick-up location. At time of checkout, you can choose from one of the 14 locations to based on the location, date and time that works best for you. CLICK HERE to preview Pickup Locations made available through our Plant Sale Partners. Need Guidance? Take advantage of the Native Garden Planning Resources to […]