The Great Swamp Watershed Association’s (GSWA) Spring 2015 Breakfast Briefing Speaker Series kicks off with a visit from representatives of New Jersey American Water – one of the state’s largest water utilities. Learn where your tap water comes from, where it goes when it leaves your home, and what water and wastewater treatment plants must do to keep it clean and safe for us and our environment. Think the process is simple and obvious? Guess again! What you don’t know about your water utility cycle will surprise you. Space is limited, so advance registration is strongly suggested.

The forests and wetlands of New Jersey’s Great Swamp are bound to be hopping during this early-spring hike at the Great Swamp Watershed Association’s Conservation Management Area (CMA). After all, this is the time of year when spring peepers, wood frogs, chorus frogs, and other chatty amphibians make their way to woodland pools to mate and reproduce. As twilight explodes into song, learn how critically important these shallow puddles (known as vernal pools) and their adorable denizens are for the health of our water resources and the local environment. Families with children are encouraged. Recommended for ages seven and up. This is short out-and-back hike over boardwalks and level ground, and is suitable for almost all ages and ability levels. (Strollers are not recommended.)

Join GSWA at 7 p.m. for a special nighttime edition of our regular Breakfast Briefing Series. Our featured speaker will be Michael Horne, newly appointed project leader at the Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge. Background In the spring of 2014, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service announced that Great Swamp NWR’s Comprehensive Conservation Plan (CCP) would be reviewed and revised before the end of the year. Members of the public — including members of the GSWA community — were invited to comment on all proposed changes prior to the release of the finalized plan in November 2014. Since radification of the new CCP, Refuge staff have been busy finding ways to successfully implement all of the new land and water management strategies it recommends. Planned for this Briefing Mr. Horne’s visit will help us understand how implementation of the new CCP will proceed, what new strengths it will bring to the Refuge, and what, if any, challenges will need to be met in order to acheive success. Highlights will include a discussion of programs aimed at improving habitat for threatened and endangered wildlife, deer management, and enhancing opportunities for public use of Refuge lands.

arents can hang back and let the sprouts lead the way during this kid-centric day hike at the Great Swamp Watershed Association’s Conservation Management Area in Harding Township. As Earth Day 2015 approaches, GSWA’s own nature-nut Kelly Martin will break out the magnifying glasses, binoculars, nets, and other cool teaching tools to help aspiring explorers find and identify many types of springtime wildlife found here in the Great Swamp Watershed region. Recommended for kids 4 to 8 years old. Children must be accompanied by at least one responsible adult.

The forests and fields are bursting with color during the first few weeks of May. Woodland wildflowers such as wild ginger, May apple, and Virginia blue bells are making their first appearances. Migratory birds are returning and especially active as they search for mates and begin to build their nests. Flashes of yellow from warblers, red from tanagers, and blue from buntings will delight your senses during this colorful spring stroll.