Upcoming Programs!

All programs require registration! Click here to register.

Discover! Backpack Rentals: 1 week rental of nature themed explorer bags, free with refundable deposit

Watson Woods Walking Club: Every Wednesday at 10 a.m., Roebling Park

Just A Hike: Every Friday from 8:30 - 10 a.m., Location varies.

Story Time in the Gazebo: Every Saturday at 10:30 a.m., Tulpehaking Nature Center

Family Field Trips: June, 22, 24, 26, 29, 9:30-11 a.m., Choose your location & theme

Lichen Walk: Saturday, June 5 from 10 a.m. - noon, Mercer County Park

Kayak Nature Tours: June 17 & 18 from 9:30-noon, Mercer County Park

Rain Barrel Workshop: Saturday, June 19 from 2-4 p.m., Tulpehaking Nature Center

Archaeology Day: Saturday, June 26 noon - 3 p.m., Trent House Museum

Bike Nature Tours: Wednesday, June 30, 9-11 a.m., Mercer Meadows

*all in-person programs require masks and social distancing.

Click here for Nature Programs webpage

Summer Program Registration is OPEN! Check out our summer nature programs brochure for details on well-loved returning classics, like Kayak Nature Tours, Just a Hikes & Naturally Friends programs. New for this summer, we are offering Bike Nature Tours. Bring your own bike or try out the bike rentals through Verve for these naturalist-led tours of Mercer Meadows! Not ready to join a public program? We are offering private Family Field Trips throughout the summer, just your group and our naturalist!   View the brochure here!

Volunteers Needed to Test Web-Based Trail App

Princeton University Computer Science students recently completed a web-based application that allows people to see their location on a trail within a Park Commission park in real-time and allows Park Commission staff to communicate trail conditions to users.

The Stewardship team is looking for volunteers to test the application before it is made available to the general public. Volunteers will receive a brief tutorial on accessing and using the app and will then use the app on a walk or hike at any of our parks. A rubric for rating the app and providing comments will be provided. If you're interested in volunteering for this, please contact Alex Rivera at arivera@mercercounty.org.

SPACE AVAILABLE Baldpate Nature Camp for Children entering grades 7-9 Due to an ease in restrictions related to COVID-19, the Park Commission is able to increase the number of campers at Baldpate Nature Camp! The Park Commission is also now able to accommodate another week of camp for children entering grades 7-9. Visit https://register.communitypass.net/mercer now to sign up!

Share the Road, Turtles Are On The Move!

It's that time of year again, when turtles are hittin’ the road! If you see a turtle crossing the road and can safely stop to lend a hand, remember these tips:

• Your safety comes first! Pull off the road in a safe location and put on your hazard lights. Stay alert to your surroundings and traffic.
• Keep handling to a minimum to avoid stressing the animal. Grasp the shell edge on each side, between the front & rear legs. Be careful not to drop them!
• Move the turtle in the same direction it was headed and if possible, place further away from the road.
• Do not relocate. Turtles have a relatively small home area, which if they are removed from that location, they will attempt (at their peril) to get back “home”.
• Moving Snapping Turtles– Snapping turtles can be fast, spin, lunge and bite! Not sure if it is a snapping turtle? Check the shell near the tail, snapping turtles have a serrated edge. To move a snapping turtle to safety:
• DO NOT TRY TO GRAB THEM ON THE SIDES OF THE SHELL.
• Play wheelbarrow with them! Grab the very back of the shell near the back legs (out of biting range!), gently lift and walk it forward.
• Get the snapping turtle to bite a long stick and gently drag them to safety.

Pollinator Patches Replacing Invasive Phragmites at Roebling Park

 By Alex Rivera, Land Steward

Thanks to a partnership between the Xerces Society and Pinelands Nursery to support Monarch butterflies and other pollinators, the Park Commission received nearly 750 herbaceous and woody plants to replace phragmites that has been removed from Roebling Park section of Abbott Marshlands over the past two years. One of the biggest questions surrounding the restoration is what the natural vegetation response will be once the phragmites is removed and bare soil is exposed. Thanks to Mary Leck, Professor Emeritus, Rider University, we have a sense of the native seed bank, but we still thought it would be helpful to provide a head start! Our plan for this planting was to plant in four different sections of the marsh. By spreading out the planting, we hoped to provide more opportunity for seeds to spread to different sections of the marsh. Another factor affecting our plan was the powerline right of way; we can’t put woody plants under or near powerlines. Two sections well outside the powerline right of way received 250 herbaceous plants and 48 woody plants each, and two sections in the right of way received 125 herbaceous plants each. Even in a tidal marsh, plants needed to be protected from deer. While we were scouting out our planting locations, we saw deer tracks and droppings within our planting area. Our planting kit included plants suited to moist soil, tolerant of standing water and drought intervals, and full sun to part shade – basically some of the most hardy plants around! The full planting list is provided below in case you need inspiration for a similar site in your yard. Another planting tip – some research indicates small to medium size patches of milkweed are better for Monarchs than large patches or scattered