Upcoming Events
Events List Navigation
Looking for older events? Visit the Events Archive
February 2021
March 2021
April 2021
May 2021
+ Export Events
February 16 at 12:00 pm - March 31 at 5:00 pm
Workshop: DIY Open Tray Bird Feeder
REGISTERFeeding your neighborhood birds in the winter is a great way to entertain yourself and your family, and the birds really appreciate it! When you build a tray (hopper) feeder, you’ll attract birds like titmouse, chickadees, mockingbirds, mourning doves, and many more. This feeder is simple to construct and it will be ready to set up outside immediately. Here’s how it works: register for this virtual program, collect your kit from our office in a secure and safe way, then build the box at your leisure at home following our easy to follow, step-by-step instruction guide. Technical support is available should you require some help. All you will need is a hammer, the kit, and a little patience. Kit pickup begins Tuesday, February 16 at 12 PM and runs through Thursday, February 18, 5 PM. We will…
March 6 at 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm
FREE Trivia on Zoom
REGISTERRegistration closes at 11 AM on Sat., March 6! – Scroll down for Zoom technical assistance links. Ready to challenge yourself and others in a fast-paced thinking game? Our Pub Quiz has gone virtual. Play alone or work together as a household team. Select one person to enter the answers to these multiple-choice questions into your device (phone, iPad, etc.) Play for prizes and bragging rights! If you are playing as a household, simply select one person's name to enter at registration. Then start brushing up on your water quality and enviro facts. Questions will range from beginner to expert level. For example: Q: How long is the Passaic River? A: 90 miles Whether you join us as a team or an individual, you are sure to learn a few fact, and have a great time along the way! (Registration…
March 19 at 3:00 pm - 4:00 pm
Water Quality Update on Zoom – FREE
REGISTERRegistration closes at 1 PM on Friday, March 19. Scroll down for Zoom technical assistance links. Human beings can survive 3 weeks without food, but only 3 days without water. How important is it to you that your water is clean? Join GSWA Water Quality Director, Sandra LaVigne, for an in-depth review of the water quality in the Great Swamp watershed and in the Passaic River region. This brief presentation will highlight the results of the sampling and testing we performed on our local streams throughout 2020. Sandra will also provide an overview of our recently added testing protocol for PFAS (Perfluoroalkyl) manmade chemicals also called "forever chemicals." PFAS is an emerging threat to the health of the waterways in the US and in other industrialized countries. Join us for this informative report on your water with a Q&A session at the end. Registration…
March 19 at 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Become a FrogWatcher
REGISTERLike frogs? Hop onto our "citizen science" Zoom training session to learn more about our amphibian friends including how to distinguish between a spring peeper and a wood frog, and how to identify many other local frogs and toads. Feeling inspired to do more? Become an official FrogWatch volunteer. Eric Jackson, Environmental Educator at Cora Hartshorn Arboretum, will train you how to properly log and report your sightings in a nationwide database. It's fun for the whole family and it's free! This training program is held in association with Cora Hartshorn Arboretum. Registration is required. Zoom link will be shared prior to the event.
March 23 at 5:00 pm - 6:00 pm
Cook with GSWA on Zoom – Plant-based Recipes
REGISTERRegistration closes at 3 PM on Tuesday, March 23. Scroll down for Zoom technical assistance links. Our "Cook with GSWA" series has a guest chef this month! Cook along with Chef Dianne Wenz or simply relax with your favorite beverage and enjoy the show. Author of 3 plant-based cookbooks and an established cooking instructor, Chef Wenz invites us (virtually) into her kitchen to prepare a tantalizing vegan dinner of Cauliflower Piccata that's nut-free, gluten-free, and soy-free. Accompanying this meal is a Greek salad with homemade balsamic dijon vinaigrette dressing. This dinner is sure to amuse everyone's taste buds. This is our third Zoom cooking program in this popular "Cook with GSWA" series. Registration is required for this free program. You will receive the recipes and Zoom link via email prior to the event. Questions? Email vthorpe@greatswamp.org. Zoom technical assistance links. Having issues…
March 25 at 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Intro to Rain Gardens on Zoom – FREE
REGISTERRegistration closes at 5 PM on Thu., March 25! – Scroll down for Zoom technical assistance links. Thinking of adding a rain garden to your yard? Smart choice! A rain garden is a beautiful addition to your landscape that also provides a valuable function. By causing water to absorb slowly into the ground it reduces and sometimes even prevent flooding. A rain garden also helps keep stormwater run-off from carrying pollution to our drinking water sources. Join us for an in-depth review of the benefits of installing a rain garden at your home and get some basic how-to suggestions. At the end of this program, Summit and Summit area residents you can also register for a free, 30-minute consultation scheduled for April 8, 5-8 PM. Rutgers University engineers and landscape architects will work with you to plan and lay out a rain garden specific…
March 26 at 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Vernal Pool Exploration
REGISTERWith 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 as they disappear quickly! This annual nighttime 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…
April 2 at 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm
Stream Assessment Training on Zoom-FREE!
REGISTERRegistration closes at 11 AM, Friday, April 2 Scroll down for Zoom technical assistance links. Interested in the health of your local stream? Concerned about clean water? Perhaps you've even considered becoming a stream monitoring volunteer. If any this makes you raise an eyebrow, this free virtual training session is for you! Sandra LaVigne, GSWA Director of Water Quality Programs, will join you virtually to teach you how to conduct visual and biological stream assessments, identify macroinvertebrates, and recognize environmental factors that may impact stream health. By the end of the hour, you will have the skills you need to conduct your own assessments for fun or as a visual stream assessment volunteer! (Preferred volunteers are 15 or older.) You will receive the link to this training session post-registration. Zoom technical assistance links: Having issues joining the session? Please review the Zoom Help Center.…
April 11 at 10:00 am - 12:00 pm
Spring into Spring Hike @ the Refuge
REGISTERBlooming flowers, budding branches, and a glimpse of our forest critters are all indicators that spring is here! 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. Don't miss this glorious time of year to be in the great outdoors. Step on out and inhale the earthy spring smell that the land produces this time of year. GSWA Education Associate, Adam Palmer, will guide you along the relaxing trails of the Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge for this family-friendly stroll. Registration required. Space…
May 4 at 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm
Landscape Design: Creating Native Habitat
REGISTERLet's talk about the evolution of a habitat garden. What does that mean? It's the concept of creating a native habitat garden focusing on 3 main fundamentals: careful design, correct installation, and ongoing maintenance. Mike Devos of Indigenous Ingenuities (and the lead of the recent wetlands restoration at our Conservation Management Area) will take us through it all. Learn how native plants can be incorporated into all types of design from formal gardens to naturalized plantings, how they are installed in ecologically sensitive ways, and how to care for them moving forward. This program will take place on Zoom and in person for a maximum of 9 attendees (first come…