GSWA

Creating a Pollinator Garden
2015-10-06 08:00 - 09:30 UTC | Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge, 220 Long Hill Road, Gillette, NJ, 07933, United States
Learn how to attract pollinators to your yard with GSWA director of education and outreach, Hazel England.

Swamp Explorers for Kids
2015-10-04 10:00 - 11:30 | Great Swamp Watershed Association’s CMA, 1 Tiger Lily Ln, Morristown, NJ, 07960, United States
On Sunday, October 4, parents can hang back and let the sprouts lead the way during this kid-centric day hike at GSWA’s Conservation Management Area. Recommended for kids four to eight years old. All children must be accompanied by a responsible adult (18+). Space is very limited.

Total Lunar Eclipse Hike at Primrose Farm
2015-09-27 20:30 - 22:30 | Primrose Farm (Enter from Barrett Field), Barrett Field, 1413-000460000-000020001-00000, Morristown, NJ, 07960
On Sunday, September 27, New Jersey will be in prime position to witness a stellar late night show.
A supermoon–when the moon is as close to the earth as possible, appearing very large–will be fully eclipsed by the Earth’s shadow.
We’ll hike back into the fields of Primrose Farm to gain an unobstructed view.

Craft Beer-B-Q Night at GSWA!
2015-09-24 17:30 - 19:30 | Great Swamp Watershed Association HQ, 568 Tempe Wick Rd, Morristown, NJ, 07960, United States
The Great Swamp Watershed Association is having a free beer tasting party, and you’re invited!
What’s the catch? You have to……click below to find out!

Breakfast Briefing: Grading New Jersey’s Great Swamp
2015-09-19 10:00 - 11:30 | Kemmerer Library, 19 Blue Mill Rd, Morristown, New Jersey, 07960
On Saturday, September 19, Director of Water Quality Programs Laura Kelm will introduce the Great Swamp Watershed Association’s (GSWA) inaugural Great Swamp Watershed Report Card.

Battling the Emerald Ash Borer
2015-09-09 18:00 - 19:30 | Back To Nature Home & Garden, 3055 Valley Road, Basking Ridge, NJ, 07920, United States
Since its first appearance in North America in 2002, the emerald ash borer (Agrilus planipennis) has killed more than 50 million trees.
The first confirmed sighting of this destructive insect in New Jersey came last year in Somerset County. Now is the time to prepare for the devastation it may cause.

Full Sturgeon Moon Hike at Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge
2015-08-28 20:00 - 21:30 | Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge, 220 Long Hill Road, Gillette, NJ, 07933, United States
It’s easy to connect with the Refuge’s many natural wonders during the day, but to experience them at night, with a full moon rising over the horizon and animal activity at its peak, is something casual visitors rarely get to see.
You, your family, and friends are invited to join naturalist Hazel England for a special full-moon hike at the Refuge’s Wildlife Observation Center off Long Hill Road in Harding Township.
Hazel will re-acquaint you with your night senses so you can hear, smell, and even see things that escape you attention during the day. You’ll also learn more about nocturnal wildlife and the sounds they make as the sun goes down.

Summertime “Mothing” Workshop with Blaine Rothauser
2015-07-10 20:30 - 22:00 | Great Swamp Watershed Association HQ, 568 Tempe Wick Rd, Morristown, NJ, 07960, United States
Join Blaine Rothauser, senior project manager and natural resource specialist at Fairfield-based GZA GeoEnvironmental, Inc., for a fascinating introduction to moth ecology at the Great Swamp Watershed Association (GSWA) located at 568 Tempe Wick Road in Morristown, NJ.
For this hands-on, outdoor workshop, Blaine will set up a sodium vapor lamp in the parking area. After a few minutes, an astounding array of moths will appear for you to observe, identify, and photograph. What you see will surprise and amaze you! Click here to view/download the flyer.
Giant Leopard Moth (Hypercompe scribonia). Copyright Blaine RothauserThis event is recommended for adults and older children, but is suitable for all ages and skill levels.
Attendance is limited to 15 individuals, so advance registration is strongly recommended.
Note: Although the the event is scheduled to end at 10:00 p.m., Blaine may remain past this time to continue his studies. Please feel free to stay until he has finished.
What to Bring: Conditions may be hot, cold, muddy, or wet, so please dress appropriately for the weather. Flashlights are welcome, but please turn them off as directed. Cameras are welcome. Please feel free to bring your own snacks and drinks (preferably in reusable bottles).
Ability Level: Recommended for adults and older children, but suitable for all ages and ability levels.
Rescheduling & Cancellations: All events are subject to change or cancellation without notice; however, we will try to contact pre-registered participants via e-mail or telephone when problems arise. In the event of inclement weather, cancellation and rescheduling notices will be posted to our Event Information Hotline at (973) 538-3500 x22. Please note that GSWA’s phone lines are not staffed on weekends or after 5 p.m. on weekdays.

Jockey Hollow Explorers: Natural History Hike
2015-06-14 17:30 - 19:30 | Visitor Center, Morristown National Historical Park, 600 Tempe Wick Road, Morristown, New Jersey, 07960
Enjoy a late-spring hike with the Great Swamp Watershed Association’s (GSWA) Director of Education & Outreach Hazel England. Hazel will guide you through all of the important landscape features that soldiers in George Washington’s Continental Army would have experienced during the brutal winter of 1779-80. She’ll also tell you about some of the drastic environmental changes wrought throughout the encampment area since colonial times.
Hazel England, GSWA’s Director of Education & Outreach, teaches Sara Kuzhikandathil how to hold an eastern box turtle (Terrapene carolina carolina). Credit: GSWA/S. ReynoldsWildlife, plants, and other natural treasures abound on this journey, so don’t miss out on all you can learn from Hazel’s encyclopedic knowledge of the outdoors.
Interested adults and families with children are encouraged attend.
Space is limited, so advance registration is strongly suggested.
What to Bring: Conditions may be hot, cold, muddy, or wet, so please dress for the weather. Sturdy outdoor footwear is strongly recommended. Field guides, binoculars, snack, and water (in a reusable water bottle) are welcome. This is a leave-no-trace event.
Ability Level: This is an easy hike over level ground and pavement suitable for all ages and skill levels. Strollers are not recommended.
Rescheduling & Cancelations: All events are subject to change or cancellation without notice; however, we will try to contact pre-registered participants via e-mail or telephone when problems arise. In the event of inclement weather, cancelation and rescheduling notices will be posted to our Event Information Hotline at 973-538-3500 x22. Please note that GSWA’s phone lines are not staffed on weekends or after 5:00 p.m. on weekdays.

Healing the Lower Passaic: Diamond Alkali Superfund Cleanup Update
2015-06-09 08:00 - 09:30 | Great Swamp Watershed Association HQ, 568 Tempe Wick Rd, Morristown, NJ, 07960, United States
David Kluesner, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 2 team leader for community affairs, returns to provide an update on plans for the remediation of hazardous pollution along the last eight miles of the Passaic River.
A continental breakfast will be served beginning at 8 a.m.
Background
On April 11, 2014 — within 48 hours of David’s last appearance at a GSWA Breakfast Briefing — EPA Region 2 Administrator Judith Enck held a press conference announcing the Agency’s draft plan for addressing contamination along the Lower Passaic. Stretching eight miles from Belleville to Newark Bay, this section of river forms part of the Diamond Alkali Superfund site centered around Newark’s Ironbound district.
For more than 30 years in mid-20th century, Diamond Alkali and other chemical manufacturers used the Passaic River near Lister Avenue in Newark as a dumping ground for hazardous waste products such as PCBs, dioxins, pesticides, and mercury. Embedded in layers of river sediment, tides and currents quickly began spreading these dangerous substances up and down the Passaic from Dundee Dam in Garfield to the river mouth on Newark Bay.
As local chemical manufacturers came and went, an environmental disaster brewed beneath Passaic waters and inside the Ironbound. Residents and government officials remained unaware of any danger until a disturbing finding made by the New Jersey Department of Environmental (NJDEP) in 1983 prompted then-governor Thomas H. Kean to place the entire region in a state of emergency. Within a year, the EPA had added the Diamond Alkali manufacturing plant on Lister Avenue, as well as the last 17 miles of the Passaic River to its Superfund list.
On April 11, 2014 — more than 30 years after that Superfund designation – the EPA finally released a draft plan for dealing with contaminated river sediment associated with Diamond Alkali site. Focused on sediments along the last eight miles of the Passaic River, the plan proposes bank-to-bank dredging of 4.3 million cubic yards of contaminated sediment, and suggests several alternatives for sediment disposal and capping of any remaining pollution. (Plans for addressing contaminated sediment on the remaining nine miles of river northwest of Belleville have yet to be proposed.
Public comments on the proposed remediation plan for the last eight miles of the Passaic were collected through August 20, 2014. The EPA is reviewing those comments in preparation for the release of a final remediation plan.
Planned for this Briefing
Mr. Kluesner will help us understand what has happened to the proposed remediation plan since the public comment period closed in August, when we can expect a finalized plan, and what other considerations, beyond public commentary, will factor into it.

Water Quality Report Card for the Great Swamp Watershed
2015-05-30 10:00 - 11:30 | Great Swamp Watershed Association HQ, 568 Tempe Wick Rd, Morristown, NJ, 07960, United States
Laura Kelm, director of water quality programs at the Great Swamp Watershed Association, wraps up the Spring 2015 Breakfast Briefing Series by introducing the organization brand new watershed report card program. The new program is designed to provide members of the public with an annual update on the quality of water in the five major streams feeding the Great Swamp and the Passaic River.
This is a special Saturday morning briefing beginning at 10 a.m. A continental breakfast will be served.
Background
In 2013, the Great Swamp Watershed Association published State of the Streams in the Great Swamp Watershed, a comprehensive report that assembled and analyzed chemical, visual, and biological water quality data collected over the course of a decade from the five main streams feeding the Great Swamp and the Passaic River.
Requiring months of labor by GSWA staff and volunteers, the project continues to inform our understanding of the changes our watershed has experienced, and how the organization can continue building and reporting on its growing database of scientific observations.
Based on the success of State of the Streams, GSWA has developed a new Water Quality Report Card program for the Great Swamp region. Issued annually, the report card will serve as a barometer of watershed health, and help the public keep abreast of emerging issues related to water pollution, land use, and water protection.
The first Water Quality Report Card will be issued in May 2015, and GSWA’s Director of Water Quality Programs Laura Kelm will summarize its finding at a public presentation on Saturday, May 30.
Planned for This Briefing
GSWA Director of Water Quality Programs Laura Kelm will provide an in-depth look at the Great Swamp Watershed’s first Water Quality Report Card for the Great Swamp Watershed region. The presentation will include an overview of the report card rationale and the measurements used to determine grades for each of the watershed’s five major streams.

Home & Garden Tour Fundraiser
2015-05-20 10:00 - 15:00 | Chase Auditorium, Madison Public Library, 39 Keep Street, Madison, NJ, 07940
Find inspiration for your spring planting and decorating while supporting Great Swamp Watershed Association on May 20, 2015, during during our 2nd Annual Home & Garden Tour Fundraiser.
The tour will be a celebration of charming, historic homes; enchanting gardens; and elegant estates inhabiting the Great Swamp region.
And, please help us build a great turnout by giving them to your friends and hanging them in your local coffee shop, grocery store, town hall, workplace, etc.
Advance registration is very strongly recommended. To register online, please complete the form below. To register by phone, please call (973) 538-3500 x22. Please remember that advance registration closes at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, May 19. After that, all new registrations will be taken at the door for $60/person.
How to Prepare: A tour program and a map of the tour route will be supplied at check-in. All participants should be prepared to wear booties over their shoes or take their shoes off when entering a tour home. (Disposable booties will be available at each stop.) Conditions may be hot, cold, or wet, so please dress appropriately and bring along rain gear just in case of inclement weather. If you plan to have lunch on your own during the tour, please consider visiting a local business along the tour route. All tour homes close promptly at 3 p.m.
Rescheduling & Cancellations: All events are subject to change or cancellation without notice; however, we will try to contact pre-registered participants via e-mail or telephone if problems arise. Cancellation and rescheduling notices will be posted to the GSWA’s Event Information Hotline at (973) 538-3500 x22. (Please note: GSWA’s phone lines are not staffed on weekends or after 5 p.m. on weekdays.)

Great Swamp Scavenger Hunt
2015-05-09 10:00 - 16:00 | Helen Fenske Visitor Center, 32 Pleasant Plains Rd, New Vernon, NJ, 07976, United States
Calling all would-be explorers, adventurers, and buccaneers! The Great Swamp Scavenger Hunt is back for another year of outdoor fun!
Think you know a thing or two about New Jersey’s Great Swamp? Then it’s time to test your powers of navigation and observation to find out.
Begin the Scavenger Hunt just after 10 a.m. by checking in at GSWA’s Home Base under the pavilion at the Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge’s Helen C. Fenske Visitor Center. (The Visitor Center is located just inside the Lee’s Hill Road park entrance at 32 Pleasant Plains Road in Harding Township, NJ.)
We will provide you with a route to travel, questions to answer, and a list of treasures to find throughout the 55-square-mile Great Swamp Watershed region. It’s your job to navigate to each treasure site, seek answers to the questions and riddles provided, and then return to Home Base with all your spoils.
Remember to hurry back to 32 Pleasant Plains Road at 3 p.m. because your day of pilfering booty will earn you several chances to win some special prizes at our Scavenger’s Tricky Tray!
A free cookout waits for all who participate, so don’t forget your barbecue enthusiasm. We love it when our guests participate in the picnic! Feel free to bring along a covered side dish (to share or not). We’ll supply the burgers, dogs, and drinks..
All are encourage to attend, especially family groups and larger scavenger hunt teams.

Migration Walk
2015-05-07 09:00 - 11:00 | Primrose Farm (Enter from Barrett Field), Barrett Field, 1413-000460000-000020001-00000, Morristown, NJ, 07960
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.

Full Flower Moon Hike at Great Swamp NWR
2015-05-02 19:30 - 21:00 | Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge, 220 Long Hill Road, Gillette, NJ, 07933, United States
Do you know why May’s full moon is called the Full Flower Moon? With spring in full swing and flowers bursting out all over, it’s not too hard to guess!
This is an amazing time of year at NJ’s Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge. Fully awake after a long winter’s nap, the wetlands along the boardwalks are positively teeming with wildlife and the new green of trees, marsh grasses, and water lilies.
It’s easy to connect with the Refuge’s many natural wonders during the day, but to experience them at night, with a full moon rising over the horizon and animal activity at its peak, is something casual visitors rarely get to see.
Fortunately, the Great Swamp Watershed Association has a special-use permit that allows us to enter the Refuge at night. And that means we can share the priviledge with you!
You, your family, and friends are invited to join naturalist Hazel England — GSWA’s director of education and outreach — for a special full-moon hike at the Refuge’s Wildlife Observation Center off Long Hill Road in Harding Township.
Hazel will re-acquaint you with your night senses so you can hear, smell, and even see things that escape you attention during the day. You’ll also learn more about nocturnal wildlife and the sounds they make as the sun goes down.
Interested adults and families with children are encouraged attend.

Swamp Explorers For Kids
2015-04-19 10:30 - 12:00 | Great Swamp Watershed Association’s CMA, 1 Tiger Lily Ln, Morristown, NJ, 07960, United States
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.

Breakfast Briefing at Night — Great Swamp NWR Conservation Plan Update
2015-04-09 19:00 - 20:30 | Great Swamp Watershed Association HQ, 568 Tempe Wick Rd, Morristown, NJ, 07960, United States
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.

Spring Peeper Party in the Swamp!
2015-03-27 18:30 - 20:00 | Great Swamp Watershed Association’s CMA, 1 Tiger Lily Ln, Morristown, NJ, 07960, United States
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.)

Stream Assessment Training for Volunteers
2015-03-21 09:00 - 15:00 | Great Swamp Watershed Association HQ, 568 Tempe Wick Rd, Morristown, NJ, 07960, United States
The Great Swamp Watershed Association needs your help to protect the water resources we all share!
If you like spending time outside and wonder what it would be like to be a real citizen scientist—like Benjamin Franklin or Henry David Thoreau—then you should volunteer for GSWA’s Stream Team. Begin your journey by attending our Visual Stream Assessment Training.
This workshop will show you how routine visual stream assessment surveys are conducted on our streams and rivers, and how that data can provide critical information about our water resources and the local environment. Then, step by step, you will learn how to conduct an on-the-ground visual stream assessment—one of the most basic water quality assessment tools available to environmental scientists.
By the end of the workshop, your first real-world survey of stream health will be complete, and you will be ready to join the rest of GSWA’s Stream Team for future assessments later this spring.
A continental breakfast will be served. Ideal volunteers will be 15 years old or older. A portion of this event will be held outdoors and slppery conditions will be present..

Breakfast Briefing: What is the Water Utility Cycle?
2015-03-09 08:00 - 09:30 | Great Swamp Watershed Association HQ, 568 Tempe Wick Rd, Morristown, NJ, 07960, United States
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.

Owl Prowl with Emile DeVito and Hazel England
2015-03-01 17:00 - 18:30 | Primrose Farm (Enter from Barrett Field), Barrett Field, 1413-000460000-000020001-00000, Morristown, NJ, 07960
Explore New Jersey’s forests at dusk and you just might find yourself in the middle of an interrogation! Who!? Who cooks for you? The barred owl sounds like an awfully inquisitive bird, but, in fact, it’s just trying to protect its turf. Want to learn more about New Jersey’s owls? Then you don’t want to miss this early-evening hike with conservation biologist Dr. Emile DeVito and GSWA’s own Hazel England. Nestled on acres of upland forest and meadow, Primrose Farm is prime owl-spotting habitat and a perfect spot for Dr. DeVito to demonstrate his owl-calling expertise. With a little luck, you might just hear (or even see!) some of these stealthy night flyers as they move in to investigate the mysterious sounds.
What to Bring: Warm clothing (including hats and gloves) and waterproof footwear — especially hiking boots — are very strongly recommended for this hike. Field guides, binoculars, and water in reusable containers are welcome. (This is a leave-no-trace event.)
Ability Level: This is a short out-and-back hike over uneven ground, and is suitable for almost all ages and ability levels. (Stollers are not recommended.)
Rescheduling & Cancellations: All events are subject to change or cancellation without notice; however, we always try to contact pre-registered participants via e-mail or telephone when problems arise. In the event of inclement weather, cancellation and rescheduling notices will be posted to our Event Information Hotline at 973-538-3500 x22. Please note that GSWA’s offices are not staffed on weekends or after 5:00 p.m. on weekdays.
