STEWARDSHIP SATURDAYS
Stewardship plays a critical role in our mission. Make a difference by helping us care for Hunterdon County’s special places so they can be enjoyed by all.
Join Hunterdon Land Trust for Stewardship Saturdays at our public access preserves! Our team will join you at one of our preserves to accomplish stewardship tasks, ranging from trail upkeep to invasive species removal to wildlife monitoring. No prior knowledge or experience is required – just enthusiasm to care for our natural lands! These workdays are also a great chance to learn more about joining our Preserve Stewards volunteer program.
Volunteers are advised to wear closed-toe shoes and long sleeves, and are invited to bring their own work gloves, loppers, and pruners if they have them. Some items we can supply to you if you need them. RSVP to HLT’s Stewardship Coordinator, Sarah Crosby: (908) 237-4582, sarah@hunterdonlandtrust.org.
Dates/times/locations are subject to change – subscribe to our mailing list or follow us on social media to be kept up to date.
Stewardship Saturday at Dvoor Farm
May 9th, 9 AM-12 PM (Sign Up)
111 Mine St, Flemington, NJ 08822 (Google Maps)
Help get the meadows at Dvoor ready for prime time! We’ll be checking tree tubes for winter mortality, swapping some out for cages to allow for greater growth, and removing invasives around them. We’ll also explore and work on the meadow that was winter seeded in December to see what plants have started coming up. Bring work gloves if you have them.
Stewardship Saturday at Zega-Lockatong Preserve
June 27th, 9:00 AM-12:00 PM (Sign Up)
Raven Rock Rosemont Rd, Stockton, NJ 08559 (Google Maps)
Help protect the old-growth forest system at Zega! We will be working on removing shrubby invasive plants, caging saplings growing in canopy gaps, and maintaining active stewardship areas. We’ll record observations of beech trees and the level of beech leaf disease present. Stewardship work in forests with beeches is especially important right now, to ensure that as they decline, the resulting gaps in the canopy can support new native saplings.
Stewardship Saturday at Idell Preserve
July 11th, 9:00 AM -12:00 PM (Sign Up)
50 Barbertown Idell Rd, Frenchtown, NJ 08825 (Google Maps)
This month we will work on maintaining the new and old deer exclosures and explore what’s been growing inside. We’ll hopefully find some plants that are preferred by deer, who don’t get much of a chance to grow unless they’re protected from browsing. We will also remove invasives from the exclosures and repair any damages, and work on removal of larger trailside shrubby invasives.
Stewardship Saturday at Quakertown Preserve
August 29th, 9:00 AM -12:00 PM (Sign Up)
1175 Croton Rd, Flemington, NJ 08822 (Google Maps)
We will be working on improving the shrubland at Quakertown Preserve by removing the woody invasive shrubs to make room for the diversity of native shrubs growing there. We’ll also collect cuttings of dogwoods for propagation. Shrubland is a habitat that is declining in many areas, so it’s even more critical for birds that depend on it such as prairie warblers, indigo buntings, and eastern towhees.