Friends of Princeton Nursery Lands extends its heart-felt gratitude to all who helped at our Mapleton Preserve Cleanup on Martin Luther King Day, Jan 18, 2010. It was fabulous to see such an outpouring of energy and spirit!
Over 40 volunteers from all walks of life responded to our call, and made an AWESOME contribution to the Preserve. It is amazing what a group of dedicated volunteers can do in just 3 hours! Some cleared trees and brush around the propagation house and greenhouses–the historic complex that will be restored as an interpretive center. Wielding saws and loppers, the entire building circumference was cleared.
Others explored the 50(+) acres of Mapleton Preserve and picked up trash. This group collected at least 26 bags of nonrecyclables, 4 bags of recyclables, 6 tires, contractor trash and a neat deer skeleton.
We particularly wish to thank Dave Wells (Robert Wells Tree & Landscape), Tari Pantaleo and John Keating (South Brunswick Post), who helped document our efforts with photographs, and Don Swaysland (who once worked at Princeton Nurseries), Dave Wells and Jim Consolloy (retired Princeton University groundskeeper) for their horticultural advice during the clearing.
Kudos is due the D&R Canal State Park staff for helping us to coordinate and publicize the event. The South Brunswick Post and Princeton Packet printed nice pictures of the event, so we got excellent press coverage as well!
It was rewarding to see so many volunteers from past FPNL and Kingston Greenways Association events, and even more gratifying to see so many new volunteers. The D&R Canal State Park staff has continued the clearing efforts by taking down the trees that had sprung up around one of the warehouses.