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YES, BLACK BEARS HAVE BEEN SEEN IN KINGSTON! Black bears have been sighted in every county in New Jersey, and with increasing frequency. Please take a moment to read this important advisory from New Jersey's Division of Fish and Wildlife: Know the Bear Facts |
KGA ACTIVITIES AND OTHER EVENTS 
A WALK THROUGH HISTORY/FALL FOLIAGE WALKSaturday, October 15, 2016, 10:00 AM This year we will join Bob Barth of D&R Canal Watch on a 3.8 mile history-oriented trek on the D&R Canal towpath from Alexander Road to Kingston.  The meeting place will be the Locktender's House in Kingston, where participants will carpool to Alexander Road. The walk will take place rain or shine, and is expected to last two to three hours. |
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CHRISTMAS BIRD COUNT Sunday, December 18, 2016, 7:30 AM - 5 PM The Kingston segment of this year's Audubon Christmas Bird Count begins at 7:30 AM and goes until noon. After a break for lunch at Main Street Cafe, we will continue with the count in the afternoon. You can join us for morning, afternoon, or both. Experienced birders and novices are equally welcome to participate. If you are interested, give Karen Linder a call (609-683-0483) or an email (karen.e.linder@gmail.com) for more information and to register. |
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RECENT EVENTS |
KINGSTON FEST Sunday, August 7, 2016 This gathering gave the public a chance to tour the newly renovated Laurel Avenue School, for which so many have advocated and worked to preserve beginning in 1998. The Kingston Laurel Avenue School has been beautifully restored and rehabilitated by Princeton International Properties (PIP) and is the new home of the Yinghua International School. As part of this arrangement with Franklin Township and PIP, a Kingston Community Room has been provided for the exclusive use of all village organizations. Read about the building's history, the restoration and funding partners, and the Yinghua School here: Kingston's Historic Laurel Ave School to Get a New Life ANNUAL MEETING AND TALK ON SNOWY OWLS Tuesday, May 24, 2016 Jean-François Therrien Ph.D, a Senior Research Biologist at Hawk Mountain Sanctuary in Orwigsburg, PA, has been studying snowy owls in the Arctic for more than a decade with a team of scientists from Laval Université, Québec. He explained how satellite telemetry has provided some insight into the lives of these unusual creatures.  Jean-François Therrien with snowy owl—photo by A. Robillard Some of the things we learned: ~Snowy owls are a top predator in the Arctic. They have a wingspan of 4-5 feet, weigh up to 5 pounds, and are one of the few owls that hunt during the day. ~Lemmings make up a major part of their diet, especially during the breeding season, but they will also prey on seabirds. ~Unlike other migrating birds, snowy owls are not predictable. They do not travel together, nor do they fly to fixed endpoints. This is the reason for Therrien's description of them as "nomads of the north." ~Snowy mothers may lay an average of seven eggs over a period of fourteen days, which hatch sequentially. ~Some years, some of these large owls move south, a phenomenon known as an irruption. In recent winters, snowy owls have been observed across New Jersey in fields, marshes and beaches devoid of trees, landscapes that resemble the Arctic tundra to which they are accustomed. For more information, please visit the web sites below: Hawk Mountain Project Snowstorm EARTH DAY CLEANUP Saturday, April 23, 2016  We offer sincerest thanks to the many volunteers who celebrated Earth Day by beautifying and making safer our public lands and roadways! During the morning session, eight volunteers collected fifteen bags of unsightly trash along Laurel Avenue in front of Rockingham. We are grateful to team leader John Butcher and his crew for tidying the environs of this historic site. The afternoon session on the South Brunswick side was also a great success. We are grateful to BreeAnne Lemmerling for rallying her neighbors for a massive cleanup of the Railroad/Greenwood Avenue area and adjacent Nursery lands.      Items collected included illegally dumped construction debris, nursery detritus, and ordinary trash, windblown or deliberately discarded. Several volunteers also worked Ridge Road, Heathcote, and Division and nearby wooded areas.    One notable haul was this newspaper vending box that had been in Heathcote Brook since at least 2008.  It had deteriorated into a very dangerous state. The neighbors waited until the water was low, then dug it out, loaded it into this wheelbarrow, and transported it to one of the piles that will be carted away by South Brunswick Township.   Another special cache of debris was the remains of a 1990's vintage television that fell off the back of a truck and literally exploded a few months ago. Hundreds of two-inch thick pieces of glass, circuitry, and other parts were collected from along Ridge Road.  
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RECENT EVENTS |
ANNUAL FALL FOLIAGE WALK Saturday, October 17, 2015  Photo by Greg Dobbs This year's walk was an informal ramble along the new trail through the Cook Natural Area, blazed by KGA volunteers on National Trails Day in June. This pathway through two short wooded sections and along field borders offers pleasant views of hillside, fields and forest.  Walkers continued on over the Carter Brook Bridge--led by Doonie, our only canine participant!--which has been damaged by a falling tree, through Heathcote Meadows, and back to our starting point via the railroad right of way.  We are grateful to Greg Dobbs for his observant eye, and permission to share his photos of the afternoon: Greg Dobbs Photos |
NATURE GALLERY | Does a tree grow in Kingston that you would like to honor? Now you can nominate it to KGA's brand new Kingston Tree Registry. Tree Nomination Form |  |