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SAVE THE DATES! |
KGA ACTIVITIES AND OTHER EVENTS 
KGA EARTH DAY CLEANUP SESSIONSSaturday, April 26, 2014, 9 to 11 AM and 2 to 4 PM 9 to 11 AM--Rockingham Historic Site, 84 Laurel Avenue, Kingston Volunteers will collect trash around Rockingham and along Laurel Avenue.  2 to 4 PM--Cook Natural Area parking lot, 32 Heathcote Road, Kingston NJ 08528 (intersection of Ridge Road, Division Street, and Heathcote Road) Volunteers will collect trash in the Cook Natural Area and parts of the Kingston Greenbelt that adjoin Ridge Road, Division Street, and Mapleton Road. Volunteers may also report to the Mapleton Preserve at 145 Mapleton Road, Kingston. Cleanups will originate at both locations. Boots, hats, and long pants are recommended. Garbage bags, gloves, grabbers, and safety vests will be provided. Meet great people, and leave the landscape cleaner than you found it! For further information, please call David at 609-924-3399.
KVFC ANNUAL PANCAKE BREAKFASTSunday, April 27, 2014, 8 AM to 1 PM Members of Kingston Volunteer Fire Company #1 will be serving pancakes, sausages, orange juice, and coffee/tea at the Kingston Fire House, 6 Heathcote Road. You can also purchase delicious goods from the Kingston Ladies Auxiliary Bake Sale. Come have breakfast, meet your neighbors, and learn about our village's oldest volunteer organizations! $8 for adults, $4 for children 12 and under. All proceeds go to helping maintain the Fire Department and its operations that keep our community safe. |
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KGA ANNUAL MEETING AND PROGRAM-- NATURAL BEAUTY: SOMERSET COUNTY PARKS Wednesday, May 7, 2014, 7:30 PMx Kingston Firehouse, 6 Heathcote Road, Kingston NJ After a brief business meeting, Clifford Zink, award-winning historian, preservation consultant, and author, will give a presentation on the subject of his latest book, NATURAL BEAUTY: SOMERSET COUNTY PARKS. He will trace the development of Somerset County’s park system from its roots in the County’s agricultural past through its evolution over nearly six decades into an organization utilizing creative public-private partnerships to preserve open space and serve more than 2,000,000 visitors and program participants annually. | Businessmen and political leaders worked tirelessly to establish the Somerset County Park Commission in 1956 by public referendum, and they adopted a visionary plan to preserve prime open space and provide excellent recreational opportunities for the public. Since that time, inspired public officials and professional staff have implemented and expanded the plan into a countywide network of 26 parks encompassing more than 13,500 acres. Somerset County parks today include award-winning facilities like the Environmental Education and Equestrian Centers at Lord Stirling Park, the horticultural centers at Colonial Park and Leonard J. Buck Garden, the Torpey Athletic Center, and the Neshanic Valley Golf Course. The Parks also contain exceptional landscapes and natural areas like Natirar and Sourland Mountain Preserve, the largest county park in New Jersey. The meeting is open to the public, and refreshments will be served.   Colonial Park Rose Garden |
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RECENT EVENTS |
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KINGSTON GREENWAYS ASSOCIATION FALL FOLIAGE WALK Sunday, October 20, 2013  Rick Henkel (at far right) and fall foliage walkers--Photo by Jonathan Michalik In celebration of this 100th anniversary year of the founding of Princeton Nurseries, Rick Henkel led a walk through the Nurseries' Kingston site. Rick was formerly Sales Manager for Princeton Nurseries, where he worked for 32 years. After leaving the Nurseries, he founded Princeton Horticultural Services, which he continues to run. Rick has an extraordinary knowledge of trees, and knows the Kingston Site and its trees intimately. View a gallery of photos taken by Jonathan Michalik: Fall Foliage Walk 2013 ANNUAL MEETING AND MOVIE--“Crash: A Tale of Two Species” Wednesday, May 22, 2013 For those who were unable to join us, the film "Crash: A Tale of two Species" is available from Netflix. It explores the fascinating, endangered relationship between the red knot, a South American shorebird which flies each year to the Arctic to mate, and the horsehoe crab, whose eggs fuel the most grueling portion of the red knot's journey north.  Courtesy of Conserve Wildlife But now that humans are using the horseshoe crab for fishing bait and for medical purposes (its blue blood is pervasively used to test intravenous drugs, vaccines, and medical devices for bacterial contamination--see http://www.horseshoecrab.org/med/med.html for more information) the relationship has become increasingly endangered. Maria Grace, the Education and Outreach Manager of Conserve Wildlife (Conserve Wildlife) fielded many questions raised by the documentary. Despite grim challenges to both species, there is some hopeful news--this short Star Ledger video provides some post-Sandy coverage: Researchers optimistic about Delaware Bay horseshoe crab spawn and shorebird migration |
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 |  |
NJ WILD BLOG SITE |
| ABOUT KINGSTON GREENWAYS Kingston Greenways Association aims to establish a permanent green belt around the village of Kingston consisting of natural environments, recreational park land, agricultural and horticultural land, wetlands, streams and ponds, and sites of historical interest. The Association further aims to preserve and create connections of green among and beyond these for walking, jogging, bicycling and horseback riding. The Association aims also to promote understanding of our local region through study and education, and to provide oversight and advocacy for open space in the Kingston area. We will work in partnership with other regional, state and national groups in pursuit of open space preservation and awareness. KGA BYLAWS |
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| HOW YOU CAN HELP ** Become a member ** Become a trustee ** Join us for walks, talks, workshops, cleanups, trail building, and field trips ** Get on our email list ** Keep us informed about events, opportunities, and impending zoning/legislation issues ** Attend public meetings, and tell state and local officials you're concerned about overdevelopment, loss of open space, and damage to wildlife habitat and water resources |