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RECENT EVENTS
KGA ANNUAL MEETING AND PROGRAM ON TICKS AND TICK-BORNE DISEASES WITH DR. ALVARO TOLEDO
Thursday, May 10, 2018
Dr. Alvaro Toledo is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Entomology at Rutgers. His primary focus is to establish a research program on Lyme disease,
ticks and the vector-borne pathogens at the Center for Vector Biology. Ticks are the most important vectors for infectious diseases in the northern
hemisphere, and second after mosquitoes worldwide. Ticks are parasites that feed on the blood of different vertebrate species. Typically, ticks have 4
stages (egg, larvae, nymph and adult) that feed on three different hosts in a two-year life cycle. Ticks can transmit different diseases, including Lyme
disease, Human granulocytic anaplasmosis and Babesisis among others. The causative agent of Lyme disease, Borrelia burgdorferi, is a spirochete and is
transmitted to humans through the bite of infected ticks (this is the only way one can get Lyme disease). The safest way to remove ticks is by grasping
and pulling them out with tweezers, as close to the skin as possible. Other methods (vaseline, nail polish remover, matches) may stress the tick, and make
it more likely that you could be infected!
Dr. Toledo has kindly provided to KGA a copy of his fascinating and informative presentation, which may be viewed here:
Dr. Toledo's Tick Talk
EARTH DAY CLEANUPS
Saturday, April 21, 2018
Our thanks to the many people who joined us to celebrate Earth Day by removing garbage from our open spaces, woods, and roadsides. The cleanup of Laurel
Avenue and the environs of Rockingham Historic Site was ably undertaken by the morning crew.
In the afternoon, volunteers collected litter in areas adjacent to Mapleton Road, Division Street, Heathcote Road, Ridge Road, Greenwood Avenue, and Railroad
Avenue. South Brunswick Girl Scout Troop 82416 amassed an eye-popping motherlode of trash from within the Mapleton Preserve, and made some unusual finds.
CHRISTMAS BIRD COUNT
Sunday, December 17, 2017
Leader Karen Linder had this report:
Birds were few, but the grasses and winter weeds in the seedbeds were lovely. Things livened up when the sun came out amd it warmed up a bit. Six bluebirds
shining 15 feet away on the ground was a nice reward for the dry birding. Then messes of yellow rumps, cedar waxwings. We saw a fox, six deer, raccoon tracks,
possible possum tracks, and some wonderful tiny bird tracks. Raptors were few--a red tail and the Barclay Square Coopers Hawk. One vulture. Four great blue
herons, and a cormorant. No spectacular masses or notable numbers but a rewarding and lovely day, with 35 species total. The neatest view was of a chickadee,
popping in and out of a cavity that was just his size.
2017 Christmas Bird Count Results, Kingston segment
"A WALK THROUGH KINGSTON'S RAILROAD HISTORY"
Sunday, October 22, 2017
This year's walk, co-sponsored by the Kingston Historical Society and led by railroad historian John Kilbride, did not go quite as we planned! We
headed out along the former Camden & Amboy Railroad right-of-way toward Railroad Avenue, crossed Ridge Road onto the Rail Trail, and walked as far as the
turn to the Cook bridge. Shortly thereafter, our guide experienced a spell which resulted in his being whisked away in an ambulance!
We are grateful to trustee Karen Linder for grabbing the baton to finish with a more traditional nature walk. A good number of participants carried on,
roughly following the former Kingston Branch/Rocky Hill Railroad right-of-way to end at the Kingston Lock-tender’s House, where model builder Paul Kayne
talked about and demonstrated his models of the Kingston lock and the "A" frame bridge (once at Kingston).
The good news is that John Kilbride had fully recovered by the next day, and to finish what he started, recorded this virtual tour with illustrations,
lasting about sixteen minutes. A Walk through Kingston's Railroad History
PIPELINE POSITION
Along with hundreds of other organizations, KGA has signed on to a letter to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission about its policies on certification
of natural gas pipelines. The full text of the letter may be read here: FERC Letter January 2018
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