In January, the Greater Princeton & Far Beyond Branch of AYLUS (GPA) forest restoration team worked for the Forest Restoration events at the Billy Johnson Mountain Lakes Nature Preserve in Princeton (57 Mountain Avenue).
Martin Luther King Jr. Day is on Monday, January 15th and there are many meaningful avenues for honoring the life and legacy of Dr. King. One way is through community service. On MLK Day, Friends of Princeton Open Space (FOPOS) hosted a day of service in nature at the Billy Johnson Mountain Lakes Nature Preserve in Princeton. Together, we can help protect our forest lands.
Founded in 1969, FOPOS is a nonprofit organization dedicated to acquiring open space in Princeton for preservation, protecting natural resources, maintaining accessibility to trails, and providing environmental education. As part of its mission, it works with groups in the Princeton region to support efforts to preserve and protect open space and the environment. Since its founding, it has helped raise over $4.5 million to purchase land and conservation easements in Princeton.
On MLK Day, volunteers worked with FOPOS’s stewardship team to confront invasive plant outbreaks at the Preserve. Using tools such as loppers and pruners, they also worked to free large, established trees from the grips of invasive vines. Participants gained skills in plant identification and learned about some pressures New Jersey’s forests face.
GPA members enjoyed a Day of Service in Nature, during this session, volunteers helped to restore habitat at the Billy Johnson Mountain Lakes Nature Preserve in Princeton, NJ. FOPOS Director of Natural Resources and Stewardship went over some winter plant identification tips, and then they used pruners, loopers, and handsaws to cut back target invasive species such as Japanese honeysuckle and Multiflora rose. Invasive plants can really overtake a site, preventing native species and future canopy trees from growing.
GPA Volunteers (1/15, AM 2 hrs): Simon Tong, Alice Wang, Alexander Wang, Cindy Chen, Sean Xu,
Participants (1/15, PM 2 hrs): Xintong Si, Martin Zhao, Michael Yang, Jonathan Yang, Jeffrey Zhang, Sara Yu, Sophia Yu, Shuchen Yu, Claire Hua, Chloe Hua, Alice Wang, Alexander Wang, Carl Shi, Owen Zhao, Michael Zhao, Nathan Cui, Robert Luan, William Luan
