The Plainsboro Preserve is a nature sanctuary in collaboration with Plainsboro township, Middlesex County, and the New Jersey Audubon Society. With one of the largest lakes in the area and close to 1,000 acres of preserved land, the Plainsboro Preserve supports a diverse range of habitats and wildlife. The visitor center is known as the preserve’s Rush Holt Environmental Center which is located at 80 Scotts Corner Rd, East Windsor, NJ 08512.
Starting this fall, GPA member Amber Yu works as a volunteer to provide care for the animals at the Plainsboro Preserve visitor center. Gina Shen and Kathie Wang will also join them later on. On Oct 3rd, 2021, she fed three turtles and one snake in the afternoon for 1.5 hours. Amber started by defrosting 3 pinkies—deceased young mice— in a cup of hot water. The cup was left to sit in the kitchen, while Amber prepared the food for the other reptiles. She then opened the mealworm box and put 4 mealworms in one cup and 5 in the other with a drop of liquid vitamin on top of each.
Normally, the volunteers would have to also defrost a large adult mouse for the snake. But this time, Maize (the snake) did not eat the large mouse offered to her. After checking on the snake, Amber brought the cups of mealworms into the turtle room. She started with Cardboard, a three-legged female box turtle, and put her into the feeding bin along with the worms. Amber returned to the kitchen to check on the frozen pinkies. By now they had defrosted and it was time to feed the largest turtle, Bean the Blanding’s turtle. This turtle was a bit special because they were nearsighted and couldn’t see very well. When feeding Bean, Amber had to make sure to give the turtle something to focus on which was the cup and the tongs holding the mouse. She then held the actual mouse very near the turtle’s face and let the turtle grab on before letting go so as not to drop the mouse. However, she did end up dropping one when the turtle didn’t grab on properly. The way to get around this is by having another person lure the turtle to the side with the cup and then use the tongs to fish the mouse out and try again. Once she was done feeding Bean, she then went to check on Cardboard, who had finished all her 5 worms, and returned her to her enclosure. After putting her back it was Flower’s turn. Flower was the smallest there and was a camera-shy male box turtle. Amber did the same thing and put Flower in the feeding bin with their worms and left him to eat without observation which he didn’t like. She then rinsed and cleaned the cup with mice, the tongs, and also Flower’s water bowl which was given a refill. Afterward, she returned Flower to his enclosure and her work was complete.
The New Jersey Audubon has many volunteer opportunities. Please visit https://njaudubon.org/volunteer/ to find more. If you are interested, please download and complete our Volunteer Application form and mail it to NJ Audubon, 11 Hardscrabble Road, Bernardsville, NJ 07924, or email to volunteering@njaudubon.org, or fax to (908) 766-7775 or call the Staffed Nature Center nearest you to find out more. Together we can work to Keep New Jersey Green.
