Update from White Lake!

NOTE: This weeks’ blog space is taken over by White Lake Preserve Manager Aaron Rosado -

Hey everyone, Aaron here - Greetings from White Lake!

Happy Summer! Here at White Lake, we are feeling the full effects of the season!

(An Eastern Tiger Swallowtail fanning out its wings on a Wild Bergamot)

The lake, meadows, and along the trails are all lively with a plethora of flora and fauna! However, not every plant and animal you see is a native species. In fact, a good amount of what you notice will actually be considered invasive species.

(A common invasive plant,  Multiflora Rose, is seen in a meadow where it shows early stages of Rose Rosette Disease, a viral rose disease spread by mites.) 

The problem with invasive species is they disrupt ecosystems. Invasive plants and animals can thrive and spread aggressively due to the lack of native predators. This can result in detrimental consequences, like causing damage to habitats or “replacing” native species.

(The highly invasive Phragmites is seen taking over the lakeshore. It has already made its presence around the perimeter of the lake)

(The highly invasive Phragmites is seen taking over the lakeshore. It has already made its presence around the perimeter of the lake)

Preventive actions can be taken on invasives, such as spraying herbicide, physical removal, and constant vigilance. For example, when taking out an aquatic vessel, be sure to clean and inspect for any plant matter on your kayak, paddle board, and oars before going out on the water. The same should be done with fishing equipment, hooks, baits, and lures.

(Native Butterfly Milkweed is seen hosting a couple of  bumblebees. Butterflies, bees, and birds are examples of pollinators, organisms that help the transfer of pollen so flowering plants can reproduce.)

So, the next time you walk outside, try and see what plants and animals are native and which are invasive.  The more you know, the more you can help in joining us in reducing invasive spread and promotion of native species! 

See you out on the trails (or the lake!) -

Until then-

Aaron

"Could we 'BEE' any busier?"

Greetings Friends!

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While we did not watch the Friends Reunion show, we hope you read the title of this week’s post in Chandler Bing’s sarcastic tone….it was a busy month of good news. From seeing our pollinator meadow starting to bloom to obtaining high school diplomas, to receiving news of being awarded a $32,000 NJ DOT grant and having our NJYC grant renewed; a lot has been happening!

In June we observed National Pride Month, Great Outdoors Month, National Trails Day, and National Pollinator Week. We also celebrated with an in-person, outdoor graduation ceremony for every diploma earned through the pandemic. It was a busy month! Here’s a look at what we did:

Service Learning Project Highlights

June began with our last cohort of FY21 wrapping up. The crew was firing on all cylinders - starting the month off with our National Trails Day project, building and installing some puncheons along a section of the Morris Canal Greenway Trail in Hackettstown. The puncheons will allow hikers to traverse the landscape without getting their feet wet and muddy. Check out the video we made of our event here or by clicking the image the right.

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In preparing for Pollinator Week, on June 17th, we worked alongside program partners NJ Audubon on a native plant installation outside of the Mars Wrigley facility in Hackettstown. This project was the 2nd stage of a planting that began last year. (See here for that video.) This year’s planting included donations from the Xerces Society - a science-based nonprofit organization that protects wildlife through the conservation of invertebrates and their habitats. NJ Audubon secured a grant from the Xerces Society for the planting materials. See a video from our planting here or by clicking the link above!

Speaking of Pollinator Week - check out the progress our pollinator meadow has made in the past year since we installed it! We compiled some footage from last year to this year - check it out! The growth since last year is impressive, and we’ll be thinning plants come the fall for propagation and future plantings.

Mission Accomplished!

Cohort 3 - the final cohort of FY21 completed the Stage One portion of the NJYC program on Friday, June 25th. (Succesful completion is obtained by maintaining 85% attendance overall, completing a 16-week Employability skills curriculum, and completing 140 hours of Service Learning Projects) We celebrated the collective achievements of Class 81, a group that averaged 156 hours of service per CM (140 hours is required to meet our benchmark), and earned 8 diplomas! You can see their happy, smiling faces here or by clicking on Jaden’s handsome face above. They all now begin Stage Two of the program, with eight of the CM’s securing employment, and two of them accepting placement of the Transition Team (formerly the Full-Time Crew).

Graduation!

On Tuesday, June 29th we were finally gathered to host our official Cap-and-Gown Graduation Ceremony - but boy, was it a scorcher! We picked the hottest day of the year, and amid the sweltering heat, we celebrated every diploma earned throughout the pandemic. Check out the video from the event here or click below.

‘NEW’ NJ Youth Corps programs!

It was a crazy pace to finish off the program year, but there is no rest for the weary. Fresh with the news of being awarded the NJYC program grant for FY22 - we now have 13 NJYC programs throughout NJ! Join us in welcoming Leaders4Life (Newark), JEVS Human Services (Atlantic City), and United Way of Greater Union County (Elizabeth) as new NJYC program entities! Welcome to the NJYC family!

We here in Phillipsburg have already started with a new cohort in Orientation for FY22! We began on Tuesday, July 6th, and will induct the newest cohort this coming Friday, July 16th. Hard to believe we’re starting a new group when it feels like the last one just began!

And so the cycle repeats.

Even as we start our 82nd class of Corpsmembers, there is excitement and anxiety in the air as we get to know our new recruits. we will keep you posted on them in the next post - so until then-

Be well, and stay cool!

Michael

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Buzzing right along....

Greetings Friends!

We’re now almost 3/4 way through our current cohort, and things are moving right along. Warmer weather is starting - meaning lots of opportunities to be outside, and we haven’t wasted any of those opportunities. When possible, we’ve been conducting our classes outdoors - even conducting a Forklift Training right outside our building at our picnic area!

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Ms. Thea and her famous good luck frog shoes!

Last week, Ten (10) members of NJYC Phillipsburg took the first of the 5 subtests that they need to pass to earn their high school diploma. We are happy to report that nine (9) passed! We received this report from our instructor Ms. Thea that she typed up waiting patiently outside the testing center at Morris County VoTech while wearing her stylish, good luck ‘frog shoes’:

“For over two decades I have been assisting and supporting hundreds of Youth Corps members on their journey to earn their high school diploma. Every three to four months, I assure anxious Corpsmembers that they are very capable of passing the exams required to earn their high school diploma and every three to four months I beam with pride when they do exactly what they and probably others, had doubted...they pass the test. Many people falsely think that taking the high school equivalency test is an easy way out, but no less is expected of HSE candidates than their traditional high school counterparts. The rigors of the exam often change to reflect current secondary education level expectations. Did you know that GED testing started as a service ONLY for veterans returning to civilian life after leaving high school to serve their country during WWII? In a 1946 study of 1500 veterans to 1500 non-veterans at the University of California in Los Angeles, it was determined that veterans performed better because of their maturity and stronger motivation. The very same could be said of our students, it’s their strong motivation to move toward a brighter future that pushes them to succeed; though some of my former students may tell you that it’s all in the lucky frog shoes!”

We look to have more good news to report soon, as CM’s will be testing more in the first full week of June. For now, they have a lot of motivation and encouragement from their first successes - wish ‘em luck!

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CM’s with resident Bill Benz and Comeback Cafe’ owner Clayton Mitchell

On the Service Learning Project front - we’ve been busy as well. Keeping things looking ‘ship-shape’ was a theme. Corpsmembers spruced up the historic district along the S. Main Street corridor - trimming along sidewalks, pruning street trees, picking up litter, and planting flowers. It was incredibly gratifying in a way that our more remote service projects are not - we got waves, shout-outs of appreciation - and were able to interact with residents and business owners, informing them about the NJYC program, and networking in a really positive way. Corpsmembers planted a donated tree, learned about some employment opportunities from a local restaurant, and were treated to some ice cream at the end of the day.

click above to see the video!

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Corpsmembers at the Oxford Furnace - with thier new friend.

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images of Oxford Furnace

Corpsmembers also pitched in at Shippen Manor and the Oxford Furnace in Oxford, NJ. The furnace and adjacent property were in need of some TLC - we removed older damaged split rail fencing around the perimeter of the property, and removed other accumulated debris from the site. We even made a new friend with a milk snake the CM’s discovered!

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at the Karen Nash Memorial Butterfly Garden.

We even got an afternoon of work in at the Karen Nash Memorial Butterfly Garden - working with Ms. Diana Dove, CM’s were able to clean out some planter beds to make room for new growth, and learned about native species of plants and the benefits they provide all pollinator species.

Speaking of pollinators - Thursday, May 20th, 2021 was #WorldBeeDay - and we made sure to make it out to the hive to thank our girls for all their hard work. In the news, we saw that Angelina Jolie decided to celebrate in a particularly interesting way. We love our bees, but have to tip our cap to Ms. Joile for her determination in making that kind of statement!

We got out to our hive this past week to check up on our hive and *knock wood* things were looking good. Corpsmember Will (seen below) while inspecting the hive even got to see the queen!

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Lastly - yesterday was the final workday for our Transition Team member Kai Wilson. Kai began NJYC in November 2020. He completed Stage 1 of our program in March, obtaining his Diploma - and then continued our Stage 2 Transition Team, working on Service Projects and setting a good example for incoming Corpsmembers. Kai has secured work with a landscaping firm, and no doubt his NJYC experience will come in handy. Kai’s friendly disposition and positive attitude were infectious, and we will miss seeing him every day - but we are so proud of him for all he’s done since starting here 7 months ago! Best of luck, Kai!

Next week we will update you on our gardens - and hopefully, begin in starting to share the stories of our current CM’s - how they came to NJYC, what their experience has been like, and where they see themselves going. We think it will be interesting - our CM’s always have a lot to say!

Until then - ever forward-

Michael

News from White Lake

Greetings from White Lake Natural Resource Area! The busy season is beginning here at White Lake.

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(A Snapping Turtle is seen walking near a wetland area, possibly on its way to lay eggs.)

 With nice weather, comes visitors; hikers, anglers, kayakers, dog-walkers, birders, and... beavers?!?

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A beaver dam blocks the only outlet to the Paulinskill River

That’s right! Beavers have been spotted at White Lake before, whether it is evidence of them, (beaver lodge within reeds or fallen trees with shavings near it) or actually seeing them! 

There are pros and cons when it comes to beaver dams, in some cases they can improve the ecosystem by creating wetlands and acting as a filter for toxins.  In other cases, they can negatively impact the surrounding environment by slowing the flow of water, building up silt, or flooding the surrounding area. For White Lake, there is only one outlet, so it is important to keep it clear to prevent flooding.

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Same outlet but with the beaver dam dismantled.

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a side by side comparison.

If you are visiting, keep an eye out for the beavers. They are often seen at dusk! Be safe and hope to see you soon!

-Aaron 

Hitting our Stride.

Greetings Everyone!

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Sanaya, Livy and Nicholas spruced up the sign at Bread Lock Park this week!

Another week in the books - literally and figuratively. CM’s are plugging away in the classroom preparing for taking their first few HSE tests next week, and they’ve also been logging hours on Service Projects. This past week CM’s worked mowing and trimming at Bread Lock Park & Port Warren (plating some flowers at the former) and maintained the South Main Street Gateway site. Check out their work at the latter location here.

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Josh (l) and Will (c) visited us!

This past week was Teacher Appreciation Week - and we hope you reached out to your favorite (past or present) to thank them for all they do. I read a quote recently that said “a teacher is one who makes themselves progressively unnecessary”. - and while we at YC would love nothing more than to see our students graduate and be so successful that they are too busy being successful to stop by and see us - we do enjoy their visits. This past week Will M. & Josh B. stopped by to let us know how they were doing (Will is in college and Josh just bought a home!). AND we learned that Tevonne D. is in the United States Army now - we could not be more proud!

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Specialist Tevonne Dorsey (3rd from r.) marching in formation in Fort Jackson, SC.

Next week we look to update you all on how ur CM’s fared taking their tests, show you some work we’re doing along South Main Street, and update you on our project plans for National Trails Day coming up in June.

Until then- stay safe & be well -

Ever Forward-

Michael

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This crew!

First Steps. Deep Breaths.

Greetings Friends -

Another week in the books - this cohort is going by really quickly!

This past week we got a lot done - and for most of our crew, it was the first time doing the types of work undertaken. People began weed-whacking that never did before. People used zero-turn mowers that never did before - it wasn’t easy and it wasn’t without some hiccups, but they all did a great job!

We worked at Bread Lock Park mowing, The Stine Farm weeding the Pollinator Garden, we maintained the Strykers Road trailheads and trail from Rte. 22 to 519, and did a litter sweep there - as well as at the Gateway Site along South Main Street in Phillipsburg. Add in some tool & vehicle Maintenance and a sidewalk chalk mural to celebrate Earth Day - and you can see it was a busy week. Rather than write about it, we’ll let the images speak for us. Roll that beautiful team footage!

More next week as start to plan for Arbor Day - and report out on the Community Day of Action with NORWESCAP.

Ever forward - until then-

Michael