Archive for May 2019

Restoring the ‘kidneys of the Pine Barrens’

To early European settlers, the native evergreen trees known as Atlantic white cedars must have seemed like a gift. The towering cedars – some over 1,000 years old – grew in dense swamps up and down the Atlantic coast, including many spots in New Jersey. Cedar wood was lightweight, straight-grained and rot-resistant – ideal for…

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Camden, nature, and Walt Whitman

“Afoot and light-hearted I take to the open road,  Healthy, free, the world before me,  The long brown path before me leading wherever I choose.” -Walt Whitman, Song of the Open Road   Camden’s parks offer a wealth of natural settings that can inspire  visitors and residents alike.  Plenty of exciting things are happening with…

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Local foods and dairy farms

Dairy farming has always been a tough occupation. Dairy farmers work long days, milking twice a day in all seasons and every kind of weather. There are no weekends or holidays off. For hundreds of years, dairy farming provided a good living for New Jersey farm families. As recently as the 1950s and ‘60s, this…

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New Jersey’s rail trails

Back in the heyday of New Jersey’s railroads in the 1800s, train lines transported everything from iron ore to peaches to oysters. The era of motor vehicles and highways eventually doomed many rail enterprises in this state we’re in. Fortunately, many old rail lines have been repurposed as pedestrian and bicycle paths. They’re known as…

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Microplastics: invisible threat

The South Branch of the Raritan River is one of central New Jersey’s prettiest waterways. It winds through mostly rural and suburban towns with little industry. Its clear waters are ideal for fishing, paddling and wildlife watching. Yet, a recent pilot study by watershed watchdog Raritan Headwaters Association found a virtually invisible form of pollution:…

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