Archive for April 2021
Cicadas are coming!
After 17 years of socially distancing underground, billions of “magic” insects are about to come out for a party spreading across swaths of the northeastern United States, including New Jersey. If they’re in your neighborhood, it will get noisy! These flying insects, periodical cicadas of the genus Magicicada, are known for their bright red eyes…
Read MoreArt and environment: Perfect together
Imagine if invasive plants like phragmites – the thick beds of reeds found in marshes – could be transformed into a work of art in the city of Camden? Or if a sculpture made up of straw bales in a formerly industrial Trenton neighborhood could grow food and become a beautiful gathering place for the…
Read MoreGarden State or Warehouse State?
New Jersey has long been known as the Garden State, and keeping this title in the face of sprawl development is tough. Now the Covid-19 pandemic has indirectly added a new threat to this state we’re in’s nickname. Even before Covid-19, brick-and-mortar malls and shopping centers were in decline. But consumers in lockdown from the…
Read MoreTake a tech break and get outside!
Spring is here and many folks are itching to boost their health and fitness. But with more than a year into the Covid-19 pandemic, too many of us are still stuck at computer screens: working from home, socializing online, exercising in virtual classes and even supervising children’s virtual schoolwork. Health professionals are increasingly urging people…
Read MoreSpring ephemerals get their moment in the sun
Take a walk in the woods this month and check out the forest floor. There in the dappled sunlight, popping up through last year’s leaves, you may spot the short-lived flowers of native perennials known as “spring ephemerals.” Spring ephemerals are native woodland wildflowers that bloom during the brief window of time between snowmelt and…
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