If you’re looking for something to do on Presidents Day, Monday, Feb. 17, consider volunteering to restore a forest at the Fairview Farm Wildlife Preserve, 2121 Larger Cross Road, Bedminster.
Fairview Farm, home of watershed watchdog Raritan Headwaters Association (RHA), sustained heavy tree losses during Hurricane Sandy in 2012. Downed trees were replaced with seedlings, but now those young trees need maintenance to survive.
“We need volunteers to repair tree guards, remove invasive shrubs, and cut vines off saplings and trees,” explained RHA Volunteer Manager Trish McGuire. “We welcome high school students looking to earn community service credits and adults looking for a meaningful way to spend the holiday.”
Raritan Headwaters will offer a morning session from 9:30 a.m. to noon, and an afternoon session from 1 to 4 p.m. Volunteers can work either or both sessions, and RHA can accommodate a maximum of 30 volunteers for each session.
Raritan Headwaters will supply training, hand tools, work gloves and snacks. Volunteers will work alongside McGuire, RHA land steward Rebekah Buczynski and property manager Cole Williamson. The volunteer work is not appropriate for children under 14.
Register online here. For more information, contact Trish McGuire at tmcguire@raritanheadwaters.org or 908-234-1852 ext. 324.
“Volunteering at Fairview Farm is a great way to think globally and act locally,” said McGuire. “Healthy forests sequester carbon and mitigate the impacts of climate change, and they also provide habitat for wildlife and help with clean water.”
About Raritan Headwaters
Raritan Headwaters has been working since 1959 to protect, preserve and improve water quality and other natural resources of the Raritan River headwaters region through efforts in science, education, advocacy, land preservation and stewardship. RHA’s 470-square-mile region provides clean drinking water to 300,000 residents of 38 municipalities in Somerset, Hunterdon and Morris counties and beyond to some 1.5 million homes and businesses in New Jersey’s densely populated urban areas.
To learn more about Raritan Headwaters and its programs, please visit www.raritanheadwaters.org or call 908-234-1852.
