The Middlesex County EARTH Center 2008 schedule is filling up.
We invite you to download
this .pdf file for descriptions of the programs we have to offer.
Print it on both sides of the same sheet and you will have a handy brochure.
Check back each season for an updated version. See you at the EARTH
Center.
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Garden
Workshops Continue at the EARTH Center
On Saturday, June
7, Middlesex County's Agricultural Extension Office will be presenting
a garden workshop from Noon to 2:00 PM at the EARTH Center in Davidson's
Mill Pond Park, 42 Riva Ave, South Brunswick. The topic presented will
be "Earth-Friendly Lawn & Landscapes".
Participants will
learn techniques to apply in their home lawn and landscape which minimize
impact on their local watershed and environment. Lawn maintenance tips
such as proper seed selection and renovation will be discussed. Attendees
will also discover which native plants can be included in their landscape
to attract desirable wildlife and the best way to care for them without
adding unnecessary chemicals and pesticides.
This will be a practical
workshop designed for the beginner or intermediate gardener looking
minimize environmental impact. The workshop will be presented by Middlesex
County's Agricultural Agent and garden columnist William Hlubik.
The 2008 gardening
workshop series at the EARTH Center is a great opportunity for those
who cannot commit to the regular sessions of the Middlesex County Master
Gardeners Classes, to get the horticultural information they need from
a local source.
Registration is
required by June 2, 2008. The program fee is $25. The size of the class
will be limited, so register early to insure a space. For more information
contact the Ag office at 732 398 5262.
Rutgers Cooperative
Extension educational programs are offered to all without regard to
race, religion, color, age, national origin, gender, sexual orientation,
or disability.
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Master
Gardeners Host Bird Count EARTH Center
Middlesex County's
Master Gardeners are getting involved in more than just herbs and vegetables
lately at the EARTH Center, home of Middlesex County's office of Rutgers
Cooperative Extension.
ON June 7th the
Master Gardeners will host a bird count within Davidson's Mill Pond
Park, 42 Riva Ave, South Brunswick NJ the park. This avian inventory
will take place from 6 to 11 am in the morning. Please bring your own
binoculars and field guides. Hot coffee will available. Please let the
organizer know you are interested in attending by emailing Pat_J_Evans@yahoo.com.
The EARTH Center
is also home to a 1000+ square foot vegetable garden, a 13-bed herb
garden and water-conserving rain garden. These demonstrations are used
to spark conversation about earth-friendly gardening techniques, local
agriculture, and other topics that are the focus of Extension's Agriculture
& Natural Resource Management Department. Visitors can also find
out more by calling 732 398 5262. Tours are available.
Rutgers Cooperative
Extension educational programs are offered to all without regard to
race, religion, color, age, national origin, gender, sexual orientation,
or disability.
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Students
Invited to Eco-Adventures
at the EARTH Center
Middlesex County
students entering grades 5 through 7 are invited to attend a new program
through the County's Extension office called "Eco- Adventures at
the EARTH Center". The program will be held August 25th through
the 29th from 9am to 2pm at the EARTH Center in Davidson's Mill Pond
Park, South Brunswick.
The program focuses on environmental stewardship and will have a different
theme for each day including Resource Conservation, Don't Trash Our
Planet and Ecological Issues. Most days will begin with an exercise
in teambuilding skills to help students get acquainted through fun,
hands-on activities. Arrangements can be made for kids with special
needs.
The cost of the
program is $110 and includes program materials, a peanut free snack,
beverages, and a parting gift. Attendees are expected to bring their
own brown bag lunch. The registration deadline for Eco-Adventures at
the EARTH Center is August 15th, but interested participants should
register soon as spaces are filling up.
If you would like
more information on Eco-Adventures or to register, please contact the
Middlesex County 4-H office at (732) 398-5261. To learn more about Middlesex
County's Extension Service Department visit www.co.middlesex.nj.us/extensionservices
4-H is a department
of Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Middlesex County and offers educational
programs to all youth, grades K through 13 on an age appropriate basis,
without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual
orientation or disability.
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Need
A Place to Grow??
Plots Available in New Brunswick Area
Do you love to
garden but find you are limited by your condominium or apartment’s landscape?
Maybe trees surround your home, and create too much shade for you to
grow under. Well, thanks to Middlesex County’s, Good-Earth Gardening
program, you can have your own sunny little corner of the good earth
to garden in.
There are three Good Earth Gardening locations in Middlesex County:
the Donaldson Park Site in Highland Park, the Buccleuch Park Site in
New Brunswick and the Livingston Campus site in Piscataway. Currently,
there are open plots for use at the Buccleuch Park and Livingston Campus
gardens. The Extension office even has a limited supply of free seeds
to offer to new gardeners.
While many gardeners enjoy the health benefits associated with eating
homegrown fresh vegetables, a Good Earth Gardener could also fill their
plot with ornamental annuals, perennials or perhaps start that herb
garden they’ve always wanted. Community gardening is a great way to
meet fellow horticulture enthusiasts to exchange ideas or swap plants
with. This program was started in 1984 through the cooperative efforts
of the Middlesex County Extension Service, the County Parks Department
and local organizations.
For more information on the Good Earth Gardening program call the Middlesex
County Extension office’s Agriculture Department at 732 398 5262. Or
e-mail the Middlesex County Extension Agriculture office at denise.mcgloan@co.middlesex.nj.us
Rutgers Cooperative Research & Extension educational programs are offered
to all without regard to race, religion, color, age, national origin,
gender, sexual orientation, or disability.
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Homeowners Can Experience Rain Garden at the EARTH Center
Homeowners in Central
Jersey who are interested attracting birds & butterflies and preserving
clean water, can get a first hand look at how to do, it by visiting
the newly installed rain garden at Middlesex County's EARTH Center.
The rain garden
display was planted at the EARTH Center to show homeowners how a simple
to install feature in their landscape, can help replenish diminishing
groundwater supplies and combat non-point source pollution. Non-point
source pollution occurs when water from precipitation runs quickly across
impervious surfaces and picks up chemical pollution along the way, eventually
finding its way into our lakes and streams. This creates a serious problem
for our eco-systems.
A rain garden is
simply a shallow landscaped depression, tailored to receive a calculated
amount of runoff from the house's gutters, sump pump and/or driveway.
Once the physical layout of the basin is achieved, the garden is filled
with plants that can withstand or thrive in wet conditions.
Benefits of rain
gardens include the reduction of lawn areas (which often attract the
use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides); the removal of nutrients
from runoff that would contaminate above ground water sources: and the
beautification of the local landscape.
The EARTH center's
rain garden was a joint effort between the Middlesex Co. Extension Ag
Dept (with Bill Hlubik as the County Ag Agent) and Rutgers University's
Professor Chris Obrupta. The chief function of a rain garden", says
Dr. Chris Obropta, "is to minimize water runoff into stormdrains - runoff
that courses throughout the watershed and causes decreased sediment,
flooding and damage to shorelines. "The cumulative effect of rain gardens
throughout the state could be enormous," he says. "In New Jersey, we
average approximately 44 total inches of rain per year. Build 40 of
these gardens in your neighborhood - with each treating 1,000 square
feet of driveway or roof top runoff - and you'll have treated and recharged
one million gallons of water per year."
The EARTH Center,
home to Middlesex County's office of Rutgers Cooperative Research &
Extension is located in Davidson's Mill Pond Park, 42 Riva Ave in South
Brunswick. Also recently planted are the already existing vegetable
display garden and herb garden.
For more information
contact the Rutgers Cooperative Research & Extension's of Middlesex
County's Ag office at 732 398 5262.
Rutgers Cooperative
Research & Extension educational programs are offered to all without
regard to race, religion, color, age, national origin, gender, sexual
orientation, or disability.
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EARTH
Center Tours Available
Middlesex County's
EARTH Center invites you to learn about local agriculture and the environment.
Now your school group, Scout Troop or Senior's club, can take a guided
tour at the Middlesex County EARTH Center to learn about these topics
and more. These educational guided tours take place at Davidson's Mill
Pond Park in South Brunswick and are available by request for a nominal
fee. Tour content can be tailored to suit your group's interests and
needs.
The EARTH Center
demonstration areas include a 1000 square foot vegetable garden, a 13-bed
herb garden and a water conserving rain garden just to name a few. These
demonstrations are used to spark conversation about local agriculture,
basics of horticulture, Integrated Pest Management, earth-friendly gardening
techniques and many topics that are the focus of the Extension Agriculture
and Natural Resource Management Department. Visitors can also find out
more about the 4-H Youth Development program in Middlesex County while
visiting the EARTH Center.
If you are not familiar
with your local Extension office, it is part of a nationwide network
that brings the research of the state land-grant universities to local
people. Rutgers Cooperative Extension offices throughout New Jersey
are cooperatively funded by; the County Board of Chosen Freeholders,
Rutgers University- New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station and the
U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Even if you can't
visit the EARTH Center this season, you can still get great vegetable
gardening tips plus information on the infamous Asian Longhorn Beetle
at the Middlesex County Extension website, just visit co.middlesex.nj.us/extensionservices
and click on Educational Video. For more information call 732 398 5262.
Rutgers Cooperative
Extension educational programs are offered to all without regard to
race, religion, color, age, national origin, gender, sexual orientation,
or disability.
