Jackson Woods Update

Hello everyone, Just a few updates about Jackson Woods. Our Trex bench has a new educational sign letting park visitors know plastic can be recycled and created into something useful.

The butterfly garden is thriving and sitting on the bench is a good way to observe all the action. Our rain barrels have been helpful as well as pretty to look at. The birdhouses hanging in the scout garden make a cute statement and Capella Construction is working on improvements to the bridges and entrances.

A weekly crew of volunteers has been doing garden cleanup and tending to the newly planted blueberry and raspberry garden. Removing invasive vines from the trees and cutting back the Japanese Knotweed has become a priority. We are trying to preserve native plants that are being choked out. Tuesday is our usual work day and if you have some free time please join us.

Jackson Woods just keeps getting better!

Our Trex bench now has an official educational sign and people can see for themselves how  those plastic bags have been repurposed. Art and nature are coming together in unique ways throughout the park. The wheelbarrows are becoming gardens and beautiful to look at. The rain barrels have provided us with ways to water new plantings and occasionally wash our hands. The butterfly garden is thriving and we have many beautiful visitors.

Capella Construction has been working for the past month and progress on the bridges and the boardwalks needs to be seen. Work is also being done at the entrances. Our gazebo was removed, but we will be getting a new 20 foot gazebo to replace it. Trails are a bit dug up and sloppy right now but hopefully soon they will be leveled out and made more accessible. Our garden volunteers work most Tuesdays planting, weeding and trying to remove invasive vines, and Japanese Knotweed crowding out native plants.

Please join us if you have some free time. We plan on having a work crew from a grant secured through the town and Roberto Ferragina in the park this August. One of our goals is to clean up the area by the Avenel Entrance for an outdoor classroom. We hope to get started by placing the ladybug and frog made of stone and painted by us into the area as well as a word garden surrounding them for the students to learn from. They will be able to read the words on the rocks as well as manipulate them to create sentences. Grants and donations make our work possible. Please consider a donation to the Monmouth Conservation Foundation in the name of Jackson Woods so we can continue our work. Hope to see many of you in Jackson Woods enjoying the serenity. Happy July,

Kathy Buchan

Friends of Jackson Woods