Jackson Woods June Update

Memorial Day marks the start of the summer beach season and like everywhere else along the Jersey shore Jackson Woods is buzzing with action. A new Trex bench was installed by the pond. Thank you Marvin and the DPW A Team and thank you to the Long Branch Green Team for the behind the scenes work to acquire the bench. Jackson Woods was also fortunate to acquire an Xerces Society Grant and we had a field trip to Pinelands Nursery in Columbus New Jersey to pick up 850 plugs and three shrubs to be planted around the bench area. This is a work in progress and we could use your help any Tuesday or Friday 9:00 to noon.

Our days of carrying water jugs into the park have thankfully come to an end. New plantings need water the first few months or more and we are thankful to the city that the water truck will make regular stops to help us out and ensure the new plantings survive.

The butterfly garden and the bug house garden are in bloom and attracting pollinators, lady bugs, and caterpillars. Additional plants were purchased and they are already flowering. Thank you to the City of Long Branch and especially to the volunteers who did all the weeding and planting. You are our biggest support system.

The Rumson Garden Club has also secured a Garden Club of America grant for us and Jason Goldman from the Monmouth County Park System is doing the design work for the garden. It will be a beautiful addition to an area where we have removed invasives and now are ready to plant natives.

Another new addition will be a pollinator garden around our work shed thanks to a Girl Scout Troop led by Rebecca Zaccagnino. Work begins on June 9. Please stop by to see the progress.

We are also extremely fortunate that Carla Valentino, a local artist who recently exhibited her work at the Long Branch Cultural Center, has donated a beautiful piece to Jackson Woods which was recently installed. Stop by and check it out!

We continue to collect sneakers and last month we made a few dollars but also made an impact on our environment, keeping 54 pairs out of landfills, displacing 1,620 pounds of CO2 and 121,878 gallons of water. In just the 16 months from January 2023 through April 2024, we recycled almost 1,000 pairs of sneakers!

Please continue to support our efforts at Jackson Woods. Hope to see you walking the trails.

Kathy Buchan and Nan Simon, Friends of Jackson Woods