Rose Garden Earns International Award

At a ceremony on Friday, October 7, 2016 at the Rudolf van der Goot Rose Garden at Colonial Park in Somerset, New Jersey, Somerset County Park Commissioners and staff formally accepted the 2015 World Federation of Rose Societies' (WFRS) Garden of Excellence Award. 

The nomination was submitted by Dr. Suni Bolar, Vice President of the Jersey Shore Rose Society and a national level rose exhibitor and rose hybridizer. 

Beginning in 1995, the WFRS organization recognized the best of the outstanding rose gardens throughout the world with its Garden of Excellence Award. The highly competitive and prestigious award has been earned by internationally renowned gardens including La Roseraie de Bagatelle in France, the Garden of Roses in England, and Washington Park in Portland, Oregon along with gardens in Argentina, China, Italy, Pakistan, South Africa, and other countries throughout the world. 

The Rudolf W. van der Goot Rose Garden is one-acre in size and contains more than 3,000 roses of 325 varieties. The garden was named in honor of Rudolf W. van der Goot, the first horticulturist with the Somerset County Park Commission, as a tribute to his efforts in designing and developing the garden. The Rose Garden is located on Mettlers Road (Parking Lot A) in the East Millstone section of Franklin Township’s Colonial Park. 

From late spring through fall, the roses present a kaleidoscope of color, form, and fragrance. Visitors can view popular modern hybrids, species, and various classes of Old Garden Roses. All roses are clearly labeled for easy identification and only roses that thrive in central NJ are kept in the rose collections.

Legendary Golf Club Designer Visits NVGC

The Somerset County Park Commission and Callaway Golf welcomed legendary golf club designer and short-game expert Roger Cleveland at Neshanic Valley Golf Course, 2301 South Branch Road in Neshanic Station, New Jersey on Sunday, October 9, 2016.

Mr. Cleveland hosted a “Short-game Techniques Clinic,” explaining and demonstrating wedge play.

Mr. Cleveland now serves on a Callaway Golf team of design experts following his founding of the Cleveland Golf Company in 1979. He joined Callaway in 1996 as chief club designer and under his direction launched the Callaway Golf Forged Wedges constructed from carbon steel and featuring a face with modified U grooves.

Neshanic Valley Golf Course provides an all-inclusive golfing experience with a 27-hole Championship Course, a 9-hole Academy Course, the Learning Center, and the Callaway Golf Performance Center.

The state-of-the-art Learning Center includes a double-ended driving range with grass and mat hitting areas, a 12,000 square foot putting green, a practice facility including bunkers and three chipping greens, and two practice holes.

The Callaway Golf Performance Center at Neshanic Valley, the only facility of its kind on the east coast, offers a state-of-the-art computerized golf club fitting and swing analysis system, operated by Callaway-trained professionals.

For information call 908-369-8200. Information on Somerset County Park Commission activities and programs may be found at www.somersetcountyparks.org.

TR Manager Earns Statewide Recognition

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On Wednesday, September 28, 2016, Dina Trunzo, CTRS, Therapeutic Recreation Manager for the Somerset County Park Commission, received the Evelyn N. Aronow Award from the New Jersey Commission on Recreation for Individuals with Disabilities.

The award is bestowed upon an outstanding individual who through legislation, education, public relations, and technical support, has promoted growth and development and made a lasting contribution to community recreation services for individuals with disabilities in New Jersey.

The award was presented at the Commission’s Annual Conference by an Aronow family member representing the Aronow Family Foundation who stated that Evelyn would be proud to see a professional such as Dina receive this award in her memory.

The Park Commission Therapeutic Recreation Department uses recreation to help people with disabilities to develop and experience leisure in ways that support health, functional abilities, educational needs, independence and quality of life. Through the use of a variety of social, cultural, artistic, and culinary programs, as well as sports, fitness, community outings, horticulture, and special events, participants can improve social skills, enhance self-esteem, improve overall health and well-being and physical ability, enhance communication skills, constructively use leisure time, eliminate boredom, reduction of stress and anxiety, and enhance skill development.

For information on Therapeutic Recreation and other Somerset County Park Commission programs and activities may be found at 908-722-1200 or www.somersetcountyparks.org.

Please Don't Feed the Geese

Among the many advantages to living in Somerset County is a remarkable combination of urban and suburban environments. Somerset County residents enjoy virtually immediate access to major commercial and cultural centers while living in a “green” county with open space purchases by the Board of Chosen Freeholders serving to ensure more than 14,500 acres of green space preserved in perpetuity.

These extensive active and passive recreation areas have created a unique interaction among humans and waterfowl, one that should remain at arm’s length because feeding may be harmful or fatal to wild birds.

Waterfowl have patterns by which they seek out and feed on nutritious marsh and grassbud plants. In our region, extreme cold and snow severely reduces the quality and quantity of important foods. Most waterfowl migrate south in search of a habitat that will support them before returning in the spring to their breeding grounds where they are a familiar part of the Somerset County landscape.

Many of these migratory birds are sidetracked when they stop to feed or rest in the lakes and marsh areas found in Somerset County. These new homes become even more appealing when they are fed by well-meaning individuals, delaying their migration and enticing them to become permanent residents.

Very often, the food provided is “junk food,” including popcorn, potato chips and bread. Unfortunately, though willingly accepted by the wildfowl, these foods lack important nutritional value. The result is that the birds become dependent upon handouts and stop seeking the natural, more nutritious foods that they require. In addition, these birds often congregate in small areas, competing for the new food source, resulting in overcrowding, competition, and a new susceptibility to life threatening diseases.

In the end, the seemingly kind and generous act of feeding waterfowl can foster a continuing cycle of spreading disease and creating a nuisance by damaging park land, golf courses, residential lawns, and creating water quality problems caused by droppings in ponds.

Please remember that these marvelous creatures are wild animals that should be enjoyed through observation and photography, not through feeding.

Current information on all Somerset County Park Commission activities may be found at www.somersetcountyparks.org or by calling the Park Commission at 908-722-1200 or NJ Relay at 711 for individuals with a hearing or speech impairment.