Holiday Shopping at Amazon Will Support Somerset County Parks

 

The Somerset County Park Foundation would like to remind park patrons and supporters that all purchases through www.smile.amazon.com will result in a contribution of 0.5% of the purchase price to the Somerset County Park Foundation.

 

The Foundation has registered with AmazonSmile, a simple and automatic way for financial support with every Amazon purchase. AmazonSmile offers tens of millions of products eligible for the donation, virtually everything available on the standard amazon.com website.

 

Anyone with an Amazon account can register on AmazonSmile and select the Somerset County Park Foundation as the charitable organization. The Amazon Smile Foundation will then donate 0.5% of every purchase price to the Foundation. As everyone continues to practice social distancing during the Covid-19 pandemic, Amazon purchases will provide a much needed contribution to the Therapeutic Recreation department and other Foundation activities.

 

The Somerset County Park Foundation is a 501c(3) created to preserve, support, and promote Somerset County Park Commission programs, facilities, and open space, through advocacy and fund raising. The Foundation is managed by a 15-member Board of Trustees including one member from the Board of Chosen Freeholders. Funds are used to sponsor, underwrite, support, and promote park activities, expansion of programs, improvement of facilities, and capital expenditures to enhance access to active and passive recreation opportunities.

 

For information on the Park Foundation, visit www.somersetcountyparks.org or call 908-722-1200.

Park Foundation Receives US Dept. of Agriculture Grant

 

The Somerset County Park Foundation (SCPF) has been awarded contracts for a $4,000 Forest Stewardship grant and an $8,000 Wildlife grant from the US Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). The funds will be supplemented by a $9,000 matching grant from the Somerset County Park Foundation and applied to projects at the Somerset County Park Commission Environmental Education Center (EEC), 190 Lord Stirling Road, Basking Ridge, New Jersey. 

 

The funding total of $21,000 is estimated to save the Somerset County Park Commission approximately $500,000 in capital expenses, based upon previous engineering costs in planning and dredging of other ponds.

 

The NRCS Forest Stewardship grant will provide funds to hire a state-licensed forester to create a 10-year stewardship plan for the 550-acres of forest and swamp habitat at the EEC that will help manage and maintain a diverse range of native plants and trees which will create rich, dense, forest layers and biodiverse habitats for native wildlife.   

 

The NRCS Wildlife and SCPF grants will allow the EEC to pursue a long overdue wetland enhancement project at Lily Pad Pond. The pond is used as an educational resource by Naturalists to teach students about aquatic ecosystems by testing dissolved oxygen and pH, measuring the water temperature and temporarily collecting and identifying a variety of aquatic insects, arthropods, fish, mollusks, amphibians, and reptiles.

 

The NRCS grant will also provide experienced engineers and biologists to work closely with EEC staff to develop an environmentally friendly plan to enhance Lily Pad Pond and maintain the pond as an educational resource for Naturalists, students, and general park visitors.

 

“We are beyond excited to have the support of the Park Foundation and the expertise from NRCS to help guide us through this delicate project” said Carrie Springer, Manager of Environmental Science for the Somerset County Park Commission.  “We have successfully managed the meadows at the EEC for several years with assistance from the NJ Forest Fire Service through annual prescribed burns.  In the last 15 years we have seen native wildflowers, butterflies, bees, and birds increase in our meadows.  It’s time to focus on our forests and ponds.  With assistance from NRCS, I am confident we can design and implement a plan that will ensure the EEC stays rich in native biodiversity.  We want the park to remain an educational resource and haven for wildlife for generations to come.”

 

The SCPF, 501(c)(3) created to preserve, support, and promote Somerset County Park Commission programs, facilities, and open space through advocacy and fundraising, will provide an additional $9,000 to complete the wetland enhancement project. 

 

For more information on the Somerset County Park Foundation or the Somerset County Park Commission Environmental Education Center, please visit somersetcountyparks.org.

Holiday Shopping at Amazon Will Support County Parks

The Somerset County Park Foundation would like to remind park patrons and supporters that all purchases through www.smile.amazon.com will result in a contribution of 0.5% of the purchase price to the Somerset County Park Foundation.

 

The Foundation has registered with AmazonSmile, a simple and automatic way for financial support with every Amazon purchase. AmazonSmile offers tens of millions of products eligible for the donation, virtually everything available on the standard amazon.com website.

 

Anyone with an Amazon account can register on AmazonSmile and select the Somerset County Park Foundation as the charitable organization. The Amazon Smile Foundation will then donate 0.5% of every purchase price to the Foundation. As everyone continues to practice social distancing during the Covid-19 pandemic, Amazon purchases will provide a much needed contribution to the Therapeutic Recreation department and other Foundation activities.

 

The Somerset County Park Foundation is a 501c(3) created to preserve, support, and promote Somerset County Park Commission programs, facilities, and open space, through advocacy and fund raising. The Foundation is managed by a 15-member Board of Trustees including one member from the Board of Chosen Freeholders. Funds are used to sponsor, underwrite, support, and promote park activities, expansion of programs, improvement of facilities, and capital expenditures to enhance access to active and passive recreation opportunities.

 

For information on the Park Foundation, visit www.somersetcountyparks.org or call 908-722-1200.