Recycle Christmas Trees at Colonial & North Branch Parks

 

The Somerset County Park Commission will be accepting natural Christmas trees for recycling through Sunday, January 31, 2020.

 

Somerset County residents may bring their tree to Colonial Park Gardens, Parking Lot F, 156 Mettlers Road in Somerset, Franklin Township or to North Branch Park at the lighted baseball field, 355 Milltown Road in Bridgewater. Both facilities will accept trees from 8:00 A.M. to 4:00 P.M., seven days a week.

 

Each family is limited to only one tree that must be free of all ornaments, wires, netting, and tinsel. Only natural trees will be accepted. Wreaths and garland will not be accepted as these items cannot be recycled. Deliveries from groups or dealers will be rejected. Following these guidelines is necessary to maintain a manageable recycling program.

 

Trees will be chipped into wood chip mulch which will be used throughout the park system to mulch plantings. Some chips/mulch will be made available to the public at each of the drop-off sites at no cost.

 

For information, please call the Somerset County Park Commission Horticulture Department at 908-722-1200, ext. 5721 or the Relay Service at 711 for individuals with a hearing and/or speech impairment, Monday to Friday (except holidays) from 8:00 A.M. to 3:00 P.M.

 

Information on Somerset County Park Commission activities may be found on the Internet at www.somersetcountyparks.org.

Seasonal Golf Course Closings

 

Somerset County Park Commission Division of Golf Management has announced the winter schedule of golf course closures.

 

Quail Brook Golf Course on New Brunswick Road in Somerset, NJ, Green Knoll Golf Course on Garretson Road in Bridgewater, NJ, and Warrenbrook Golf Course on Warrenville Road in Warren are currently closed for the winter season. Courses will reopen in 2021 as weather permits.

 

Spooky Brook Golf Course at Colonial Park in Somerset, the Neshanic Valley Championship and Academy courses will remain open during the winter as weather permits.

 

Courses will be open from 8:00 A.M. to 4:00 P.M. daily though Christmas. A variety of golf gifts and gift certificates, including gift certificates for the Callaway Performance Center, are available for holiday giving.

 

Information on all golf facilities may be obtained by calling the Somerset County Park Commission at 908-722-1200, ext. 5428 or on line at    www.somersetcountyparks.org.

EEC to Offer Virtual Home School Classes in 2021

 

The Naturalists at the Somerset County Park Commission Environmental Education Center are offering virtual Homeschool classes for children age 5 to 9 and 10 to 14 years.

 

Registration is open online at www.somersetcountyparks.org. Log in information is available with registration.

 

Crayfish Kids for age 5 to 9 is geared toward homeschoolers in grades K-4.  Each Wednesday morning, January 6, 13, 20, and 27; and February 3, 10, and 24; and March 3, 10, 17, 24, and 31 from 10:30 A.M. to 11:30 A.M.,

 

Environmental Education Center Naturalists will lead an hour-long program about the natural world.  Naturalists suggest that following the classes families walk to a nearby natural area to experience the  various topics and themes related to each session.  Program content is guided by the Next Generation Science Standards.  Fee is $60 per household.

 

Wise Old Owls for age 10 to 14 is geared toward homeschoolers in grades 5-8.  Each Wednesday afternoon, January 6, 13, 20, and 27; and February 3, 10, and 24; and March 3, 10, 17, 24, and 31 from 1:00 P.M. to 2:00 P.M.

 

Environmental Education Center Naturalists will lead an hour-long program about the natural world.  Naturalists suggest that following the classes families walk to a nearby natural area to experience the various topics and themes related to each session.  Program content is guided by the Next Generation Science Standards. 

 

Fee is $60 per household. Both programs run in a series format, building on concepts from week to week. The $60 covers all 12 dates in the sequence.

 

Information of Park Commission programs and activities may be found at www.somersetcountyparks.org or by calling 908-722-1200.

TR Administrator Earns State Award for Excellence

 

The Somerset County Park Commission Therapeutic Recreation Department (TR) Administrator Dina Trunzo, CTRS, has been recognized by the New Jersey/Eastern Pennsylvania Therapeutic Recreation Association (NJ/EPA) for “Excellence in Therapeutic Recreation” for her co-leadership with the Recreational Therapy Licensure Committee.

 

The award was earned in recognition of work done over the past four years for the successful advocacy for legislation passed makes it mandatory for recreational therapists to be licensed to practice in NJ.  Trunzo stated that “the main purpose for pushing this legislation these past years has been for consumer protection.  We want to ensure that non-qualified and unregulated practitioners are not providing recreational therapy. This will set a mandate that services be provided by professionals who demonstrate a standardized clinical competency.”   

 

A committee advocating for the legislation was led by Trunzo and Caitlyn Foelsch, Pam Griffin. Committee members Griffin and Trunzo have extensive experience with public policy on state and national levels and were a part of the group 20 years ago that attempted to get licensure with little success. Trunzo is also an active member of the New Jersey Recreation and Park Association Public Affairs Committee for over 20 years. 

 

The current initiative began four years ago with the NJ/EPA spearheading the effort by organizing and supporting a committee to advocate in front of state legislators. The committee initiative included writing the actual legislation that was submitted and introduced by Assemblyman Herb Conaway and Senator Troy Singleton. 

 

Somerset County Therapeutic Recreation is run in partnership with 16 municipalities. Programs provide opportunities for any child or adult needing specially designed programs and residing in Bedminster, Bernardsville, Bernards Township, Bound Brook, Branchburg, Bridgewater, Green Brook, Hillsborough, Manville, Montgomery, North Plainfield, Raritan, Somerville, South Bound Brook, Warren, or Watchung to avail themselves of program offerings.

 

Information of Park Commission programs and activities may be found at www.somersetcountyparks.org or by calling 908-722-1200.

Give a Lasting Tribute in a Somerset County Park

The Somerset County Park Foundation is providing an opportunity to create a lasting memory in one of the Somerset County parks through the purchase of a Commemorative Brick, Legacy Tree, or Tribute Bench. Purchases support the valuable programs funded by the Park Foundation and offered by the Somerset County Park Commission. The bricks, benches, and trees provide individuals and organizations with the opportunity to honor people and groups or commemorate special events.

 

Commemorative Bricks are placed at the entrance to TD Bank Ballpark and Tribute Benches and Legacy Trees are placed in a selected county park to provide an enduring tribute. Commemorative Bricks are available at $100 each and will be engraved with a maximum of three (3) lines of twenty (20) characters including spaces and punctuation.

 

A donation of $2,500.00 will earn the placement of a bench or tree in a designated county park of choice with a plaque memorializing the contribution. Tribute Benches are available in three styles conforming to the park in which the bench is to be placed. Living Legacy Trees can either be a new planting or an already established tree, either one noted with an engraved plaque.

 

All fees are tax deductible.

 

The popularity of the program has created new opportunities for locations to place benches including East County Park in Warren Township, Skillman Park in Montgomery Township, and Mountain View Park and Sourland Mountain Preserve in Hillsborough Township. Other potential locations include Colonial Park and Gardens, Duke Island Park, Natirar Park, Leonard J. Buck Garden, the trails at the Environmental Education Center, any of the five county golf courses, Lord Stirling Stable, North Branch Park, Torpey Athletic Complex, and Colonial Park and Green Knoll Tennis Centers.

 

The timing and specific location of placement of benches, trees, and bricks will be at the discretion of park staff. A certificate will be provided to the donor for gift giving.

 

The Park Foundation is a charitable 501(c)(3) organization created for the purpose of preserving, supporting, and promoting Somerset County Park Commission programs, facilities, and open space through advocacy and fundraising.  The Park Commission is an entity which was established in 1956 by voter referendum and is funded, in part, by the Somerset County Board of Chosen Freeholders utilizing taxpayer dollars. 

 

Information is available at www.somersetcountyparks.org.  For information call the Park Foundation at 908-722-1200, ext. 5237.