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.

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.