More than 260 friends and supporters of D&R Greenway Land Trust spent a glorious early summer evening enjoying The Greenway Gala, the organization’s annual fundraising event, held Sunday at Educational Testing Service’s Chauncey Conference Center.
The theme of this year’s event was "Celebrate Greenways! Corridors of preservation connecting protected lands and open spaces. Pathways connecting people to the natural world." Guests at this year’s Greenway Gala were invited to "walk" through the region’s greenways as they toured an exhibition of D&R Greenway’s preserved lands.
The 2005 Greenway Gala raised more than $137,000 in support of D&R Greenway Land Trust’s mission to permanently preserve an interconnected system of lands in central New Jersey, protecting watersheds, water quality, and biodiversity, and to promote land preservation as a fundamental social and political priority.
The highlight of The Greenway Gala was the presentation of the Donald B. Jones Conservation Award. D&R Greenway Land Trust established this award in 1995 and presents it annually to an environmental hero someone who has displayed selfless generosity in his or her commitment to conservation efforts.
The 2005 Award was presented to the Hartman family in honor of the late Charles M. Hartman of Princeton, in recognition of his accomplishments as a leader of D&R Greenway Land Trust and his passion for the preservation of the natural world.
In his remarks, Board Chair Richard Goldman said, "We are especially proud to honor Chuck with this award. He set the stage for D&R Greenway’s emergence as a leading land preservation organization in New Jersey. Chuck was a member of our board of trustees for 10 years, serving as chair from 20022004. Under Chuck’s guidance, D&R Greenway preserved 3,382 acres of land and secured the funding to establish the Johnson Education Center."
According to D&R Greenway’s Executive Director Linda J. Mead, "The Johnson Education Center will be a unique resource for the conservation community that will provide individuals, municipalities, grassroots organizations and other groups interested in land preservation with tools and techniques they can use to preserve as much land as they can, as quickly as they can. It will also serve as D&R Greenway’s home in Princeton."
The Johnson Education Center will be located in a century-old barn currently under renovation in Greenway Meadows Park, the former Robert Wood Johnson estate on Rosedale Road opposite the Johnson Park School. This 60-acre property was preserved by D&R Greenway Land Trust in partnership with Princeton Township and others in 2001. A generous gift from the Johnson family in 2004 both established the Johnson Education Center and named the RWJ Auditorium.
During the 2005 Greenway Gala a new named gift for the Johnson Education Center was announced. The Charles M. Hartman Preservation Hall was donated by Avril and Tom Moore of Princeton in honor and memory of their dear friend. The Charles M. Hartman Preservation Hall will be the public reception area for visitors to the Johnson Education Center. It will contain an art gallery and an interactive presentation highlighting D&R Greenway’s preserved lands.
A grand opening celebration for the Johnson Education Center is planned for the fall of 2005. A public campaign to complete the funding for the center will be launched at that time.
