Dan Mulligan, Cranbury
Recently I wrote a letter that was critical of our Township Committee for not working together in a bipartisan manner during its annual reorganization.
I am writing this letter today, however, because I would like to now report a bit of good news as our committee has on another issue worked together in what I would call a bipartisan manner.
During the Township Committee meeting on Monday, the work session portion of the meeting focused on where to potentially plant trees our township is entitled to due to the loss of trees as a result of the Turnpike widening project currently underway.
As I said during the meeting, having 9,000 trees to potentially plant in and around our township on public land is not a bad thing as it is a great way to repair the damage being done to our local environment by the Turnpike widening project.
The main tree-planting plan would be to plant several thousand trees of the 9,000 available trees on the Fisher property, which is currently used as farm land as it has been for many generations.
As I stated at the meeting, I feel it is important to preserve this farming heritage in our town as once we lose farmland it is almost impossible to reclaim it, and I would like to see this land continue to be used for local farming.
With that in mind, during the discussion, I shared an idea for our town, which I was pleased to hear was supported by all of the members of our Township Committee.
The idea was for a community garden on the Fisher property adjacent to the existing affordable housing development on Old Cranbury Road.
I brought this idea to light as I have heard from many residents around town how they would like a community garden for our community for a number of reasons, which include the following:
• It would allow the production of locally grown food for our residents;
• It may help to reduce some families’ food budgets;
• It could increase social interaction among Cranbury residents;
• It would help to create an active opportunity for exercise and recreation for residents in town of all ages;
• It would provide opportunities for cross-cultural connections;
• It offers increased education opportunities for the children of Cranbury;
• it would celebrate the agricultural heritage we have here in town.
Ideally in the future, we will be able to continue to allow local farmers to work this land while at the same time allowing the residents of our town access to a community garden on a small portion of this property.
The key now will be for follow through on this idea, which was endorsed by all members of our Township Committee.
Dan Mulligan
Cranbury
