By Lea Kahn, Staff Writer
The 9th annual Mother Nature Festival, featuring more than 20 environmental groups, is set for Saturday at the Lawrence Nature Center, located at the end of Drexel Avenue.
The event, from noon to 4 p.m., is being co-sponsored by Sustainable Lawrence and the Lawrence Township Green Team advisory committee.
Among the attractions are a presentation by Jeremiah Bergstrom, who will discuss and demonstrate the importance of rain gardens and their role in the conservation of water.
A wildlife animal show will be presented by Diane Nickerson of the Mercer County Wildlife Center, and Loren Pagan of Rider University will show how to compost with worms and make worm tea.
Other groups that expected to participate include the 4H Rutgers Cooperative Extension Service of Mercer County, the Greater Eldridge Park Neighborhood Association, the Garden Gate Garden Club, and the Mercer County Soil Conservation Service.
Visitors can stroll through the meadow, visit the butterfly garden or the native plant garden in front of the house at the Lawrence Nature Center. They can also check out the rain garden on the southwest side of the house, or the beehives or the chimney swift bird station behind the house.
The Lawrence Nature Center’s headquarters is the former home of the late Carl and Lucille Rinck. The couple, who had no children, built their home of recycled bricks in the 1940s. Mr. Rinck worked at a Trenton pottery, and brought home bricks from the pottery.
After Mr. Rinck’s death, Ms. Rinck continued to welcome children to her meadow and taught them about the birds that live in the area. Lawrence Township purchased the 9-acre parcel in 1998, after her death, and added it to the 37-acre parcel known as the Drexel Woods. The township purchased the wooded parcel from a developer to preserve it for open space.
Ten years ago, Lawrence Township set aside money to develop the Rinck House into a nature center. Although the property belongs to Lawrence Township, the Lawrence Nature Center is run by the volunteer Friends of the Lawrence Nature Center.

