Tag: New Jersey Conservation Foundation
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Helping American chestnut trees recover from blight
By Michele S. Byers “Chestnuts roasting on an open fire” is an American tradition, but the tradition actually dates back to prehistoric times. Roasting chestnuts is a big part of Italian holidays, and chestnuts are an important food crop in Asia and southern Europe. The chestnuts we roast these days don’t come from our native…
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New Jersey is still the Garden State!
By Michele S. Byers For those who don’t know New Jersey, “Garden State” might seem like an odd nickname. After all, this state we’re in is the nation’s most densely populated and is projected to be the first to be completely built out. But with its highly fertile soils and farming history, agriculture continues to…
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Protect New Jersey’s wildlife homes
By Michele S. Byers Visit the Pine Barrens in the summer and hear a chorus of Pine Barrens tree frogs, watch northern pine snakes bask in the sun, spot red-headed woodpeckers in the trees or watch bald eagles flying over rivers and reservoirs. Visit the Highlands and look for bog turtles sunning in marshes, red-shouldered…
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Hard cider rebounds in the Garden State
By Michele S. Byers In recent years, New Jersey’s vineyards and craft breweries have surged in popularity, with new brands popping up all over the Garden State. And hard cider is coming back as the next trend in locally produced beverages. Made from tart apples and sometimes compared to champagne, hard cider has a long…
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Preserved lands protect clean air and water
By Michele S. Byers “Forests are the ‘lungs’ of our land, purifying the air and giving fresh strength to our people. The forests are also needed for mitigating extreme climatic fluctuations, holding the soil on the slopes, retaining the moisture in the ground, and controlling the equable flow of water in our streams.” – Franklin…
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Wild turkeys make stirring comeback
By Michele S. Byers If you live in rural or suburban New Jersey, chances are you have seen flocks of enormous dark birds foraging and hanging out in fields, backyards and along roadsides. And you have likely heard their telltale gobble or caught a glimpse of a male spreading its tail into a giant fan.…
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Speak up for endangered species
By Michele S. Byers When President Richard Nixon signed the landmark Endangered Species Act 45 years ago, he said, “Nothing is more priceless and more worthy of preservation than the rich array of animal life with which our country has been blessed. It is a many-faceted treasure, of value to scholars, scientists, and nature lovers…
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Move and improve your health!
By Michele S. Byers An epidemic is sweeping across the globe and it’s causing a myriad of health problems, including heart disease, cancer, diabetes, falls and poor mental health. The epidemic is physical inactivity … in other words, a sedentary lifestyle. A new study by the World Health Organization found that 28 percent of adults…
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Renewable energy: Save money and our land, water, air and health
By Michele S. Byers Gov. Phil Murphy has signed a new law that requires New Jersey to get half of its power from renewable energy by 2030, and he’s setting the bar even higher with a goal of achieving 100 percent clean energy by 2050, which should be defined to mean 100 percent renewable energy.…
