*Maris Stella Retreat Center: We are currently working with the Sisters of Charity at the Maris Stella Retreat and Conference Center to plant a demonstration native plant garden on their property in Harvey Cedars on Long Beach Island. We are creating educational materials about bay friendly behavior that the sisters will provide to their guests. We will also be removing impervious cover at the site where a greenhouse once stood and replacing it with a range of native plantings that will serve as demonstrations to guests and the public. This is scheduled for completion in fall 2008.

*This project is newly completed.  Visit "Protecting Barnegat Bay" under conservation issues on this website for native plant info and garden details.

Seaside Park Elementary School, Seaside Park, NJ - Fall 2006: 120 students participated in the education program. 20 3^rd graders built the buffer garden on school property one block from Barnegat Bay. They revitalized an area of overgrown groundcover to allow better drainage (200 square feet) and planted a 60 sq. foot border of native species (60 square feet). This included native shrubs including Virginia Sweetspire, Inkberry Holly and Sweet Pepperbush. Two teachers and 4 adult volunteers also participated.

Hugh J. Boyd Elementary School (Seaside Heights, NJ) - Fall 2006: 280 students participated in the education program. Four classes of 3^rd graders planted the garden on school property one block from Barnegat Bay. They replaced a 250 square foot area of lawn with perennial native shrubs including Virginia Sweetspire, Inkberry Holly, Sweet Pepperbush, Winterberry Holly and Black Chokeberry. They had assistance from each of their teachers and one Board of Education member. Two municipal employees assisted with spreading mulch which was donated by the town.
Seaside Park Girl Scouts - Seaside Park Community Center - Summer 2007: 10 Girl Scouts and 5 adult volunteers worked for two days to build a native plant garden on the property of the Seaside Park Community Center where the scouts hold their meetings. The site is one block from the Atlantic Ocean and two blocks from Barnegat Bay. We replaced 104 Sq. foot area of stones and impervious clay with 20 native shrubs including Beach Plum, Highbush Blueberry, Sweet Pepperbush, Northern Bayberry and Inkberry Holly.

Having been the first school to become an official "Shore Steward" through the Littoral Society, Red Bank Primary School is continuing its ongoing and outstanding participation and dedication towards protecting the environment with its latest program.

Last fall, about 100 second graders assembled to participate in a discussion about native plants, and then designed their own native plant garden on paper before coloring it in with crayons. A few days later, one class at a time ventured outside to tour the school grounds and plant native New England Asters in various areas around the building. The Littoral Society leader explained that part of the school grounds are being allowed to revert to a more natural state in order to discourage Canadian Geese from landing there. The children learned that these geese are reluctant to land in a place that is more overgrown, as it would thus be more difficult to keep an eye out for predators. The natural plant area also absorbs and filters water before it runs into the nearby Swimming River. The school has plans to put a sign around the area explaining the value of the taller native plants so parents won"t think the area has just been neglected.

Beach Grass Planting Project

After our successful beach grass planting event with the Girl Scouts in 2007, the Littoral Society decided to expand the project so that it would be open to general students in the spring of 2008. We invited schools near the coastline to come, and Leonardo Elementary, Bayshore Middle School, Hope Academy in Asbury Park, the Environmental Club at Red Bank Regional High School, and Uptown School in Atlantic City all decided to participate. In all, there were close to 600 students who eventually took part The objectives of the project were to have a large number of students receive some education about beach grass via an in-school program, plant a culm (dormant beach grass stalk) in a pot to care for at home for 5-6 weeks, and then to transplant the growing culm into the dunes of Sandy Hook. The unique part of this project is that by growing the plants themselves, the students develop more feeling of ownership and attachment than by just sticking the dormant stalks into the dunes, which is the normal planting procedure. The students also contributed to our "Heal the Hook" initiative and got the satisfaction of helping to preserve a local ecosystem.

There was a common planting day on April 20^th where all the students were invited to come and transfer their plants to the dunes. The Asbury Park students moved their plants to a local location at a nearby beach. This will become an annual event for the Littoral Society.

Who wants to look at their garden and see brown, shriveled plants? It"s true that this summer has been extremely hot, but watering your plants mid-day can actually be detrimental. When you water your plants at this time, a large amount of the water will evaporate before the plant"s roots can absorb it. Instead, try watering in the early morning, evening or night when the temperature is cooler. This way, a greater amount of water will go towards nourishing your plants. In addition, lawns should be watered no more than once or twice a week, and if there is a big rain storm, you can wait even longer to water. You may also want to consider checking your sprinkler system if you have one, or converting your sprinklers to water-efficient ones. Make sure they are aimed at the plants, and not the sidewalk or driveway. Finally, make sure that your water is turned completely off after you have finished watering.

 

To learn how you or your group can become a Monmouth County Shore Steward, contact Jim Peck at jim@littoralsociety.org or 732-291-0055.

To learn how you or your group can become a Barnegat Bay Shore Steward, contact Helen Henderson at helen@littoralsociety.org or 732 575-5701.