Announcements
Summer Family Nights at Lawrence Nature Center in 2010
Date: Tuesdays at 7pm in July & August (rain or shine)
Place: Lawrence Nature Center at Drexel & Fernwood Avenues
Admission: Free
What Will Your Family Be Discovering This Summer?
Each week will provide a new and exciting opportunity for participants to learn about the plants and animals that live right out their back door. For more information including the weekly subjects see the flyer. Also for the kids, check out other upcoming activities.
July 6 - NJ Birds
Meet a screech owl and baby doves. Discover what they like to eat and where they like to sleep. Learn from Tim Steinbeiser what to do if you find an injured animal.
July 13 – Rocks and Minerals
Rocks, Minerals and Crystals. Dave Bosted explains why they are in a Rainbow of Colors.
July 20 – Insects to Magnify & Classify: SCIENCE is FUN !
Bring a non-stinging “BUG” (dead or alive) to nature class and Sue Herrmann will help you identify it.
July 27 – The Wonder of Wood
Join Dave and Nick Bosted around a campfire and hear a talk on the amazing substance of wood. Examine wood carvings that will be passed around. AUGUST PROGRAMS
August 3 – Art Night
Make fantastic insects with Eldridge Park Artists Susan Kiley Colavita, Anthony Colavita and Anne Demarais.
August 10 – Storytelling Campfire
Swap stories with Mike Erdie and friends around a nature center campfire.
August 17 – Kites
Go Fly a Kite! Make and fly kites with Dave Ciotti.
August 24 – Balance of Nature
Learn how the Balance of Nature works using fun filled games and activities with Linda Burroughs and friends.
August 31 - Bees
Visit the nature center’s beehive with Tahirih and Brett Smith and, hopefully, sample some of our local Drexel Woods honey. Join a bees wax activity.
The Lawrence Nature Center is located at the South end of Drexel Avenue in Lawrenceville. Take either Brearley Avenue or Fernwood Lane from Lawrence Road (Route 206).
For more information, call the Lawrence Township Recreation Dept at 609-844-7067.
NATURAL STEPS
In a joint broadcasting venture with Rider University's 107.7 The Bronc (WRRC-FM), Sustainable Lawrence explores what it means to live sustainably on campus, at home, and in your community. |
NATURAL STEPS
A blog by Ralph Copleman with key insights into our sustainable future. |
SAMPLING OF PAST EVENTS BELOW
Earth Day Celebration 2010
Date: Saturday, April 24, 2010 from 1:00pm to 5:00pm
Place: The Lawrence Nature Center
Admission: FREE
Come and Discover the First Signs of Spring!
Guided Nature Hike * Wild Animal Show * Paint a Rain Barrel
Hands-on activities for Kids * Bluegrass & Jazz Music
Bring your galoshes and binoculars!
PRESENTATIONS:
1:00p “Guided hike” - with naturalist Rick Dutko
1:30p “The Story About Stuff” - movie
2:15p “Chimney Swift Bird Talk” - Eriks Svarcberg
2:30p “Sustainable Products”- Karen Nathan
3:00p “Wild Animal Show” - Diane Nickerson
3:45p “Non-point Pollution”- Girl Scout Lindsay Jorgensen
DAYS OF SPRING - March 20-28, 2010 - Various Locations
GREEN EVERYTHING! Expo
Saturday, March 20,
James Kerney Center, Trenton, 10-4;
Exhibits and presentations on all aspects of sustainable living (free)
See attached flyer!
HAZARDOUS WASTE RECYCLING DAY for Mercer County
Saturday March 20, at John T. Dempster Fire School, 8am to 2pm (DETAILS)
Located on
Bakers Basin/Lawrence Station Road in Lawrence Township.
For more information, call 609-278-8086 or go to www.mcia-nj.com.
“FLOW” film showing
Tuesday, March 23,
Student Center Theater, Rider University, 6pm (free)
A documentary about the world's dwindling fresh water supply.
Learn more about the crisis.
BUILD A RAIN BARREL Workshop
Thursday, March 25, Lawrence Community Center, 6:30 to 8:30pm
Everybody takes home a rain barrel; involves a modest fee.
See attached flyer to register! Limited to 25 participants.
“HURRICANE SEASON” by Climbing Poetree
Thursday, March 25, and Friday,
March 26
at Passage Theatre (Mill Hill Playhouse) in Trenton ( $30 per ticket)
A play about sustainability and social justice issues in post-Katrina New Orleans.
--- OUR SPONSORS ---
Get Your Lawn Off Drugs
Keynote: MIKE McGRATH, TV & Radio Host and Author
Date: Saturday, March 21, 2009 at 2:00pm
Place: Lawrence High School, Lawrence Twp, NJ
Admission: $7 at the door - Kids are FREE
“Get Your Lawn Off of Drugs”: Create A Weed-Free & Safe Lawn – Improve Your Soil - Without Toxics
A fast-paced and hilarious presentation with Q&A that will give you the tools to create rich, organic soil, save money,& create a safer lawn for kids and pets. He will be presenting insights and lively anecdotes on how to grow and maintain a healthy “living lawn” and garden without harmful pesticides. Mike's passion will inspire you to take action this spring.
Admission: $7 at the door. Kids FREE. Event questions: 609-895-1629.
Mike McGrath is...
- Host of the nationally syndicated Public Radio show, You Bet Your Garden
- Garden Editor for WTOP News Radio in Washington, DC
- Contributing Editor and columnist for Greenprints magazine
- Former Editor-in-Chief of ORGANIC GARDENING magazine
- Author of books on Tomatoes, Compost and Kitchen Gardening
If you have lawn and garden questions, you might also check out the the Master Gardeners of Mercer County. They are knowledgeable about a wide range of horticultural subjects and can help you with responsible gardening and pest management.
This is event is sponsored by Sustainable Lawrence and its Living Lawns Campaign, which helps improve surface water quality throughout the region.
Co-sponsors include: The Lawrenceville School, PNC Bank, Lawrence Township Public Schools, Organic Green Lawn Care, Kale's Nursery and Landscaping, Lawrence Landscapes, Kuppek Landscaping.
Green Building Expo #2
Keynote:Marty Johnson, Founder and President of Isles, Inc
Date: Saturday, March 14, 2009 from 10:00am to 4:00pm
Place: Irwin Dining Center, The Lawrenceville School off Route 206
Learn the latest environmentally smart ways to fix up your home or small business, add a room, handle repairs, paint or refinish any surface, do ordinary maintenance, and save money. Discuss your needs and plans (with no obligation) with architects, designers, builders, home repair specialists, hardware vendors, and more at this day-long event.
This event is for you regardless of your skill or experience. The day will kick off with a keynote presentation. Other presenters on topics including energy use, green building, landscaping, and more will follow. Exhibitor displays open all day. No reservations – just come. Bring friends and neighbors. For more information, call Sustainable Lawrence, 609-895-1629.
- 10:00 am Keynote Address
Marty Johnson, Founder and President of Isles, Inc
- 11:30 am Presentations
Simultaneous Presentations by Experts on Key Aspects of Green Building and Home Energy Management
- 1:30 pm Presentations
Simultaneous Presentations by Experts on Key Aspects of Green Building and Home Energy Management
- 10:00 am - 4:00 pm Vendors Marketplace
Exhibits & Displays by Green Vendors
The Big GREEN Bus Visits Lawrence Township
Date: August 18, 2008
Place: 2pm to 5pm - QuakerBridge Mall Parking Lot
Admission: Free
12 Dartmouth students, 1 veggie oil powered bus, 13,000 sustainable miles, all for a greener tomorrow!
In its fourth summer on the road, the Big Green Bus educates Americans about climate change and it’s relationship to energy issues, as well as alternative energy. The students promote the adoption of lifestyle choices that conserve energy and take us farther down the path toward sustainability.
As they travel 13,000 miles around the country through 36 states, the students aim to spark a dialogue about sustainable living, the viability of alternative energy sources, and tangible solutions to local and global energy issues with those we meet along the way.
The ultimate goal of the Big Green Bus is both simple and transformative. Through education and example, the students hope to inspire Americans to reconsider their relationship to the planet and with each other to become more environmentally responsible citizens at home, at work, and in the voting booth.
Come on out and meet these students and learn a little too!
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Learn how we can can adopt sustainable practices to reduce our energy consumption |
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See real world examples of businesses and individuals that currently use alternative fuels and operate in an environmentally-friendly manner |
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Check out the technology that drives the bus: Solar Panels, Inverter, Biodiesel Engine & Filters, Deep Cycle Batteries, and a few surprises that make it fun to ride in (like the energy star compliant flat screen TV and Computers). |
In the Headlines:
Environmental movement finds advocates in Lawrence
Monday, May 12, 2008
By Wendy Plump, Special to the Times of Trenton
LAWRENCE -- Ralph Copleman, environmental activist, has a simple first step for anyone interested in greening the Earth, and it is something we all know how to do already: Chill. Relax. Breathe for a moment. Continue...
Public Issues Summit on
RESPONSES TO GLOBAL WARMING
Date: Tuesday, April 29, 2008 - 6pm to 9:30pm
Join citizens from the region in a face-to-face dialog on responding to the problem of global warming at the local, national, and international level. Sponsored by the Leadership in Public Affairs program and the President's Climate Commitment Committee at The College of New Jersey. A light dinner will be served. Participation is free and open to all adult residents of the region but seating is limited and advance registration is required. Register online or call 609.771.2706.
2008 Maclean House Lecture Series
Going Green? The Science and Practice of Conservation and Sustainability
Select faculty members from various departments at Princeton University will talk about current initiatives and theories on the topics of global warming, energy conservation, and sustainability practices. Each faculty member will interpret this theme according to their own background and research interests, which will result in a variety of interesting and provocative perspectives.
All lectures start at 7:30 p.m. and are free and open to the public. The lectures will be held in the East Pyne Building, Room 010.
- Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Greentrofit—The Green Retrofitting Bottom Line for Homeowners
Catherine Peters, Civil and Environmental Engineering
- Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Technology and Policy for Living in a Greenhouse
Robert Socolow, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
- Tuesday, April 15, 2008
The Importance of Carbon Burial in Electricity Generation
Michael Celia *83, Civil and Environmental Engineering
- Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Eco-Capitalism and the Power of Worm Poop
Tom Szaky ’05 and Jon Beyer ’05, TerraCycle, Inc.
Questions? Please contact Kaitlin Lutz, Assistant Director for Alumni Education, at (609) 258-0014.
Earth Day at Lawrence Nature Center
Live Demonstrations
Date: Saturday, April 19, 2008
Place: Drexel Ave in Lawrence Township (Route 206 to Fernwood Ave)
Over a dozen local environmental organizations will be on hand to help The Lawrence Nature Center open its newly renovated building. The Center is located at the end of Drexel Avenue on a site contiguous with the 36-acre Drexel Woods nature preserve. Tours of the building plus live demonstrations and lots of activities for kids will go on all day. Sustainable Lawrence will have a display, too.
Earth Day – the one day each year most of us pay homage and attention to our ultimate home of homes. Come join the celebration and see the new Nature Center facilities.
Lawrence Township Stream Cleanup
Date: Sunday, April 6, 2008 from 1pm to 3pm
Place: Lawrence Shopping Center
Meet at Lawrence Shopping Center off Business Route 1, near Burlington Coat Factory across from Romparound where Shabakunk Creek flows along the parking lot. Wear boots, long sleeves. Bring work gloves, if you have them.
For more information visit: www.thewatershed.org.
Measuring Our Progress
Speaker: RANDY SOLOMON, Director of NJ Sustainable State Institute
Date: Saturday, January 12, 2008 from 9:30am to Noon
Place: Lawrence Township High School - 2525 Princeton Pike
Headlines from event:
Residents of Lawrence Township recently met to discuss the most important trends we should be tracking to achieve sustainability in Lawrence. Randy Solomon, director of the NJ Sustainable State Institute at Rutgers, helped attendees set specific objectives to accomplish.
How Rutgers Went 'Green'
Speaker: DR. KEVIN LYONS, Rutger University's Director of Purchasing
Date: Wednesday, November 14, 2007 at 7:30pm
Place: Student Center Theater at Rider University (Rte 206 Lawrence)
Learn the story of how Rutgers went “green” under the leadership of Kevin Lyons, the university’s Director of Purchasing. Learn how you can make your business or organization, large or small, more sustainable using similar strategies. Hear how businesses, religious communities, and nonprofits are saving big bucks through sustainable purchasing co-ops Kevin has organized across central New Jersey. Kevin’s sustainability endeavors also include producing power from trash and growing organic tomatoes indoors. He’s a one-man sustainability revolution.
Our Faith in a Sustainable World
Speaker: MIRIAM THERESE MACGILLIS, O.P., Founder/Director Genesis Farm Earth Literacy Center, Blairstown, NJ
Date: Wednesday, October 17, 2007 at 7:30PM
Place: The Church of St. Ann at 1253 Lawrenceville Rd (Rte. 206) in Lawrence Township, NJ
For more than a quarter of a century, Miriam MacGillis has traveled the world helping people reclaim their personal faith in a world threatened by global warming, habitat destruction, and the extraordinary ecological challenge facing today’s living generations.
From her home on a Blairstown, NJ, organic farm, Miriam brings a message of hope – without minimizing obstacles – based on her profound understanding of Earth’s dynamics and the human capacity for innovation, growth, and inspiration.
She reminds us where we came from and how, regardless of our faith tradition, we can re-establish our spiritual connection to the natural world.
Full Conference Report
More than one hundred people gathered for three days (March 30-April 1, 2006) to plan an ecologically sustainable future for Lawrence Township, New Jersey.
Read the Report - They produced a comprehensive, long-term agenda, a set of 10 task forces to tackle key
items on the agenda, and a series of action plans put forth by the various task
forces.
See Photos of the conference.
See Video of the conference.