County of Union, New Jersey

Union County, NJ — The Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders is pleased to announce that a grant writing workshop is available to organizations interested in applying for history grants through the Union County History Re-grant Program.

“The workshop is designed to help beginning grant writers to learn how to write an effective application, and it provides experienced grant writers with a good opportunity to sharpen their skills,” said Freeholder Chairman Bruce H. Bergen.

The history grant writing workshop will be held from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday, April 19, 2017 at The Shady Rest Country Club, in Scotch Plains.

Applications for the Re-Grant Program will be available at the workshop.

Union County administers two types of grants under the Re-grant program.

General standards of eligibility apply to both grants. There are also specific requirements for each grant:

1. General Operating Support grants provide assistance to Union County based historical societies, house museums or historic sites only, for basic operating costs such as programming, preservation of collections, salaries, marketing and more. The maximum grant request is $5000.

1. Special Project grants support history organizations, museums, schools, libraries and similar organizations with collections or programming relating to Union County and New Jersey state history. The maximum grant request is $3500.  

To confirm at the April 19th workshop or to receive more information, contact the Union County Office of Cultural and Heritage Affairs, 908-436-2912 or email jprescott@ucnj.org.

The Re-Grant Program is funded by the New Jersey Historical Commission, a division of the New Jersey Department of State. It is administered by the Union County Office of Cultural and Heritage Affairs.

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For all Union County programs and services visit ucnj.org, call the Public Info Line, 877-424-1234, email info@ucnj.org or use the online Contact Form.

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Union County, NJ – The Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders has once again put out the call for volunteer scientists and knowledgeable experts to join the Union County Bio-Blitz, an annual ‘round the clock survey of flora and fauna in County parks.

The 2017 Union County Bio-Blitz will be conducted in two sessions over a two-day period in Warinanco Park, also known as the “Central Park of Union County.”

“Bio-Blitz is a wonderful opportunity to participate in environmental stewardship,” said Freeholder Chairman Bruce H. Bergen. “It is our signature event for raising public awareness about nature conservation in our County parks, and it could not happen without scores of volunteer researchers who lend their time to the effort each year.”

One area of focus for this year’s Bio-Blitz will be a stream daylighting project. The project dates back several years ago, when an underground piped stream in Warinanco Park was rehabilitated and exposed to the open air.

“Volunteers with the Union County Adopt-a-Park program spent many chilly hours over the winter to improve the habitat in and around the stream bed,” said Vice Chairman Sergio Granados, who is the Freeholder liaison to the Union County Parks and Recreation Advisory Board. “We are looking forward to cataloging the fruits of their labor during Bio-Blitz 2017.”

Union County has held a Bio-Blitz in various parts of its park system every year since 2004. The event is designed to engage the public in nature conservation while providing researchers with valuable information about biodiversity in urban and suburban communities. 

Scientists and naturalists are needed to help sample, observe, identify, and record hundreds of plant and animal species, including fungi and insects.

The first session is scheduled for Friday, June 16 from 5:00 p.m. to 12:30 a.m.  The second session is scheduled for Saturday, June 17 from 6:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Professional scientists, naturalists and knowledgeable amateurs can register online to join a field team or perform other volunteer activities at the Bio-Blitz web page, ucnj.org/bio-blitz. 

The registration deadline is June 1 but participating team members and volunteers are advised to sign up early.

All participants on research teams and other volunteer assignments receive a Bio-Blitz t-shirt and meals at the “Bio-Blitz Central” staging area, which will be located in the newly renovated Warinanco Ice Skating Center.

Bio-Blitz is also open for public observation throughout the event. Bio-Blitz Central will be the hub for nature themed activities and programs that bring visitors to different parts of the park. All public activities are free and no pre-registration is required.

Warinanco Park is located in the City of Elizabeth and the Borough of Roselle. It was designed and built in the 1920’s by the firm of the John and Frederick Olmsted, sons of Frederick Law Olmsted, the renowned designer of New York City’s Central Park.

Considered the centerpiece of the Union County park system, Warinanco features scenic landscapes, winding pathways, picnic areas, a new “sprayground” for children, provision for boating, fishing, ice skating and team sports, groves of magnolia and cherry trees, a rustic azalea garden and the formal Chatfield Garden.

Warinanco also showcases several of the County’s conservation initiatives. In addition to the stream daylighting project, a shoreline restoration project around the park’s centerpiece lake has created an inviting habitat for diverse species.

The restoration project involved replacing mowed areas at the water’s edge with rocks and native plantings. Visitors can enjoy strolling past a generous display of pollinator-friendly wildflowers and native grasses along the western shore during the spring, summer and early fall.

The Chatfield Garden, formerly reserved for tulips, was recently replanted with pollinator-friendly perennials.

For more information about volunteering for Bio-Blitz 2017, contact Betty Ann Kelly, Union County Department of Parks and Recreation, at bkelly@ucnj.org.                                                                                                                 

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For all Union County programs and services visit ucnj.org, call the Public Info Line, 877-424-1234, email info@ucnj.org or use the online Contact Form.

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Photo Caption: A Plant Team searches for species to catalogue during last year’s Union County Bio-Blitz. Credit: Daniela Shebbitz.

The Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders is pleased to announce children’s music band Michael & The Rockness Monsters will perform at the Family PRIDE CommUNITY Picnic on Saturday, June 17, 2017 at Rahway River Park.

“All families are invited to join LGBTQ family equality advocates and allies from throughout the state to come out to the park and celebrate family and marriage equality,” said Freeholder Chairman Bruce H. Bergen. “The Freeholder Board is proud to feature children’s funk inspired rock band Michael & The Rockness Monsters with their playful and honest music the entire family will enjoy.”

Come for a full day of free family-fun celebrating PRIDE starting at 12:00 noon, and stay for the children’s music concert. Michael & The Rockness Monsters, an interactive, super galactic – funk inspired, rock-n-roll experience for families, will take the stage around 2:30 p.m.

“As a band our goal is to spread love and write music that celebrates diversity and equality,” said Michael Napolitano of Michael & the Rockness Monsters. “We support one reoccurring message: Be yourself, be good to others and most of all, have fun!  We can not wait to rock at the Family PRIDE CommUNITY Picnic!!”

The children’s music concert will cap off a full day of entertainment, including a PRIDE family equality Rally that kicks off at 1:00 p.m. with special guest speakers and performances. Families are invited to bring hand-held signs that celebrate their family.

In 2013, New Jersey became the 16th state with marriage equality, granting same-sex couples the security of marriage in New Jersey. Since the federal marriage equality ruling in 2015, thousands of same-sex couples have married state-wide and across state lines. A Chairman’s Initiative event, the free Family PRIDE CommUNITY Picnic event aims to reach beyond the Union County borders and invites all families across the state to join us to celebrate family and marriage equality.

A celebration of all families, Union County’s first Family PRIDE CommUNITY Picnic will feature music, arts and crafts, family field day games, inflatable bounce houses, playground fun, and many other family activities. Families are invited to pack a picnic, a blanket or lawn chairs and head out to the park for an afternoon of fun! Food trucks will also be on site for those who wish to purchase lunch.

Families are invited to visit the vendor and resource tables for giveaways and information. Equality and family advocacy organizations will also set up tables alongside the Freeholder Board Information van with general information, and support and networking resources.

For more information visit ucnj.org/Pride, or find the UC Family PRIDE CommUNITY Picnic event page at Facebook.com/CountyOfUnion, or call the Union County Office of Parks and Recreation at 908-527-4900.

Union County Freeholder Vice Chairman Sergio Granados spoke with youth applicants for summer jobs at United Airlines during information and prescreening session at the Union County Workforce Innovation Business Center at The Mills at Jersey Gardens in Elizabeth. The United Airlines Summer Assist Program is cosponsored by the Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders, the Union County Workforce Development Board and Union County College.

Union County, NJ — In recognition of Arbor Day 2017, the Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders is again partnering with the Union County Shade Tree Advisory Board to sponsor the annual Arbor Day Tree Planting Program for schools.

This year, one free hundred trees will be given away to schools on request.  

“Union County is proud to support Arbor Day, a great American tradition that celebrates the many contributions that trees make to our quality of life, including economic development as well as a more diverse and healthy environment,” said Freeholder Chairman Bruce H. Bergen.

Studies have shown that trees improve property values and provide many other civic and health benefits. They airborne pollutants, provide a cooling effect in summer, prevent soil erosion, and help to alleviate flooding.

“Our Arbor Day planting program is a hands-on exercise that helps our Union County students see themselves as stewards of the environment, one tree at a time,” said Bergen.

The annual giveaway is one of several Union County tree initiatives. The Freeholder Board’s longstanding policy calls for a one-to-one replacement of any tree lost on Union County property.

The Board also supports the Rutgers Cooperative Extension Master Tree Steward and Arbor Day Poetry Contest educational programs, and provides annual grants to plant trees on municipal property through the Greening Union County program, which launched as an initiative of Freeholder Angel T. Estrada when he was Chairman in 2004.

“Since its inception, Greening Union County has helped to plant more than 9,700 trees in our urban and suburban communities,” Bergen noted.

This year’s free Arbor Day tree is the flowering Dogwood.  Each tree is about five feet tall and weighs about 20 pounds. When fully grown they will be about 15-20 feet tall.

The trees are available on a first come first served basis while supplies last. Requests from schools must be received by Thursday, April 13, 2017. 

Schools that receive a tree can also participate in a free training session in tree planting and care.

The sessions are available to students, teachers, and parent volunteers through Union County and the Master Tree Steward Program.

The tree care training session will be held at Williams Nursery in Westfield on Thursday, April 20, from 10:00 a.m. to noon. Registration is required.

To request a tree and register for a training a training session, contact Barbara Knapp at Union County, 908-789-3653 or bknapp@ucnj.org. 

For quick links to all Union County environmental programs and activities visit The Green Connection online at ucnj.org/green-connection.

Photo credit: Flowering Dogwood by Robert H. Mohlenbrock, hosted by the USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / USDA NRCS. 1995. Northeast wetland flora: Field office guide to plant species. Northeast National Technical Center, Chester.

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For all Union County programs and services visit ucnj.org, call the Public Info Line, 877-424-1234, email info@ucnj.org or use the online Contact Form.

Connect with Union County on social media.

Union County Freeholders Vernell Wright, Linda Carter, Bette Jane Kowalski and Alexander Mirabella congratulate the 10 recipients of the 2017 Women of Excellence Awards. They were joined by Union County Sheriff Joe Cryan, Union County Clerk Joanne Rajoppi and Assemblywoman Annette Quijano.

The Union County Commission on the Status of Women honored the awardees at the 25th annual Women of Excellence dinner at the Clubhouse at Union County’s Galloping Hill Golf Course in Kenilworth.

The honorees for 2017 are: Arielle Cassidy of Garwood ( Health and Wellness), Sally Curci of Cranford (Special Needs Advocate), Maria C. Del Cid of Union (Government), Terri L. Freeman, Esq. of Westfield (Law), Amy B. Herber of Westfield (Lifetime/Education), Marianne Kranz of Fanwood (Volunteerism), Dr. Nell Maloney-Patel of Westfield (Medicine), Kelly Rieder of Rahway (Law Enforcement), Nakera Sherman of Plainfield (Children’s Advocacy) and Ruth Yablonsky of Cranford (Environmentalist).

The Commission on the Status of Women is sponsored by The Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders. Each year, awards are given in different fields including education, health care, the arts, government, business, law, community service, technology, humanitarianism, public service, women’s advocacy, and lifetime achievement.

 

(Photos by Jim Lowney/County of Union)

 

Bring the entire family this Sunday, April 2 at 1:00 P.M. to the Union County Performing Arts Center in Rahway to experience the majestic ballet performance of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Presented as part of Union County’s Sensory Friendly Theatre series, this this abridged, one-hour sensory-friendly ballet performance by American Repertory Ballet is adapted especially for children and adults with sensory sensitivities and other special needs.

Available now, all tickets are $8 per person and can be purchased through the Union County Performing Arts Center at ucpac.org or by calling the Box Office at 732-499-8226.

“Adapting productions to help reduce disturbances at live performances, the sensory-friendly series seeks to increase access to the arts for children and adults with sensory sensitivities,” said Freeholder Chairman Bruce H. Bergen. “The Freeholder Board is proud to help make this Shakespeare classic accessible to families with children and adults of all abilities and needs.”

Set to an enchanting score by Felix Mendelssohn, the ballet brings to life the wit and splendor of one of William Shakespeare’s most popular comedies. Featuring colorful choreography, costumes and sets, the story portrays the weaving tales of cunning fairies, quarreling lovers and a hilariously amateur acting group as their paths cross in a magical forest.

For each of the performances in Union County’s Sensory Friendly Theatre series the theatre environment at the Union County Performing Arts Center is adjusted to provide a sensory-friendly, comfortable and judgment-free space that is welcoming for all families.

Autism Friendly Spaces implements the supportive atmosphere at each of the sensory-friendly performances. For more information on what to expect at a Sensory Friendly Theatre performance visit ucpac.org/sensory-friendly-theatre.

For more information or to purchase tickets call the Union County Performing Arts Center, 732-499-8226 or visit ucpac.org. The UCPAC Box Office, located at 1601 Irving Street, Rahway, NJ, is open Tuesday through Saturday from 11:00 AM until 5:00 PM and is also open late on Thursdays until 8:00 PM.

For information on additional Union County recreational programs for people with disabilities age five and up, call the Union County Department of Parks and Recreation at 908-527-4781 or visit ucnj.org.