Category: Public Info

Union County residents interested helping to conserve local nature habitats can join the County’s new volunteer Watchung Reservation Invasive Plant Strike Force.

“Our Strike Force volunteers will help create a more welcoming, healthy habitat for native wildlife including birds, butterflies and other valuable pollinators,” said Freeholder Chairman Sergio Granados. “Volunteering in our County parks is a very satisfying way to give back to the community and make a real impact on our local environment.”­­­

The Watchung Reservation is Union County’s largest park and nature conservation area. Members of the Strike Force will be trained to identify and eliminate invasive species that have been encroaching into the park.

Invasive plant species are not challenged by natural foragers or competitors. As they spread, they displace other plants. Invasive species have a destructive ripple effect that displaces wildlife as well as other plants.

The Strike Force training is offered through the Union County Department of Parks and Recreation in partnership with the Rutgers Cooperative Extension. 

The training session will take place on Sunday, October 7, from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., at the Trailside Nature and Science Center, located at 452 New Providence Road in Mountainside. Light refreshments will be provided.

The session will be led by Michael Van Clef, Ph.D., Stewardship Director for Friends of Hopewell Valley Open Space and a co-founder of the New Jersey Invasive Species Strike Team.

Participants will learn about the problem of invasive species, and learn how to identify the biggest and newest offenders. They will learn monitoring and eradication methods through hands-on demonstrations.

Volunteers who sign up for the Strike Force will be assigned specific sections of the Watchung Reservation to monitor.

The training session is free but registration is required online at tinyurl.com/y9xzlezr.

For additional information, contact Betty Ann Kelly of the Union County Department of Parks and Recreation at bkelly@ucnj.org or 908-789-3683.

All visitors attending the Rockin the Reservation event on Saturday, September 30 are welcome to walk the new Union County Sensory Friendly Trail located in front of the Trailside Nature & Science Center in Mountainside. Rockin the reservation, formerly known as Harvest Festival will run from 11:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m., featuring musical performances by Copperline Shine and October Rose.

“The Union County Watchung Reservation Sensory Friendly Trail is specially designed for park visitors of all ages and abilities and provides a way to safely experience the outdoors with opportunities to interact with nature,” says Freeholder Chairman Sergio Granados.

The Sensory Friendly Trail, which officially opened in August, is a 0.3 mile ADA accessible loop with a central gazebo.  The trail winds gently through the woods with guide ropes and features multiple interpretive signs to learn about the local flora and fauna with 3D reliefs and Braille for the visually impaired. There are two talking audio kiosks highlighting the natural and human history of the Watchung Reservation, a 2,142 acre preserve and the largest park in Union County.  

The central gazebo offers a sensory play area to attract children and encourage exploration and discovery.  Sensory stimulation is provided through sensory gardens, musical components and nature-themed play structures designed to meet the physical, social and cognitive needs of different age groups. All of these elements on the trail provide tactile experiences and create opportunities to enjoy the outdoors.    Raised garden beds add color and beauty to this multi-dimensional experience, providing the visitor the opportunity to use their sense of sight, smell and touch. 

To further engage children, creative projects will be offered under the new gazebo on September 30 sponsored by Wild Birds Unlimited in Scotch Plains.  Decorate a bird feeder and fill it with seed to take home and hang for your backyard birds.  Make a butterfly craft, meet a turtle and visit the Trailside Touch Table.  There is no fee for these activities.

In addition to music, Rockin the Reservation will feature art demonstrations, interactive art and music, a petting zoo, pony rides, scarecrow building, a pumpkin patch, multi-cultural dancing, music demonstrations, food trucks and instruments to play.   

Admission to Rockin the Reservation is $5, with children ages 7 and younger admitted free of charge. For more information, call 908-789-3670 or visit www.ucnj.org/fall. 

Trailside Nature and Science Center is located at 452 New Providence Road in Mountainside and is a facility of the Union County Department of Parks and Recreation.       

Union County Freeholders Bruce H. Bergen, Angle G. Estrada and Alexander Mirabella joined Union County Sheriff Peter Corvelli in welcoming Master Sgt. Richard Thompson (Ret.) of the Union County Office of Veteran Services as the guest speaker at the Union County Prisoners of War/Missing in Action (POW/MIA) Remembrance Day ceremony in Elizabeth. Also in attendance were Roselle Park Mayor Carl Hokanson, Union Committeeman Clifton People and Kenilworth VFW 2230 Commander Robert Jeans.

The annual event is sponsored by the Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders to honor and remember prisoners of war and those missing in action. The National POW/MIA Recognition Day is observed each year on the third Friday of September.

Please join us this morning to honor, to remember, and to reaffirm our commitment to account for all who served.

Due to today’s weather, the POW/MIA Remebrance Day commemoration has been moved indoors to the County Administration Building, located behind the County Courthouse at 10 Elizabethtown Plaza.

The remembrance ceremony will take place in the Freeholder Meeting Room on the 6th Floor at 11:15 this morning, Friday September 14.

Union County Freeholders Alexander Mirabella and Rebecca Williams present a resolution to Judith Hurok of Scotch Plains recognizing her for her hard work as a Mathematics teacher at the Union County Academy for Information Technology as her distinguished career comes to a close. (Photo by Jim Lowney/County of Union)

Union County Freeholder Chairman Sergio Granados and Freeholder Angle G. Estrada present a resolution to Sheena Spence congratulating her on being named the first female firefighter in the Elizabeth Fire Department. (Photo by Jim Lowney/County of Union)

Union County Freeholder Chairman Sergio Granados and Freeholder Angle G. Estrada present a resolution to Officer Leonardo Nunes of the Elizabeth Police Department honoring him for his heroic efforts to rescue and save the life of a young child after she had fallen into a swimming pool.

On August 26th, Officer Nunes arrived at a home where a 1-year old baby girl had fallen into a swimming pool. She had been underwater for about a minute before Officer Nunes rescued her and revived her using CPR. (Photo by Jim Lowney/County of Union)