Environment

The Somerset County Park Foundation is providing an opportunity to pay tribute to family and close friends through a donation of a tree or park bench at a location within the Somerset County Park system. A tax-deductible donation of $2,000 will earn the placement of a bench or tree with a plaque memorializing the contribution. The Park Foundation will maintain …

Submitted by the Stony Brook-Millstone Watershed Association. The Stony Brook-Millstone Watershed Association is happy to gain a new partner in its efforts to engage community members in its mission to keep water clean, safe and healthy in central New Jersey. L’Oréal USA Franklin generously donated 20 barrels to the Watershed Association for community rain barrel workshops this summer and has offered to …

Township commuters could have a rough go of it the morning of Aug. 1 as heavy weekend rains have caused flooding in several areas. As of the evening of July 31, the Blackwells Mills and Griggstown causeways off Canal Road were flooded out, and “(m)otorists should anticipate that these causeways will remain closed through the morning commute,” according to a …

A small green insect, indigenous to Asia, is causing some consternation in the township. The Emerald Ash Borer is killing Ash trees in Franklin, as well as other parts of Somerset County and in five other New Jersey counties. The female lays eggs on the trees’s bark which, when they develop into larvae, bore into the tree and interrupt its nutrient flow, …

Bee Wise – Bee Surprised, a free program of the Somerset County Park Commission Horticulture Department, is scheduled to take place at the Fragrance & Sensory Garden from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Aug. 6. The Fragrance & Sensory Garden is located in the Colonial Park Gardens, Lot A 156 Mettlers Road, Somerset, New Jersey. Admission is free (donations greatly …

Submitted by Veronica Guarraia. On June 25, the Rutgers Master Gardeners of Somerset County, together with other volunteers from Community Baptist Church in Somerset, and Habitat for Humanity landscaped their 28th Habitat for Humanity home in the township. Two distinct groups are involved in completing this task. This same process is what a typical home owner should use when designing …

Tours, lectures and music were on the bill July 16 for the 17th annual Garden Party in Colonial Park’s perennial garden. “We get quite a few people who come out and enjoy this garden,” said Jim Avens, the manager of the Somerset County Park Commission horticulture department. The garden is designed so that some plant varieties are blooming throughout the year, …

The Somerset County Park Commission Horticulture Department invites the public to the 17th annual “Garden Party,” featuring garden lectures and music, from 11 am. to 3 p.m. July 16. In addition, gardening books autographed by author Kerry Ann Mendez and specialty plants and sculptures by Daisy Garden will be for sale. Complimentary refreshments and light snacks will be available. The …

A proposal to build a 32,000 horsepower gas pipeline compressor station in the township – part of a larger pipeline project planned by the Williams Companies – is the topic of two public information sessions set for 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 6-8 p.m. June 28 at the Hotel Somerset-Bridgewater on Davidson Avenue. The so-called Northeast Supply Enhancement Project …

The Somerset County Park Commission Horticulture Department has scheduled “Container Gardening with Edible Plants,” a workshop for children age 7 to 10 accompanied by a adult. The workshop is limited to 10 participants. The program is scheduled for Saturday, June 25, 2016 from 10:00 A.M. to 12:00 Noon at the Colonial Park Fragrance & Sensory Garden, Parking Lot A, 156 …