On a sweltering morning, even at 9 am Troop 148 scouts helped pull the Monmouth University jon boat across Ross Lake. It was loaded with clippers, weed whackers and rakes.  Scout Master Levester Bromley set up a sun shelter and brought a cooler filled with goodies for our return.

After the third trip, with Chuck at the helm, we were all on the island. The scouts found a hornet’s nest in a tree and also a skull. They thought it might have been an opossum.

We opened up a view so that people sitting on the new park bench shelter could clearly see the 117- year- old stone hut. We also wanted to pull off all the vines from the hut’s walls in preparation for the stone masonry work scheduled for this month.

The on-going  beautification of Ross Lake Park has been a joint effort between the Long Branch Environmental Commission, the Whale Pond Brook Watershed Association, the Monmouth County Historical Commission, Monmouth University and the Jersey Shore Group of the Sierra Club since 2014.   Come visit the park and see for yourself.  Sit on the bench and watch the osprey, the great blue heron and the butterflies.

19 Elinore Ave   Long Branch 07740