Stone Hut Phase II is complete

Stone Hut April 25 2016Ken Manzi, our mason, has completed Phase II of repairing the stone hut roof.  He used the platform to pull his men and equipment back and forth.  See the aluminum canoe? That’s how he got the platform off the island to use.  We have to be creative to get this job done. Thanks Ken.

 

North Side Roof New Stone North Side Roof Mortatar Joints Complete North Side Roof Mortar Joints Removed North Side Roof Before Repairs

Long Branch’s Stone Hut, an architectural folly, preserved

Our good friend Beth Woolley, Long Branch Historic Commission, attended the Monmouth County Historic Preservation award ceremony on Feb 22, 2016.  The WPBWA received a grant to complete the work on the east side of the stone hut roof.  A huge Thank You to Monmouth County and the City of Long Branch for their continuing financial assistance in restoring the Ross Island Stone Hut, a rare Architectural Folly that remains from Long Branch’s Gilded Age.

The work is being done by Ken Manzi, our stone mason.
MCHPC presentation 2016

Here are some of our volunteers at the stone hut during a clean-up in December. stonehutcleanup 2015

Recycle those Holiday Decorations, Trees, Wreaths & Wrapping

For many of us, it’s that time of year to  clean up after the holidays. The post below is from Clean Ocean Action, a local non-profit organization dedicated to ocean advocacy.  www.cleanoceanaction.org

Read on about how to deal with holiday decorations!

 

The holiday season has come to a close. Now what are you to do with your Christmas tree and decorations? Here are some tips on how to dispose of them properly:
Christmas Trees. Towns throughout New Jersey offer a Christmas tree recycling mulching program. If you are unsure, call your municipality to see if this program is offered and directions on how to dispose of your tree. The most important tip to remember is to place a BARE tree on the curb for pickup; do not place the tree in a plastic bag! Did you go to town with the tinsel this year? Be sure to remove all tinsel before placing the tree on the curb. Next year opt to replace tinsel with other natural accent alternatives reducing unnecessary waste.
In the past Shore communities used Christmas trees for dunes, however it has been found to be very maintenance intensive and towns have switched to other natural alternatives, such as planting dune grass. To extend the life of your tree, place it outside, providing a home for birds, and then place it on the curb in the spring for recycling.

 

For the towns comprising the Whale Pond Brook Watershed, here are the details about tree disposal, or who to call:

EATONTOWN – Public Works Director: Frank Cannella, Jr . 732-389-7651

TINTON FALLS – Holiday/Christmas Trees. These may be placed at the curb for collection from end of December through January 13th of the new year. If you miss the tree collection, you may may bring your tree to the recycling drop-off behind Borough Hall, or wait for your scheduled zone pick-up for branches and brush. Place your tree at the curb free of ornaments and bags, as the ornaments and bags cannot be recycled. Wreaths and garlands made from trees may be placed in your refuse container.

OCEAN TWP – Dept. of Public Works: Tom Crochet, CPWM
Director, 732-531-5001,   tcrochet@oceantwp.org

WEST LONG BRANCH – 732-229-1756

LONG BRANCH – Director of Public Works, Fred Migliaccio, CPM, CPWM (732) 571-6520

Plants. Remove your holiday poinsettias, flowers, or plants from any plastic containers and ribbons, then place plants in a compost pile or at the curb.
Wreathes. Remove any bows, ribbons, or ornaments from your wreath. If you can, save the decorations for next year or donate items to a local goodwill. If in poor condition, dispose of the items properly. Unfortunately, glass ornaments cannot be recycled, please place them in the garbage. Also, remove metal frames and hardware from the wreath. You can also extend the life of your wreath by placing it outside, providing a home for birds, and then put it out in the spring for recycling. Place the greens at the curb for pickup or drop it off at your recycling center.
Lights. Have strands of broken lights? Stores such as Home Depot and Ace Hardware accept lights and sometimes provide a discount on LED lights when you drop off your lights.  
Unwrap. Odds are plenty of gifts were exchanged this holiday season. If you received any presents in gift bags, keep these bags to be used for next year. A tip to keep in mind for next year – don’t ball up wrapping paper since this has been known to affect recycling equipment. Also tissue paper can be reused or composted in your personal compost pile. Read more here.

 

The creosote wood at Tak beach is no longer visible

The wood is no longer visible at Tak beach. There is one dumpster with wood pieces.  It is gratifying to know that a call to 877-warnDEP really does work. Thanks to Laura Fonde, Office of Emergency Management, Bureau of Emergency Response for alerting Dave Sorenson, Monmouth County Health Department.  He went to the site and requested that the wood be removed immediately. We also received a call from the DEP Coastal Enforcement Office, Michelle Kropilak who said DEP inspectors will be there again tomorrow to check the site.

Thanks to all the people in this community who showed that you care about our watershed.

 

All the wood is now off the beach. It is gratifying to know that a call to 877 warnDEP really does work! Thanks to the DEP and Dave Sorenson from Monmouth County Health Department for helping our our watershed.

There is no more wood visible on the beach. This new fence went up so we can't get any closer.
There is no more wood visible on the beach. This new fence went up so we can’t get any closer.

Takanassee Beach, Long Branch – A pile of creosote soaked logs

We received a call today to go down to Tak beach and see what is going on there.  A surfer called a friend so I called some friends and we went to look. This is what we saw:

These creosote soaked pieces of wood are all over the beach and in the water.

These creosote soaked pieces of wood are all over Takanassee beach and in the water.

IMG_4446They might come from this big pile of wood which stinks of creosote.IMG_4466Some of it may come from the dismantling of the flume.

Remains of the north side of the flume.
Remains of the north side of the flume.

This is the Whale Pond Brook flowing into the ocean where the flume used to be.IMG_4461

If you see something that you think may not be right, don’t hesitate to call 877 warnDEP.

Learning about Sustainability on an Unseasonably Warm December Day

 

Yesterday was a great day at  the prestigious Stony Brook-Millstone Watershed Association.

Kate Hutelmyer and Ed Difiglia, both from the Watershed’s Policy Division,  gave us a  tour of their new Watershed Center for Environmental Advocacy, Science and Education, a LEED Platinum building in Pennington, NJ. Here are some highlights!

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Pictured from Left to Right: Ed Difiglia, Bob Sandberg, Faith Teitelbaum, Ray Pogwist, Jeff King, Laura Bagwell and Kate Hutelmyer

 

Renewable Energy

Solar  and geothermal technologies provide about 85% of the building’s energy needs.

Passive Solar Lighting 

What an inviting and sun-filled room.

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Green Roof & Solar Hot Water

A vegetated roof reduces runoff, reduces  heat island effect, improves air quality, increases biodiversity, reduces noise, improves energy efficiency, acts as a fire retardant, and increases the longevity of roof membranes. SO much good!

….and the solar hot water is highly efficient.

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Rainwater Harvesting

Note the “bird’s beak” funnels rainwater from the roof down to a rock garden and then a rain garden .

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Rain Garden

Reduces storm water runoff and purifies the water as it recharges the  aquifer, and provides habitat.

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Wetlands Wastewater Treatment

Using Plants, soil, and microorganisms to treat wastewater instead of traditional wastewater treatment  results in water that is cleaner  and it is also more effective in infiltrating water into the aquifer.

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This is a Water Fountain every building needs!

Getting rid of your plastic water bottle habit is easier when you can refill your reusable water bottle at water fountains like this one. This fountain has saved 2,084 plastic bottles of water. This model is called the Halsey Taylor HydroBoost.

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Plus more!

Butterfly House

Helping to increase the population of native butterflies, including the Monarch Butterly,  the Kate Gorrie Butterfly House is used to raise monarch butterflies and set them free each year.

Visit them during their butterfly festival!

http://thewatershed.org/watershed-center/butterfly-house/

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Environmental Library

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Education center with wildlife, too! Check out the corn snake, walking sticks and huge freshwater tank.

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A model of the watershed – press a button to light up the streams and tributaries of the Stony Brook – Millstone Watershed

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What you can do?

Solar panels:  Free and renewable electricity from the sun – our best source of energy. For information on solar, see:

http://www.njcleanenergy.com/whysolar

Rain garden: A rain garden is quite wonderful – habitat and rainwater recharge;  it is all good. Build a rain garden today!  For more information on how to build one, see:

http://water.rutgers.edu/Rain_Gardens/fs513.pdf

Stop using plastic:  Take the pledge to not use plastic bottles!  Also  take a plastic inventory of your home and lifestyle and see how you can reduce or stop using it. It’s everywhere,  polluting the watershed and ultimately the oceans, strangling and suffocating wildlife.

https://secure.foodandwaterwatch.org/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=235

Until next time,  thank you for all you do to help the watershed!

Neighbors working together to restore our watershed.