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

Other volunteers worked on clearing invasives from the banks to provide a clear view to the stone hut from the shelter.

                JOIN US WEDS AUG 24   9:30 AM     BRING A RAKE OR      SHOVEL TO HELP SPREAD THE WOOD CHIPS 

LONG BRANCH PUBLIC LIBRARY

 ELBERON HISTORIC TOUR  (includes Ross Island Park)

AUG 27   12 – 5 PM   

We went to the Master Gardener sale with our native plant list  of ideas from various  people. We wanted to provide food and housing for bees, butterflies and beneficial insects.   Here’s what we purchased, using a generous donation:

We’ll be planting them this Tuesday, May 23 at 4 pm.  Please join us in celebrating our new additions.

Today was a busy day at the Park.

We changed the shape of the western entrance to the trail and filled in the area with wood chips.  Looks like it’s been like that forever.

We are experimenting with using vinegar on some of the weeds. We poured it on and will see what they look like on Wednesday.

Suzan Cole released beautiful butterflies that she and her ESL class hatched. She released them in our butterfly garden. She also released some lady bugs that her class nurtured.

She also picked her 4X4 garden area.

We’ll be there again at 2 – 4:30 on Wednesday, May 17.

Butterfly garden is growing. See the first purple flowers in the middle.

Chuck and I were working at Ross Lake this afternoon and saw an osprey dive into the water and come up with a fish in it’s talons.  It flew away to the north and it’s mate flew along with it.  If you stand quietly in the garden you will see so many wondrous things.

Come join us this Wednesday May  beginning at 1 until ????? as we help to beautify the garden.  Tools and gloves will be available or you can just stop by to chat and enjoy the beauty and serenity of the lake and garden.

Elinore Ave, Long Branch 07740

Ross Lake Park Garden Journal Entry

The intense rain storms of the past few years have begun to damage our lovely Ross Island.  As you can see from the pictures above,  there is a new island of leaf litter and silt being formed on the west side of the original island.  This causes the fast moving waters to rush around the new island and undercut the old island.  In the next picture, you can see a thin line of the ground and then the tree roots exposed underneath.  

Also, a large limb from a tree that we didn’t know was in bad shape fell off and is laying in the lake.

We want to save this treasure.  We must  work together with the rest of the towns on the watershed to try and slow down the water flow and siltation.  If all the neighbors on the Whale Pond Brook would work together we could make a difference.

Any volunteers to help stop flooding would be appreciated. We’re working with Rutgers Water Resources Green Infrastructure Champions across New Jersey. http://www.water.rutgers.edu

META: Stormwater is undercutting the banks of Ross Island. Read about the recent damage and find out how you can volunteer to help our watershed recovery efforts.

Lorenzo Santiago, from Hawaii Landscaping in Long Branch, helped us beautify the Ross Lake garden on Elinore Ave.  He weeded the front and put wood chips down.  Maggie Boyce, Monmouth County Master Gardener met me one day and we strolled around the garden.  She suggested how to make it better. She suggested that some of the grasses were not planted in the optimum spots and they should be cut down. Lorenzo did just that and put them in the street.  The City came and took away the clippings the next day. The garden looks wonderful. Thanks for your help Lorenzo and Maggie.