Monmouth Conservation Foundation and Monmouth County Park System Partner to Expand New County Park

30 acres purchased in Marlboro Township adding to Freneau Woods Park.

Marlboro and Aberdeen Townships – Monmouth Conservation Foundation (MCF) announces the acquisition of a 30 acre parcel.  The piece is the last in a set of properties acquired in furtherance of a new Monmouth County regional park called Freneau Woods Park.  The property was purchased as a collaborative effort by the Monmouth County Park System and the Monmouth Conservation Foundation.  To date, 154 acres have been purchased, being acquired like pieces of a puzzle, that with future acquisitions will one day become a 250-acre regional County Park.

The property was funded collaboratively by MCF and the County of Monmouth.  MCF contributed $200,000 of the total purchase price of approximately $1.4 million, $100,000 of which is Green Acres funding awarded to MCF.

Located at the headwaters of Matawan Creek, including Lake Lefferts, this and surrounding properties are rich in both environmental and historical importance.  Local non-profits and government officials have long touted the importance of protecting the land that surrounds this unique coastal wetland that also provides a habitat for a diverse set of local species.  Keeping the headwaters safe from development is vital to the future water quality.

“MCF is proud to have facilitated this acquisition and its recent predecessor for Monmouth County and to have provided funding toward both these magnificent and ecologically significant additions to Freneau Woods Park.” Said MCF’s Executive Director, Bill Kastning.

During the American Revolutionary period, the land was part of a larger area owned by the Freneau family.  Freneau was an influential poet and newspaper writer whose works were clearly influenced by the natural beauty of the area.  In the July 4, 1795 edition of the Jersey Chronicle newspaper Freneau remarks, “I frequently walk into the fields over the cultivated farms and through the little forests that lay beyond the two rivers…What most of all disgusts me in these excursions is that men seem too much to have strayed from the grand simplicity of Nature…”

Monmouth Conservation Foundation, founded in 1977 by Michael Huber and Judith Stanley-Coleman as a 501(c)(3), is an accredited land trust dedicated to preserving open space and farmland in Monmouth County.  Monmouth Conservation Foundation has directly preserved more than 6,500 acres while collaboratively preserving 16,000 acres throughout Monmouth County.  MCF has been steadfast in saving invaluable farmland and open space, protecting waterways, preserving ecosystems, creating and/or extending parks and greenways for the past 38 years.

The Stone Foundation of New Jersey renews its support of Springwood Avenue Park

The Monmouth Conservation Foundation (MCF) is deeply grateful to receive a renewal grant of $15,000 awarded by The Stone Foundation of New Jersey for the advancement of MCF’s Springwood Avenue Park project.

This timely and generous grant helps MCF to achieve the Board of Directors matching challenge grant of $25,000, and helps MCF meet the project’s fundraising goal of $150,000.

In making the grant, The Stone Foundation of New Jersey expressed “…enthusiasm for MCF’s move into the vital world of urban greening and open-space access in underserved areas of Monmouth County. It is a testament to our belief in the importance of this kind of work as part of the conservation portfolio.”

In partnership with Monmouth County, the City of Asbury Park, and Interfaith Neighbors, Monmouth Conservation Foundation is participating in the groundwork for a 1.3-acre park within the 16-block Springwood Avenue Redevelopment Area. The park will include a playground, courtyard, walking path, civic plaza, and recreational lawn panel. It also will feature an amphitheater and raised stage area, with a mural panel, for outdoor performances.

Springwood Avenue Park will be the first City-owned and City-maintained park ever established on the West Side of Asbury Park. A key goal of Springwood Avenue Park is to help spur development of vacant parcels in the Springwood Avenue Redevelopment Area. This grant awarded by The Stone Foundation of New Jersey is a major contribution to helping MCF and our partners achieve this long-term vision for this neighborhood.


triCityNews/ Monmouth's News & Arts Weekly: PUBLISHER'S MESSAGE

A must-go social event: Monmouth Conservation Foundation fundraiser for Asbury’s Springwood

BY DAN JACOBSON

Here’s a great sign of the growing cohesiveness and shared values of the triCity region of eastern Monmouth County.

It’s the new activism in Asbury Park of the once old-money Monmouth Conservation Foundation [MCF]. The group has committed to provide at least $150,000 toward the development of the Springwood Avenue Park in Asbury’s West Side.

The needs of urban areas are a new priority for MCF, and one which its board has enthusiastically embraced. This is indeed unity of progressive thought in our region. And you can be a part of the action by attending MCF’s annual fundraiser for the Springwood Park at Talula’s on Cookman Avenue in Asbury Park on Sunday, May 3 at 6 p.m.

The fundraiser is billed as “Pizza and Pasta for a Purpose”, and Talula’s is one of this newspaper’s favorite places to write about. Tickets are $60 per person and children under 12 are $25. Visit the MCF website to reserve tickets at Monmouthconservation.org, and then click on events and then click Springwood Park. Or call MCF at 732-671-7000.

Last year’s MCF event for the Springwood Park at Porta — another triCity favorite — was shockingly well attended. Attendees were not your usual suspects at an Asbury Park fundraiser, but they were enthusiastic and positive about being here. It’s a great thing, as this is an organization with many connections in government and the private sector. Asbury now gets the benefit of that reach.

The Monmouth Conservation Foundation was founded about four decades ago by the late Judith Stanley, among the most prominent of local Republican royalty who lived in a spectacular mansion on the Navesink River off Navesink River Road. Cofounder was the late Michael Huber of Middletown, a gem of a philanthropist who was close with influential environmentalists of his generation. [The late Dery Bennett of the American Littoral Society — one of my role models — always spoke exceptionally well of Mike Huber.]

Since its founding in 1977, the MCF has done wonderful work in preserving tens of thousands of acres of open space in Monmouth County. Fun fact: This Publisher was on the board of trustees in my late twenties about twenty-five years ago.

Most of MCF’s work, however, was in blue-blooded horse country. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. Such land was the most threatened, and you see the tragic results of overdevelopment in once beautiful places like Middletown, Holmdel, and Colts Neck. Hell, even Marlboro and Manalapan were, once up on a time, beautiful open land. All this didn’t have to go down exactly as it did — it’s a result of decades of political bullshit — and at times outright corruption — from influential development interests getting their way at the state and local levels. But I digress. The leadership and trustees of MCF have been a varied lot — like the Publisher of this wacko alternative weekly newspaper — but we’ve all had a strong commitment to open space preservation, and a willingness to fight the good fight against powerful developers.

But it’s time to direct part of MCF’s focus and resources to serving those in challenged urban neighborhoods who need open space — specifically, attractive and safe parks — as much, if not more, than the rest of the county needs open space in their towns.

MCF Executive Director Bill Kastning said that beyond the $150,000 committed to be provided by his organization, there’s a shortfall in available funds to do a remaining $100,000 worth of landscaping.

“We are now reaching out to nurseries and growers in Monmouth County and elsewhere, primarily those whose farmlands have been preserved through the use of state, county and nonprofit t moneys,” Kastning said. “We are hopeful through our outreach efforts to achieve the in-kind donations and thereby eliminate the remaining shortfall identified by the city.”

Lisa McKean, MCF’s Managing Director for marketing and development, said the new stress on urban areas is very much in the vision of MCF cofounder Mike Huber. [MCF is also working on a project at Chris’ Landing in Red Bank, she said.]

“Caroline Huber is a close, wonderful family friend of mine,” said McKean. “Caroline’s husband, Mike Huber, was co-founder of MCF in 1977. Caroline went to a meeting with Bill and me last week to hear more about Springwood. The meeting included Paul McEvily of Interfaith Neighbors. Caroline was very impressed with the Springwood Park project and plans for Asbury Park, overall.”

“Subsequent to that meeting, I had dinner with Caroline...she explained to me how she knows that these kinds of recent initiatives that MCF is pursuing are very much in line with what Mike had in mind when founding MCF,” McKean said.

“According to Caroline, the vision which Mike had for MCF included related projects in underserved areas where MCF could aid in creating pockets of open space and green...such as in the West Side of Asbury. [These projects are] for those who cannot readily access the parks and space MCF is also preserving in more traditional areas. It is about an even greater good,” she said.

McKean said the Springwood Avenue project is a turning point in the history of MCF.  “The MCF board, until Springwood, did not actively pursue such projects, but they are realizing how important it is to broaden the scope of MCF’s work and are more willing to explore appropriate opportunities attached to social causes – in keeping with Mike Huber’s overall vision,” she said.

Asbury Park Press: Talula's to host a fundraising dinner

SARAH GRIESEMER

@SARAHEGRIESEMER

Sometimes, a simple meal can make a big difference.

This Sunday, the Monmouth Conservation Foundation will host its annual Sunday Supper at Talula’s in Asbury Park, and the evening will help raise funds for the construction of Springwood Avenue Park, a long-awaited community park on the city’s west side. The foundation is working to raise $150,000 for the park’s construction, said Lisa McKean, a foundation managing director, and they hope to achieve that goal at Talula’s.

The evening will begin at 6 p.m. Tickets are $60 per person, and $25 for children younger than 12. The dinner will include pizza, pasta and salad, served family style.

Talula’s is at 550 Cookman Ave., Suite 108. McKean said seating is limited; to purchase tickets or for more information, call 732-671-7000 or visit MonmouthConservation. org.


Paul R. Brown, President of Monmouth University, named to MCF's Board of Directors

Monmouth Conservation Foundation named Monmouth University President Paul R. Brown, Ph.D., to its board of trustees on April 19.  The non-profit organization has collaboratively preserved more than 22,500 acres of open space and natural habitat throughout Monmouth County since its founding in 1977.  

As a trustee, Brown will help set broad policies for the Monmouth Conservation Foundation (MCF), approve an annual budget, and help the Foundation succeed in its mission to create a permanent legacy of open space, farmland, woodlands, wetlands, wildlife and parks throughout Monmouth County, including establishing parks in under-served local neighborhoods for families who lack the resources and ability to access the land saved and parks created in other areas of Monmouth County. 

Brown will work with his fellow board members to ensure the Foundation continues to implement its ongoing efforts to preserve and protect the county’s fragile ecosystem through partnerships between public and private entities.

“The mission of the Monmouth Conservation Foundation aligns well with the overarching goals of Monmouth University’s Urban Coast Institute (UCI),” Brown said.  The UCI serves the public interest as a forum for research, education, and collaboration in the development and implementation of science-based policies and programs that support stewardship of healthy, productive, and resilient coastal ecosystems and communities.

Among the projects on the MCF agenda are the 62-acre former Aeromarine facility in Keyport Borough, and the 14.6 acre Chris’ Landing property in Middletown Township, which provides access to the Swimming and Navesink Rivers.

During his tenure at Monmouth, Brown has completed a comprehensive strategic plan, overseen substantial campus improvements, and recently led the university to its highest levels of outside financial support, including a $5 million Marine Science & Policy Challenge Grant for the UCI. In 2014 Monmouth University received the Governor’s Environmental Excellence Award in the Clean Air category for its contributions to improving air quality in New Jersey.

The first independent university in New Jersey to sign a comprehensive green operation agreement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Monmouth University has distinguished itself as a leader in conservation and environmental stewardship among academic institutions. In 2006 the University installed a 454kW solar photovoltaic system—at the time, the largest solar array on any campus east of the Mississippi River.  In 2012, the University installed an additional 600 kW solar panel system on seven University buildings under a Power Purchase agreement with Torcon Energy Services.

Monmouth was named the New Jersey Clean Energy School of the Year in 2006 by the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities and in 2007 received a Merit Award from the Monmouth County Planning Board for its Solar Panel Installation Project. 

Brown is one of five new trustees elected to the Foundation’s board.  The others include Meredyth R. Armitage, Mai Cleary, Mark Forrest Gilbertson and Bob Sickles. 

William Kastning, executive director of Monmouth Conservation Foundation, commends the entire board of trustees for their commitment to Monmouth Conservation Foundation and for tirelessly carrying out its mission.

“The members of Monmouth Conservation Foundation’s Board of Trustees are outstanding individuals who are exceptionally accomplished and represent a range of professional, personal, and philanthropic fields,” Kastning stated. “The Foundation is especially thankful to the board for both their support and for the role they serve as ambassadors of Monmouth Conservation Foundation and its ongoing mission to acquire, hold, develop, save and protect land throughout Monmouth County.”

Join us!

TALULA'S: 550 COOKMAN AVE. #108 . ASBURY PARK
Talula's is the new, celebrated restaurant where
everyone gathers for fantastic food and fun!

$60 PER PERSON
CHILDREN UNDER 12 - $25 PER CHILD

TO PURCHASE TICKETS CLICK HERE:

For more information
CALL: CHRIS OR KIM AT 732.671.7000

Seating is limited.

Monmouth Conservation Foundation Unveils Preschool Winners of Kids for Conservation Contest

Monmouth Conservation Foundation Unveils Preschool Winners of Kids for Conservation Contest

 

Preschool students earn grants for their conservation creativity

Click here for The Patch article.

By Heather Keefe (Open Post) March 16, 2015

Monmouth Conservation Foundation, a non-profit organization that collaboratively has preserved more than 22,500 acres of open space and farmland throughout Monmouth County, is proud to announce the young winners of its Kids for Conservation contest. As part of the contest, Monmouth Conservation Foundation provided $2,500 in academic grants for Monmouth County students.

Kids for Conservation is an academic enrichment program that Monmouth Conservation Foundation created for preschool and kindergarten students in Monmouth County. The program was funded, in part, with a Franklin Parker Conservation Excellence grant given by New Jersey Conservation Foundation.

The purpose of Kids for Conservation is to teach children and adults about their environment and how to care for it. The program emphasizes the importance of land conservation, wildlife protection, and the preservation of farms, farmland, and open space.

From September 3 to November 7, 2014, Kids for Conservation was open to all preschool and kindergarten students in Monmouth County. The schools were challenged to implement one of the lesson plans provided by Monmouth Conservation Foundation (pertaining to rainwater, wildlife, trees, and other topics) or develop their own lesson plan. They created projects and shared artwork demonstrating what they had learned about preserving and protecting a clean environment.

The first-place winner of Kids for Conservation is Janet Ford’s Midstreams class at Atlantis Prep School in Manasquan. The students (4½-5 years old) created an interactive water cycle project and earned a $1,500 academic grant from Monmouth Conservation Foundation.

The second-place winner is the Learning Experience of Wall. A “seasons tree” project, led by teachers KristyLyn Krais and Kelly Lord, incorporated nature into learning the alphabet. The preschool students earned a $500 grant from Monmouth Conservation Foundation for their school.

A second component of Kids for Conservation is Discovering Nature at Home. Monmouth Conservation Foundation encouraged preschool and kindergarten students to draw, paint, or photograph an aspect of nature that they discovered while outside. Richie Wagner, a four-year-old resident of Manalapan, earned a $500 academic scholarship from Monmouth Conservation Foundation for his depiction of a dinosaur as “nature from the past” and leaves as “nature from today.”

According to Lisa McKean, Managing Director of Marketing and Development for Monmouth Conservation Foundation, the foundation is eager to continue motivating children and adults to participate in environmental education.

“At Monmouth Conservation Foundation,” McKean explains, “we want to inspire children to engage in and become passionate about nature – to play outdoors and make their own discoveries about the environment.

“With the Kids for Conservation program,” McKean continues, “Monmouth Conservation Foundation educates young students and their families about the importance of land conservation, open space preservation, and wildlife protection. It is our goal to create an ongoing legacy of open space for our own families and all the families of future generations so everyone can enjoy the natural beauty of Monmouth County.”

William Kastning, Executive Director of Monmouth Conservation Foundation, reiterates this mission. “Engaging young children at any early age instills an appreciation for nature, conservation, and protecting the land,” Kastning states.

The late Michael Huber and Judith Stanley – longtime residents of Monmouth County – founded Monmouth Conservation Foundation in 1977. The mission of Monmouth Conservation Foundation is to create a permanent legacy of open space, parks, farmland, wetlands, woodlands, and wildlife throughout Monmouth County.

Monmouth Conservation Foundation is the only countywide land trust in Monmouth County. The organization achieved land trust accreditation from the Land Trust Accreditation Commission, an independent program of the Land Trust Alliance.

In the fall of 2015, Monmouth Conservation Foundation plans to offer the Kids for Conservation program once again. For more information, please contact Christine Horrigan at Monmouth Conservation Foundation (732-671-7000) or visit Monmouth Conservation Foundation on line: www.monmouthconservation.orgor www.facebook.com/MonmouthConservationFoundation.

Gimbel family works with MCF to preserve property as farmland and open space

MCF purchased an agriculture easement on this 35 acre farm in Middletown Township with the help of the State Agriculture Development Committee and the Monmouth County Agricultural Development Board.  The donation of a conservation easement on the remaining 6 acres of the farm from the Gimbel Family ensures that the property will forever remain as farmland and open space.  The Gimbel tract is not only valuable to our farm community, but it also falls within the Foundation’s Navesink Highlands Greenway project area, which stretches from the shores of Atlantic Highlands to the inlets of the Navesink River and the farm landscapes of the Chapel Hill section of Middletown Township.