June 15, 2023 Newsletter Home Perspectives Calendar Shop President's Note ​​ Coneflower in meadow demonstration garden getting ready to go into full bloom! Dear Friends: It has been an exciting Spring with new life appearing throughout Brightwood Park. Each day brings new buds, animals and birds - including a great horned owl. Maple and oak saplings planted by Oliver Agar for his Eagle Scout project are flourishing on the east side of the Pond, thanks to his continued care. Westfield Invasive Plant Strike Force volunteers have been busy removing garlic mustard, which exploded in the Park this year. Kudos to them for their dedicated work! Our pollinator garden near the parking lot has been expanded and cosmos are already appearing. Black-eyed Susans are also popping up. Our “Demonstration Gardens” near the meadow just south of the Parking Lot are also flourishing and confirming that a wide range of native plants can flourish in the Park when protected from deer browse. Hundreds of visitors came out for Brightwood Park Day to take in all that the park has to offer. So, it has been an encouraging few months. We are grateful for the support of the Town and the countless individuals who have contributed their time, energy, and knowledge to restoring Brightwood Park. Rob Lombard President​ Art in the Park The Friends of Brightwood Park co-sponsored with the Westfield Art Association the third annual “Art in the Park” event on Saturday, May 13, 2023. We had a beautiful day weatherwise and more than 24 young and adult artists participated in the event. Special thanks to Paul Federico of the Westfield Art Association for his terrific assistance, Donna Stein for mentoring our young artists, and Janice Siegel for her coordination of the event. Brightwood Park Day Our first “Brightwood Park Day” on Saturday, May 6 th was a tremendous success with hundreds of visitors who came for bird watching, ecology and history tours, forest bathing, nature classes, and a fairy house scavenger hunt among other activities. We are grateful to our many volunteers and participating organizations, including the Westfield Green Team especially Lois Kraus, the Westfield Memorial Library, Westfield Recreation Commission and Recreation Department- especially Linda Johnson, Westfield Police and Public Works Department, Westfield Tree Preservation Commission, Union County representatives, Edison Girl Scouts, Scotch Plains Fanwood High School Raiders Environmental Club, and the Great Swamp Watershed Association. We also thank Daryce Wheeler of Wild Birds Unlimited in Scotch Plains for leading bird-watching. Finally, we thank Jim and Leslie Lewis for brainstorming and coordinating this whole event. If you would like to see this become an annual event, let us know. ​ June 17 MLK Juneteenth The Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Association of Westfield is celebrating Juneteenth on Saturday, June 17, with an African American History Trolley Tour through Westfield and street party at the Westfield Community Center, 558 West Broad Street. Information about former residents of the "Big Woods" will be included in the tour along with a trolley stop in Brightwood Park! The fee for the 90-minute guided tour (9:00 AM & 11:00 AM) is $15 for adults and $5 for children (recommended for third graders and up). Please register at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/african-american-history-of-westfield-2023-celebration-trolley-tour-tickets. For more information, visit www.MLKWestfield.org . History Gambrell Family - 1062 Fanwood Ave. The Gambrell family is a new addition to FOBP's record of residents who lived at the future site of Brightwood Park. Like so many of their neighbors, they were part of the “great migration” of African-Americans who travelled north, in their case, from South Carolina in the early 1900’s. While their move to the “Turkey Swamp” neighborhood occurred late in Clement Gambrell’s life, his story is characteristic of the connections that formed between African-American neighborhoods in Westfield. Clem Gambrell lived from 1867 to 1931. In his 64 years, he married and was widowed and married again. He worked as a house servant, laborer, street sweeper and pastor. In Westfield, he preached in a neighborhood with fellow minister, Reverend William Drew Robeson, father of renowned Paul Robeson (actor, musician, football player, activist). Gambrell's story is woven in the history of Westfield and in a vibrant neighborhood... before it was Brightwood Park. Gambrell The History section of the Friends of Brightwood website is filled with photographs and more stories of the families that used to live at the future site of Brightwood Park. HISTORY TOUR FOBP's Rob Lombard is offering a history walk on June 24.Reservations are required. sign up FOBP Seeding Projects Thanks to approval by the Recreation Commission, this year, FOBP has spread seeds in a variety of locations in the park and has expanded the pollinator patch near the parking lot. Let's see what pops up this summer! We are especially thankful to the Recreation Commission that has approved use of a rain barrel watering system that will keep the pollinator patch watered! Scout and Student Conservation Efforts Eagle Scout candidate Gavin Dokko took on a challenging conservation project this May to address the serious erosion of the steep slope leading to the pond on the southeast side of the pond loop trail. Consulting with Greg O'Neil of the Westfield Department of Public Works, he followed the town's plan to address the tree roots that have been exposed. Using waddles of bundled sticks and wood chips, Gavin hopes to stem the erosion. The plan is for the sticks and wood chips to break down over time to create a new layer of topsoil to cover the exposed tree roots. FOBP thanks Gavin and his team, Greg O'Neill, and the town for working towards a resolution of the erosion in this area. Advocacy Last fall, Adrian Gripp, an Eagle Scout candidate performed an ecologically significant forest tree inventory. His survey results showed that there is currently an insufficient number of viable saplings to repopulate the forest in years to come. Out of concern for the forest, Oliver Agar took on an Eagle Scout project that planted twelve saplings in an area where wisteria had taken down old growth trees. Eagle Scout candidates Adrian Gripp, Oliver Agar, and Cameron Linenberg, also applied protective materials around vulnerable saplings to protect them from deer rub. These important conservation efforts are very much appreciated, and FOBP is grateful for the combined efforts of these scouts. However, we continue to advocate for reforestation issues. We are working with the Department of Public Works, the Westfield Tree Commission and Recreation Commission to develop a baseline of appropriate native trees, shrubs and plants that can be planted to restore the forest habitat for the future. Nature Detective Classes Brightwood through the eyes our nature detectives Spring has been a busy one for our young ones in Brightwood Park! Nature classes continue on a monthly basis to satisfy their wonderful curiosities for the outdoors with themed activities and walks and conversation about the changing seasons. Last month we explored the possibilities of all that was happening beneath the ground in preparation for spring blooms and growth. We also made time to just breathe in and BE in Brightwood with a class on moving meditation and yoga. The time outside proves to be a wonderful supplemental learning environment whatever the topic at hand. Next up: July 12 The Animals of Brightwood Park Discover the animals in Brightwood Park, search for where they live and learn about their habits. Use a magnifying glass to look for the smallest inhabitants. Keep an eye out for pop up classes and a full Fall schedule! Calendar of Events FOBP has activities for all ages. See our CALENDAR ​ Register for Classes and Events BRIGHTWOOD KIDS NATURE DETECTIVES June Newsletter Spring surprise in Brightwood Park! Is it a muskrat, beaver, or otter? Can you tell? Clue Tiny but Essential Forest Dwellers: Chipmunks Photo courtesy of Chuan-Chu Chou Walking in a forest is a sensory experience. What you see and hear can give clues as to birds or animals that might be nearby. You might hear the drumming of a woodpecker or the croak of a frog. If you hear a chirping sound, it might be a bird, but it might also be a chipmunk. If you are lucky enough to glimpse a chipmunk in Brightwood Park, you are looking at an eastern chipmunk, a native species to New Jersey. Chipmunks are important forest residents who help keep the ecosystem viable. Their foraging helps spread seeds in the forest and encourages seedling growth. By eating and dispersing mycorrhizal fungi spores near tree roots, they help trees and other plants stay healthy. This fungus has evolved to depend on chipmunks and other small mammals to disperse its spores that enrich the soil and help trees and other plants absorb water and nutrients. Chipmunks Milkweed and the Amazing Life of Monarchs Photo courtesy of Chuan-Chu Chou Milkweed by any other name would still smell as sweet. The dozens of varieties of milkweed bear flower clusters of pink, purple, orange, red, white, yellow and green. The flowers scent the air with a sweet vanilla fragrance. Milkweed nectar attracts a plethora of pollinators including butterflies, bees, moths, and hummingbirds. In 2022, monarch butterflies were placed on the endangered species list due to loss of habitat and climate change. Their “habitat” requires milkweed for survival. So, why call this beautiful and fragrant flower producing plant a “weed?” Why has the plant been out of favor? Why is it gaining respect now? Why is the fate of endangered Monarch butterflies tied to this one plant? Find out why the fate of the beautiful and endangered monarch butterflies rests on understanding the plight of milkweed. ​ ‌