The Paterson Division of Recreation and the Master Gardeners of Passaic County are offering Patersonians an opportunity to plant and maintain their own community gardens. Along with the new, many existing gardens were used as platforms this summer for gardening activities and discussions among community members. This program has several purposes: to supply food to the community, especially the poor, offer wholesome recreational activities and enhance the beauty of our neighborhoods. We can achieve a new consciousness and pride in our city through the powerful therapy of gardening and all of its benefits. People of all ages residing in Paterson are encouraged to participate. The volunteer Master Gardeners of Passaic County, 4H, St Pauls , School 4 and The Paterson Rotary Club are lending their expertise and assistance to the establishment and maintenance of the various sites.
This is a Sunflower Circle planted by The girls of The Phoenix Mill in Paterson.
You can find it ...
if you brave the weeds, north of the White House in East Side Park
A special thanks goes out to all who make this possible.
The Division of Recreation, The Master Gardeners of Passaic County, Rutger's Cooperative Extension, 4H, The Division of Public Works, The Paterson Parks Department, The Paterson Rotary, Pride in Paterson, St Paul"s City Serve , Urban Conservation Action Partnership, The United States Department of Agriculture, Natural Resource Conservation Service, East Side Neighborhood Association, YWCA, Americorps, The New Jersey Water Watch, New Jersey Youth Corps, The Paterson Board of Education, St. Therese School, The North First Street Neighborhood, and numerous other individuals who have not yet been listed.
Something by Christine Conforti written for graduation ceremony 1997. Dr. Stan Kamara Agricultural Agent.
are sponsoring
for
to
and
Visit the Greenhouse
810 Broadway
Paterson, NJ 07504
Call for hours: 881-3737, 279-1097
[The Record On[Your Town News]
A celebration of trees [Classified Ads]
[Today's News]
Home Page Wednesday, April 9, 1997
Top By RICHARD COWEN
Stories Staff Writer
News
Some Leonia residents have rediscovered
Briefs their roots by recognizing some old
The Region friends -- the trees.
Business Members of the Environmental and Shade
Tree commissions have spent the past
The Wire year surveying Leonia's tree
Columnists population, looking for the most
beautiful specimens.
Obituaries Their findings are contained in a new
book, "Leonia's Magnificent Trees,"
Education which is available free at the public
library -- and is printed on recycled
Campaign paper, of course.
Central
If the authors seem like modern-day
druids, it's because they respect their
[Your Town] town's green oases and want to preserve
them.
[Sports News]
"Trees are my soul mates and my
comfort," said Carol Lutchen, a member
[Opinion] of the Leonia Environmental Commission.
"When I see a tree, I see a big person
[Special Reporwho cannot move, someone that stands
watch all day long."
[Interact withThe borough's oldest tree stands near
its busiest intersection, the corner of
Broad Avenue and Fort Lee Road. A
venerable bald cypress, it was planted
in the early 1800s, according to
borough historical records. It has
weathered every storm and somehow
survived the steady affront of choking
auto exhaust.
Lutchen, who is the unofficial borough
historian, said that during the 18th
century, pirates are believed to have
hidden among the thick clusters of pin
oak trees in the swamp land that is now
Overpeck Park. Citizens ousted the
pirates by burning down the trees,
Lutchen said.
The red maples that line Broad Avenue
were planted in the 1920s by the Leonia
Men's Club and still form the natural
umbrella that cools the asphalt on a
hot summer day.
Few places can also boast a 14-acre
Ênature preserve in the middle of town
like Leonia's Highwood Hills. The site Ê
was once a dumping ground for
construction crews building the George
Washington Bridge. The borough's
Environmental Commission saved the land
from high-rise development 35 years
ago.
Martha Lieblich, a longtime president
of the Environmental Commission, said
her love of trees dates back to a
childhood in the Girl Scouts: "It's
very simple really. We were taught to
love each other and the world that we
live in."
The tree study was funded by a $4,000
grant from the New Jersey Department of
Environmental Protection. The mission
was to find the borough's "significant
trees" -- those over 100 or, in the
case of exceedingly rare specimens,
over 75. Age was measured by the trunk
diameter.
The study yielded a book that contains
photos and descriptions of some of the
most famous trees in Leonia, including
the robust copper beech in front of 241
Westview Ave. that is so wide it
obscures the house behind it. Also
included is the mammoth horse chestnut
that soars over 100 feet into the air
at 140 Highwood Ave. and the spindly
pin oak in front of 127 Glenwood Ave.
that is so tall, it dwarfs the house
behind it.
Leonia also has rare trees, including a
Chinese ginkgo on Fort Lee Road.
Lutchen says she has seen Asian women
plucking the rank-smelling fruit from
its branches to use as herbal medicine.
Furthermore, members of the commission
marvel at the cherry tree in the middle
of Wood Park, which mysteriously blooms
in the middle of each winter, and the
golden raintrees on Broad Avenue with
their bright yellow blooms each June.
Patricia Hartnett-King, who heads the
Shade Tree Commission, said trees are
important to the mental health of the
community as well. The commission has
scheduled a community-wide tree
planting for May 18.
"Come springtime," she said, "when you
see the flowering blossoms on the
trees, and the lilacs are blooming,
there's a sense of spiritual renewal as
well."
Copyright © 1997 Bergen Record Corp.