GSWA's Across the Watershed...In Brief
July 2013
Thanks for being a subscriber! Since 2008 Across the Watershed...In Brief has provided you with a monthly glimpse into issues and topics of environmental importance within and beyond New Jersey's 55-square-mile Great Swamp Watershed region. We hope you continue to enjoy reading about all of the activities and events that you, as a supporter of the Great Swamp Watershed Association (GSWA), have made possible.

In order to better serve you and the rest of our email subscribers, we have changed our wide-distribution email service provider and updated the look of the messages you receive from us. From July 2013 forward, all of our monthly e-newsletters, as well as our occasional news bulletins will be delivered to you via Constant Contact. This change should ensure that your email experience with GSWA is both more consistent and more enjoyable moving forward.

Should you have any questions or comments about these new changes, please contact Steve Reynolds, GSWA's director of communications & membership, at sreynolds[at]greatswamp.org.

Photo Contest Winners Announced!
Tropical Storm Andrea blew herself out of New Jersey just in the nick of time! Happily, that meteorological coincidence set a sunny stage for the Great Swamp Watershed Association's much-anticipated Essence of Primrose Photo Contest.

More than 20 individual photographers, along with a host of parents, partners, and other impromptu artistic assistants, descended on Primrose Farm to join in the day-long event aimed at capturing that one picture capable of saying 1,000 words about the newest piece of preserved open space in New Jersey's Harding Township.

Although competition was fierce in all three photographer age groups (13-and-under, 14-to-22, and 22-and-over) a panel of expert judges handpicked three submissions to take home top honors.

Each of the three winning photos is a true work of art!

Among photographers 22 and over, Michelle Hacker of Belcamp, Maryland, took the judges' collective breath away with a gorgeous, sepia-toned landscape, titled "Vintage Meadow," that was taken under the sheltering limbs of Primrose Farm's most distinctive oak tree.

Photo by Michelle Hacker. Copyright �2013 Great Swamp Watershed Association.
"Vintage Meadow," by Michelle Hacker. GSWA's Essence of Primrose Photo Contest, 22 and over age group, June 8-9, 2013.

Among the 14-to-22-year-old contestants, Peri Levine of Bedminster, NJ, demonstrated a true facility and passion for wildlife photography with an untitled snap of a perching dragonfly.

Dragonfly by Peri Levine. Copyright �2013 Great Swamp Watershed Association
"Untitled," by Peri Levine. GSWA's Essence of Primrose Photo Contest, 14 to 22 year old age group, June 8-9, 2013.

Among the 13-and-under crowd, Ashleigh Scully of Morristown, NJ, took first place with her photo, "Dawn At Primrose Farm."

Photo by Ashleigh Scully,. Copyright �2013 Great Swamp Watershed Association.
"Dawn at Primrose Farm," by Ashleigh Scully. GSWA's Essence of Primrose Photo Contest, 13 and under age group, June 8-9, 2013.

All three photo contest winners received a gift certificate for $25 from Mpix.com. Each winner will also receive a full-size, framed print of their winning submission courtesy of our contest sponsors at Madison PhotoPlus (Madison, NJ) and The Image Maker Studio (Mendham, NJ).

Before the framed prints are turned over to our winners, all three photographs will hang for one month in a place of distinction at the Somerset County Environmental Education Center located at 190 Lord Stirling Road in Basking Ridge, NJ. Stop by and have a look!

Although she was ever-so-slightly edged out of a victory in the 14-to-22-year-old age group, contestant Laurel Monks of Chatham Borough received a special honorable mention. She will not receive a gift certificate or a framed print, but her magnificently composed photo, titled "Twisting Through Time," will become the mascot for the Great Swamp Watershed Association's 2013 Gala Celebration. This year's gala will honor all the past and present chairs of GSWA's Board of Trustees, and will take place on Thursday, October 3, at the Westin Governor Morris in Morristown.

Photo by Laurel Monks. Copyright �2013 Great Swamp Watershed Association.
"Twisting Through Time" by Laurel Monks. GSWA's Essence of Primrose Photo Contest, 14 to 22 year old age group, June 8-9, 2013.

Keep your eyes peeled! This majestic tree will appear inside your mailbox and around the Internet very soon!

Want to browse all of the contest submissions, as well as Primrose Farm photos taken by photography expert and GSWA volunteer Ari Kaufman?

Click here to visit the Primrose Farm Photo Contest set on the official GSWA Flickr page located at flickr.com/GSWA.
Watershed Moments
GSWA's 2013 Volunteer Award recipients. Visit http://acrossthewatershed.blogspot.com/ for photo details. Photo by J. Neale.
2013 Volunteer Award recipients and GSWA staff members. Photo by J. Neale.
GSWA Celebrates Its Volunteers

The Great Swamp Watershed Association honored three area residents for their outstanding service as volunteers over the past year.  The announcements were made during the environmental organization's annual Volunteer Appreciation Picnic on Tuesday, June 25.

Find out who was honored and how they volunteered their time by reading the entire post on our blog! Read More

Award-winning Bernards H.S. Students and Teacher. Visit http://acrossthewatershed.blogspot.com to learn who they are and what they did!
Award-winning Bernards H.S.
students and their teacher.
Eco-Honors for Bernards High School Students

Bernards High School students in Karen DeTrolio's AP Environmental Studies class made a big splash with their year-end projects this June. Working in teams of 3 or 4, they examined their own relationships with water and turned their discoveries into practical information everyone can use to avoid pollution and conserve natural resources.

The 20 projects, which included everything from a review of the impact of common household chemicals on water supplies, to an explanation of the links between clean water and healthy wildlife, were developed in partnership with the Great Swamp Watershed Association.

Find out who gave the best presentations, who won a very special prize from The Nature Conservancy, and how the students' work will benefit GSWA by reading the entire post on our blog! Read More

In Case You Missed It...
A Stream within the Great Swamp Watershed Region. State of the Streams Makes a Splash!

From NJ.com: On June 11, our own Director of Water Quality Programs Laura Kelm presented findings from her year-long study of a decade of water quality data from streams in the Great Swamp Watershed. As reported here by Justin Zaremba, road salt and phosphorous from fertilizers top list of threats to local waterways. Read the Article

Foam Recycling Comes to Madison

From the Independent Press: The Madison Environmental Commission and Pack Ship n More (located at 300 Madison Avenue) have partnered to provide borough resident with a simple, year-round solution for recycling foam materials. Read the Article

What You Didn't Know About Your Lawn

From E: The Environmental Magazine: Lawns are America's largest irrigated crop! A NASA researcher has studied the impact of lawns on national water supplies and on the carbon cycle. The bad news: Lawns use up an enormous amount of clean drinking water. The good news: If handled properly, by recycling grass clipping and fertilizing responsibly, they could all store a lot of carbon every year. Read the Article

From the Library...
Handy Summer Field Guides

Pocket Guide to Eastern Streams by T. Travis  http://www.amazon.com/Pocket-Guide-Eastern-Streams-Travis/dp/0811706400 In 2012, GSWA purchased several field guides to include in our reference library. While most of the guides focus on identifying native and non-native invasive plants, some of the guides are useful for animals identification too. All of them are available for your use this summer!

If you would like to borrow a guide (or more than one) please stop by GSWA's office at 568 Tempe Wick Road in Morristown during regular business hours (appx. 9AM to 5PM, Monday-Friday). Please let a staff member know what you are borrowing, and please consider returning the item(s) within 2 weeks so others may enjoy them.

Here is a list of available guides:

Did You Know?
U.S. EPA WaterSense - http://www.epa.gov/watersense/index.html

Average Water Use In NJ

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's WaterSense program the average New Jersey resident uses 70 gallons of water per day.

In some case, that number can jump to 155 gallons per day during high-water-use months between April and October.

Download and read this WaterSense Fact Sheet to learn more about New Jersey's historic water use and what the future holds for an ever-expanding population.

In This Issue
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GSWA's
Upcoming Events
Annual Gala & Silent Auction, 10/3

Please save the date for GSWA's annual gala and silent auction. This year's event will take place on Thursday, October 3, at the Westin Governor Morris in Morristown, NJ. Postcards and invitations will be mailed soon!
Other
Upcoming Events
Somerset County Recycling Event, 7/13

ATTN Somerset County residents: The next drop-off day at the Somerset County Recycling Center, located at 40 Polhemus Lane, Bridgewater, is July 13. No household hazardous waste or e-waste please. Learn more here!

GSWA Goes Social!
Follow GSWA on these social media sites for breaking news and special posts...

Twitter - twitter.com/GSWA
Facebook - facebook.com/GreatSwamp
Flickr - flickr.com/GSWA
YouTube - youtube.com/GreatSwampWatershed
MeetUp - meetup.com/Explore-NJs-Great-Swamp

Great Swamp Watershed Association
Protecting our waters and our land for more than 30 years
Street Address: 568 Tempe Wick Road, Morristown, NJ  07960 - Map It!
Mailing Address: P.O. Box 300, New Vernon, NJ  07976
For more than 30 years, the Great Swamp Watershed Association has been dedicated to protecting and improving water resources New Jersey's Great Swamp Watershed region. We do this by monitoring and maintaining streams and open space, advocating for intelligent land use and environmental policy, and educating communities about water and its effect on the health and natural beauty of the local environment.

Copyright � 2013. All Rights Reserved.