Wednesday, March 24, 6:30–8:00 PM

Join us! Students from our schools and universities will present two-minute talks about their "Green Vision" for Madison. The event kicks of with opening remarks by Mayor Robert Conley, and the student presentations will be followed by a Q&A with town officials.

Admission is free but registration is required to receive the Zoom link.

Compost is organic matter — typically food scraps, grass clippings, leaves, dead plants and other yard waste — that has been decomposed. The process results in a nutrient-rich substance that can be added to your garden or lawn to build a better quality soil for your trees, shrubs, plants, vegetables, fruits and even your grass. With just a little effort, you can produce your own "black gold" (as gardeners call it), which can nourish your plants better than anything bought in a bag, and much more cheaply!

This talk will explain what compost is, its benefits, how to start and build a compost bin, materials to avoid in adding to a compost pile, tips for success, and troubleshooting this process.

💚 Beneficial bacteria and fungi naturally break down organic matter to create humus, a rich nutrient-filled material that enriches soil — helping it retain moisture, and suppress plant diseases and pests

💚 When applied to your lawn and garden, compost reduces the need for chemical fertilizers — which saves you time and money, and helps keep our water, pets, and children safe

💚 Reduces methane emissions from landfills — creating cleaner air, and helping to combat climate change. Food waste is currently 21% of landfill volume!

💚 Helps you feel good about not wasting food, and have less stinky trash

Earth Day is April 22. Celebrate by planting native pollinator plants in your yard!

Whether you're expanding your garden or establishing a new one, we will help get you on your way! Eighteen local community organizations — including the Garden Club of Madison, Madison Environmental Commission, Friends of Foote’s Pond Wood and others — have joined together to support the Great Swamp Watershed Association’s native plant sale. It will offer ready-to-transplant, high-quality native perennial plant plugs at wholesale prices, making it easy to jump-start your garden with more indigenous beauties!

🌱 Small kits of 16 plugs for $40 (4 species x 4 each)

🌱 Large kits of 32 plugs for $80 (6 species x 4 each and 8 of 1 other species)

🌱 Standalone species sold in sets of 4 for $12 per set. 17 choices that will suit a variety of soil and sun conditions

Keep your eyes open for more details in the coming weeks!

We’re not yet taking orders and no payment is due at this time, but your response to our brief questionnaire will help us gauge interest and determine how many kits to make available for purchase. Thank you!

Learn how to increase your curb appeal while enhancing the health of our ecology! Get an in-depth review of the benefits of installing a rain garden at your home or business, and some basic how-to suggestions.

PS, Get a quick overview of rain gardens, including suggested plants, with this fact sheet from Rutgers.

Public, private, and charter schools all tend to provide opportunities for green infrastructure. This workshop will discuss green infrastructure projects for schools and educational programs that can engage schoolchildren, their parents and teachers.

Presented by Rutgers New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station as part of the Green Infrastructure Champions Program

Learn more about the key issues and choices in planning, planting and caring for your garden or community garden plot, with emphasis on organic gardening practices. Advice on determining the best location, choosing seeds and/or seedlings, crop rotation, successive plantings and all the tasks and issues for the entire growing season will be provided.

Image by Jill Wellington from Pixabay

Many insects are beneficial to our ecology, but not the Spotted Lanternfly — a destructive, invasive species native to Asia. Unfortunately, they have invaded may counties in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Don't let them take over Morris County next!

Kill it, squash it, get rid of it: If you see egg masses, scrape them off, double bag and throw away. You can also place the eggs into alcohol, bleach or hand sanitizer to kill them.

Collect a specimen: Specimens of any life stage can be turned in to the New Jersey Department of Agriculture's lab for verification.

Take a picture: With your GPS function turned on your smartphone or a camera with GPS,

take a photograph of ANY life stage (including egg masses). Submit picture to: SLF-plantindustry@ag.nj.gov.

Report a site: If you can't take a specimen or photograph, call NJ Spotted Lanternfly Hotline and leave a message detailing your sighting and contact information: 1-833-223-2840 (BADBUG0).