MCF Trustees at our Inaugural Summer Bash. L-R: Back - Danny Hertz, Jerry Buffalino, Marty McHugh, Matt Cohen, Derek DeBree, Aidan Ehrenberg, Sarah Orsay, Nora King, Chris Meagher, Michael Rubin, Cindy Weber-Cleary. Front – Holly Boylan Flego, Valerie Montecalvo. Photo by Tom Zapcic

Summer is a special time in New Jersey! What’s better than Jersey corn, tomatoes, peaches, and other Grown in Monmouth delights? Be sure to get out and enjoy our local farmers’ markets and pick-your-own establishments!

We are grateful to our many friends – both old and new – who joined us last month at our Summer Bash event at the Seafarer in Highlands. This new event was held to raise awareness of MCF’s mission and to reach new audiences.

Our biggest event of the year, our Fall for Conservation Cocktail Party, is coming up on September 23rd, and this year we are thrilled to have our great friends, Artie and Jill Kontos, hosting at their stunning Fairway Farm property. The historic 40-acre farm was preserved through a conservation easement donated to MCF in 2007. Fall for Conservation is our biggest fundraiser, bringing in critical revenue to support our operations and preservation projects. Read on for more details, and be sure to get your tickets early.

This month, we are excited to share notes from the field and updates on our preservation work. We have much to do, and your support is invaluable to our efforts. On behalf of MCF’s Board of Trustees and Staff, thank you for your ongoing interest in MCF’s work and support to #KeepMonmouthGreen.

Cordially,

William D. Kastning, AICP

Executive Director

Become a Land Steward! Join MCF’s Land Stewards Monthly Giving Program for as little as $5 per month. Your recurring gift helps MCF protect the land we need and love, forever. Click to learn about special benefits for our Land Stewards and Join Today!

Our team is hard at work with our federal, state, county, and municipal partners to negotiate new conservation or agricultural easements and land acquisition deals with private landowners. This fall we expect to announce multiple preservation projects in townships including Colts Neck, Howell, and Millstone. Stay tuned!

In addition to new projects in the pipeline, summer is our peak season for monitoring existing easements. MCF currently stewards 28 easements held by our organization, comprising nearly 400 acres, and 18 easements held by Monmouth County Park System (MCPS), comprising 700 acres. In total, we responsibly and consistently oversee the protection of critical natural and agriculture resources on approximately 1,100 acres of protected lands in Monmouth County through 46 easements with annual monitoring visits and ongoing communications with the landowners.

An easement is a legal agreement made voluntarily between a landowner and a land trust like MCF or a government agency like MCPS to protect a piece of land as originally intended when the easement was created. Stewardship is a critical part of MCF’s work as our County’s only land trust, and our efforts are supported by your donations. Enjoy some photos from the field!

Located on the Navesink River in Middletown Township you will find the stunning Historic Portland Place. Once a 200-acre farm and later a summer home, Portland Place was owned by the Hartshorne family for most of its long history. Daniel Ward Seitz, a Hartshorne descendant, through his last will and testament, donated a conservation easement on his scenic property to MCF. When he passed in 2008, ownership of the 4.7-acre property was transferred to MCPS, which maintains the property as part of Hartshorne Woods Park, and MCF continues to monitor the easement as part of our annual stewardship. The beautiful grounds and restored 18th century house, furnishings, art, and exhibits are now open to the public, with tours offered May 6 through November 19 on Wednesdays-Sundays at 10:30 a.m., 11:30 a.m., 1:30 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. Click here for full details from MCPS.

From the WHYY News Climate Desk

“A new report looking at weather data over the last five decades has found an increase in fire weather days in the Garden State, and it could be devastating…Fire weather days are when conditions are favored for a wildfire to spread…The data shows climate change is causing more hot, dry, or windy days in most places. North Jersey and the coastal area of New York has added around 10 days of fire weather since 1973. South Jersey added around four days.” 

Photo by DESIGNECOLOGIST on Unsplash

This summer we have been experiencing frequent air quality advisories, due largely to smoke from the wildfires in Canada. In June, nearby New York had the worst pollution of any city in the world as the smoke transcended on our area, causing an unprecedented reduction in air quality and Armageddon-like skies. Click here for helpful answers to common questions regarding the Canadian wildfires.

Edgemere Park in Sea Girt is now home to a 9,600 square foot pollinator garden, thanks to the efforts of the Sea Girt Conservancy members and dedicated volunteers. The garden is supported by two anonymous grants totaling $15,000 secured by MCF through the National Philanthropic Trust. Construction began in recent weeks with the installation of perimeter fencing to deter deer and an irrigation system that is both automatic and manually implemented. To date, 500 native plants were strategically placed according to the landscape plan. Additional pollinator plants, a walkway, benches, educational and interpretive signage, and bird and pollinator feeders will be added in the 2.69-acre park as the new pollinator garden is completed in the coming months.

Friends of Jackson Woods Park, the citizen-run volunteer organization working to revitalize Jackson Woods Park in Long Branch is celebrating its five-year anniversary! MCF is honored to serve as Friends’ representative 501(c)(3) organization to bolster funding and overall support for the amazing volunteers who are transforming this green space gem as part of our park development efforts! Here are five updates on the park’s remarkable revitalization:

MCF is honored to have partnered with Mrs. USA Earth and her son on our first-ever Earth Day Art Contest. Young participants were invited to make an environmental impact by submitting nature-themed artwork for a recycled tote bag underwritten by Mrs. USA Earth, Ann Pennington, to highlight who and what lives in our natural world and what nature means to them. Ann and her son, who are Monmouth County residents, have joined forces with MCF to encourage others to take small steps daily to appreciate and invest in our planet.

The images will be featured on limited-edition tote bags to be sold in summer 2023. Our bags are made from 100% recycled plastic water bottles, and being reusable, they will support New Jersey’s plastic bag ban and help to keep plastic out of our oceans and natural environments. They will be sold by MCF for just $15 each and support the nonprofit’s mission to acquire and preserve open space and farmland and conserve natural habitats throughout Monmouth County, in support of outdoor recreation, agriculture, clean water, and wildlife for long-term sustainability.

We only have one home, and we must do our part to keep it healthy for generations to come. Mrs. USA Earth utilizes her crown and platform to amplify this message and spark a global impact. Together, by thinking globally and acting locally, we can make a difference and #KeepMonmouthGreen.

On the heels of our 45th anniversary in 2022, MCF’s Trustees and Staff have carefully crafted and just adopted a new three-year strategic plan to carry our organization through 2026 and position us for sustainability well into the future. After a rigorous deep dive into our operations, thoughtful conservations with our supporters and community, and comparative analysis to our peers and organizations we aspire to emulate, we have refined our organizational mission and, for the first time, crafted a vision statement:

Mission: Monmouth Conservation Foundation’s purpose is to acquire and preserve open space and farmland and conserve natural habitats throughout Monmouth County in support of outdoor recreation, agriculture, clean water, and wildlife for long-term sustainability.

Vision: To lead conservation and education efforts to preserve and protect our natural environment, so all individuals and communities have access to and can benefit from open space and nature for generations to come.

Monmouth County Commissioner Lillian G. Burry and MCF Ex-Officio Trustee was honored during a dedication ceremony of “The Lillian G. Burry Women’s Wing” at the Gordon H. Mansfield Veterans Community on Thursday, May 18, 2023. Solider On and WinnCompanies dedicated this wing in honor of Commissioner Burry for her unwavering civic spirit, patriotism and perseverance in creating the Gordon H. Mansfield Veterans Community in Tinton Falls. Click here to read the full story.

MCF EVENTS UPDATES

Thank you to everyone who came out for MCF’s first-ever Summer Bash on July 13th! More than 170 friends – old and new – joined us for a beautiful evening on the water at the Seafarer in Highlands with music, drinks, and food, while enjoying great conversation and some fabulous door prizes. Monmouth County in the summer is a special place to be, and we all celebrated our cherished open spaces, enabled by your support and MCF’s ongoing, collaborative efforts to #KeepMonmouthGreen.

Join us for MCF’s Fall for Conservation Cocktail Party!

Breathtaking Fairway Farm was preserved through a conservation easement donated to MCF in 2007 by the late Anne Haskell Ellis in her last will and testament. It was previously part of Oak Hill Farm, then the Ellis Farm; known to some as the Haskell Farm, formerly called the Aulde House. Learn more about Fairway Farm and our event hosts here.

Donna and David J. Hoder

Click here to take part in Fall for Conservation!

For event reservations, sponsorship, or partnership opportunities, please contact Kathleen Kenney at kkenney@monmouthconservation.org or 732.671.7000

For event reservations, sponsorship, or partnership opportunities, please contact Kathleen Kenney at kkenney@monmouthconservation.org or 732.671.7000

www.monmouthconservation.org _ 732.671.7000