The Meadowlands Blog

Remembering Jill Ann

     As we get ready for our butterfly walk on Sunday, we'd like to take a moment to honor Jill Ann Ziemkiewicz, in whose memory the butterfly garden outside the Environment Center in DeKorte is named.
     Jill Ann Ziemkiewicz of Rutherford died on July 17, 1996. She was 23, and the youngest flight attendant on TWA Flight800, which crashed into the ocean off Long Island.

   The garden is designed around a sunflower-shaped fountain, is filled with colorful flowers that attract butterflies from late spring into autumn.

   The New York Times article on her memorial service at St. Patrick's Cathedral is here.

Saturday events

   Two programs of note will be at the Meadowlands Environment Center this Saturday. Here are the descriptions:

Recycling Revisited

Saturday, March 21, 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Ages 10 and up, including adults

   One of the simplest things every citizen can do to conserve natural resources is comply with your local recycling program, but many people DO NOT contribute to the recycling system correctly and may or may not "close the loop" so necessary to encourage recycling.

   In this informative session, we will review the life-cycle of a package as it goes through the entire recycling loop and what our roles are as citizens. We'll point out how to avoid "overcycling" while encouraging recycling and upcycling through your shopping choices.

$5/person, $4 for members

BATS, BATS, BATS!

Saturday, March 21, 1 p.m.

All ages

     Go batty with NJ's own Batman, Joseph D'Angeli, and get up-close and personal with LIVE BATS! Throughout the world, bats have been misunderstood and persecuted, causing a serious decline in the bat population.

    Join Mr. D'Angeli as he explains and dispels the many myths of these most important nocturnal creatures.

$5/person, $4 for members

 

Falconers talk to a class at DeKorte

   Three falconers visited the Meadowlands Environment Center in DeKorte Park today to give a raptor demonstration and a talk to an advanced-placement environmental science class from Lyndhurst High school.

    They brought six raptors with them to show the class. 

     We hope to post more about the talk -- and perhaps a video -- later this week, so stay tuned.

PHOTO GALLERY: DeKORTE, LATE NOVEMBER AFTEROON

   Click "Continue reading ..." for more photos.

ENVIRONMENTAL FILM FEST

    The Meadowlands Environment Center will present a special environmental film series on Sunday, Nov. 2, at 1 p.m., including a documnatry on the Meadowlands. Admission is free.     

   The films are part of the collection of the Black Maria Film Festival’s Global Insight series, which features extraordinary works from independent filmmakers that deal with environmental issues.

    The project is part of the Edison Media Arts Consortium, which has its roots with the Thomas A. Edison National Historic Site in West Orange and is based at the Department of Media Arts at New Jersey City University.

   Click "Continue reading..." below for more information.

TEACHING CONSERVATION

  Through its educational arm, the Meadowlands Environment Center, the NJMC has an extensive outreach program that connects area students with the natural world.
   Last week, for example, seventh- and eighth-graders from the Belleville Middle School's Science Club learned how -- and why -- Meadowlands Commission naturalists are banding birds in North Arlington.

ENVIRONMENT CENTER: Fall programming

The Meadowlands Environment Center offers some top-notch family programming, and the new fall lineup posted this week is no exception.
   These include programs about honeybees (Sept. 20, ages 5-10), the moon (Oct. 11, ages 10-16), and  environmental shopping (Nov. 1, ages 10 through adult).
   An annual big draw is Halloween in the Meadowlands (Oct. 30, ages 5-10).
   For a pdf of the schedule, click here. (Note: It may take a little time to load.)
   To register, click here.

NEW OBSERVATORY: The video

   

   Here's a sneak preview of the new William D. McDowell Observatory in DeKorte Park in Lyndhurst.

   The 2-minute video features an interview with Observatory Director John Sloan.

   Free viewing sessions for the public begin next Monday night at 8.

   More info here and here.

FLYWAY GALLERY: New show opening

       The New Jersey Meadowlands Commission is hosting its annual Staff Art Exhibit now through  Oct. 2 at the Flyway Gallery in the Meadowlands Environment Center.
   This year’s show includes traditional and abstract landscape portraits and colorful photos of flowers, dragonflies and other plant and animal life captured throughout the Meadowlands District.  (The  above portrait is by the NJMC's Lisa Cameron.)

   Click "Continue reading ..." for more information and larger images of many of the works on view.   
      

ENVIRONMENT CENTER: Space Camp (video)

 

   This week the Meadowlands Environment Center is holding a space camp for students entering the seventh grade.
   Tuesday's session was about the sun, stars and planets, and students went outside to learn about the sun in whole new ways (see 1:45-minute video).
   MEC's Laura Venner talked to the 15 students abot the sun and SOHO, an international project involving NASA and other space agencies to study the sun.
  The space camp, one of a half-dozen offered by MEC, a partnership between NJMC and  Ramapo College, is designed to meet the New Jersey State Core Curriculum Content Standards.
   All MEC camps are held at the new Center for Environmental and Scientific Education (below), a “green” building that incorporates sustainable materials and alternative energy, in DeKorte Park in Lyndhurst.

  Click "Continue reading..." for two more images.

ENVIRONMENT CENTER: New photo exhibit

    The New Jersey Meadowlands Commission is proud to present “When Dreams Whisper,” an exhibit by nature photographer Hildi Borkowski on display now through July 28 at the Flyway Gallery in the Meadowlands Environment Center.

  A reception for the artist is scheduled for noon to 2 p.m. July 13.

    Click "Continue reading" for more information.