Don Torino's latest column for the wildnewjersey.tv blog is about growing up in the Meadowlands and staying connected to nature.

A sample:  "I am a proud child of the Meadowlands. I grew up thinking that the Red-winged Blackbird was our National symbol and  Phragmities the state flower.

"I believed the Muskrat was more beautiful than any other animal on earth and jokes about Jimmy Hoffa being buried in the Meadowlands are in really poor taste.

"I also understood that getting stuck in mud was a rite of passage; a coming of age   for  all Meadowlands kids. After all, if you wanted the privilege and enjoyment of  having the Meadowlands as your backyard playground and relish all the wonders it had to offer, you better get used to sinking in the muck more than a few times throughout your youth."

The link is here.