Due to the state of emergency, DeKorte Park and the NJSEA offices are closed until further notice.

I know I didn’t realize it at the time, but I was a very lucky kid. Not for the reasons that most people might think of what it means to be fortunate. I certainly was not privileged in the normal sense, in fact quite the opposite. Family life, to say the least, was distant much of the time and a very serious day-to-day struggle.

The reason that I was blessed is what I had available to me right outside my door. It was my gift, my escape, my respite, my chance to be myself and find myself. It was nature, the one true and only constant I had back then. And looking back, the unrealized advantages of growing up a Meadowlands kid. 

No matter what was happening in my life on any given day, no matter how bad it was, I could just go outside and things felt better. I did not need to ask my parents for a ride or wait for a bus. There was no need to delay until the weekend. I could open my door, walk a hundred yards and there I was, where I needed and wanted to be. The place that I have been connected with until this very day. The natural world.

Today, as I drive around our area of New Jersey, I imagine myself living in the town that I am passing through. Where would I go to find a butterfly that would stir my curiosity? Could I find a hawk that would give me goosebumps? Where could I even find the solitude of a tree to rest against and consider the world around me? In many towns there is nowhere that I could see and that should be a concern to all of us.

As we consider what environmental justice truly means (a phrase we like to throw around a lot these days) we need to recognize that every child, every adult, every senior citizen, rich or poor, middle class or whoever you are, has a right to enjoy the benefits of connecting to nature. Not just the folks that are fortunate enough to live in towns that still have large expanses of natural habitat (which by the way are going away fast), but also the towns that for the most part have no real open space to speak of.

To make nature available to everyone we will need to think differently, think out of the box and consider where we can give areas back to nature that previously were never thought about. Such as converting grassy street corners, parking lot edges and roadsides to butterfly habitat, and planting native trees, shrubs and flowers around the perimeter of playgrounds, which to me is a no-brainer. You want a pickleball court in your town? That’s fine, then create native gardens around the court. The same goes for tennis courts, soccer fields or whatever and wherever.

WE CAN DO THIS IF WE REALLY WANT TO. Otherwise, it’s just the naysayers making more excuses why they can’t make changes and get things done.

And then of course we need to control the uncontrolled building going on in every community in the name of ratables. Our elected officials like to say that they are making their towns more affordable. My answer to that is, you are also thereby creating overbuilt towns with no nature, where no one will want to live in anyway. Our right to have some access to nature, at least to me, goes hand and hand with rights like freedom of expression and freedom of speech. Without nature some of those basic rights have much less meaning.

We need to consider what happens to us as a society if we all lose our connection to nature. Needless to say, our mental and physical health will greatly suffer. But maybe worst of all, by not having that connection to nature, we will no longer care about it. Not caring about nature is like a terrible disease that quickly spreads out of control and allows us to no longer consider and care for the life that depends on us for their survival. Then one day we may find there will be no nature that might save kids like me, and that is what scares me most of all.

See you in the Meadowlands,

Don

I know I didn’t realize it at the time, but I was a very lucky kid. Not for the reasons that most people might think of what it means to be fortunate. I certainly was not privileged in the normal sense, in fact quite the opposite. Family life, to say the least, was distant much of the time and a very serious day-to-day struggle.

The reason that I was blessed is what I had available to me right outside my door. It was my gift, my escape, my respite, my chance to be myself and find myself. It was nature, the one true and only constant I had back then. And looking back, the unrealized advantages of growing up a Meadowlands kid. 

No matter what was happening in my life on any given day, no matter how bad it was, I could just go outside and things felt better. I did not need to ask my parents for a ride or wait for a bus. There was no need to delay until the weekend. I could open my door, walk a hundred yards and there I was, where I needed and wanted to be. The place that I have been connected with until this very day. The natural world.

Today, as I drive around our area of New Jersey, I imagine myself living in the town that I am passing through. Where would I go to find a butterfly that would stir my curiosity? Could I find a hawk that would give me goosebumps? Where could I even find the solitude of a tree to rest against and consider the world around me? In many towns there is nowhere that I could see and that should be a concern to all of us.

As we consider what environmental justice truly means (a phrase we like to throw around a lot these days) we need to recognize that every child, every adult, every senior citizen, rich or poor, middle class or whoever you are, has a right to enjoy the benefits of connecting to nature. Not just the folks that are fortunate enough to live in towns that still have large expanses of natural habitat (which by the way are going away fast), but also the towns that for the most part have no real open space to speak of.

To make nature available to everyone we will need to think differently, think out of the box and consider where we can give areas back to nature that previously were never thought about. Such as converting grassy street corners, parking lot edges and roadsides to butterfly habitat, and planting native trees, shrubs and flowers around the perimeter of playgrounds, which to me is a no-brainer. You want a pickleball court in your town? That’s fine, then create native gardens around the court. The same goes for tennis courts, soccer fields or whatever and wherever.

WE CAN DO THIS IF WE REALLY WANT TO. Otherwise, it’s just the naysayers making more excuses why they can’t make changes and get things done.

And then of course we need to control the uncontrolled building going on in every community in the name of ratables. Our elected officials like to say that they are making their towns more affordable. My answer to that is, you are also thereby creating overbuilt towns with no nature, where no one will want to live in anyway. Our right to have some access to nature, at least to me, goes hand and hand with rights like freedom of expression and freedom of speech. Without nature some of those basic rights have much less meaning.

We need to consider what happens to us as a society if we all lose our connection to nature. Needless to say, our mental and physical health will greatly suffer. But maybe worst of all, by not having that connection to nature, we will no longer care about it. Not caring about nature is like a terrible disease that quickly spreads out of control and allows us to no longer consider and care for the life that depends on us for their survival. Then one day we may find there will be no nature that might save kids like me, and that is what scares me most of all.

See you in the Meadowlands,

Don

Due to the State of Emergency, DeKorte Park will be closed on Sunday, Jan. 18.

Hot off the heels of the tremendously successful Meadowlands Eagle Festival held yesterday (Jan. 11), the Bergen County Audubon Society is hosting an Eagle Watch from 10 a.m. to noon this Wednesday (Jan. 14) at River Barge Park in Carlstadt.

Scan the skies over the Hackensack River for Bald Eagles, the most majestic of raptors. BCAS members convey the species history, significance and amazing comeback from the brink of extinction.

River Barge Park is located at 260 Outwater Lane, Carlstadt.

Contact: Don Torino at 201-230-4983 or greatauk4@gmail.com

Eagle-eyed readers can download Jim Wright’s Meadowlands Bald Eagles eBook for free, just in time for the Meadowlands Eagle Festival this Sunday (Jan. 11) at DeKorte Park in Lyndhurst!

The book features a plethora of Bald Eagle information and terrific photos provided by the author, eagle experts and groups such as the Conserve Wildlife Foundation.

Jim Wright pens “The Bird Watcher” column for The Record newspaper. He is the author of several books, including “The Screech Owl Companion” and “The Real James Bond.” His latest work, “The Peregrine Falcon,” will be published in April. He is the Deputy Marsh Warden at the Celery Farm Nature Preserve in Allendale.

Visit celeryfarm.net to learn more about Jim Wright and be sure to give him a hearty hello at the Meadowlands Eagle Festival this Sunday!

Let the countdown begin – The Meadowlands Eagle Festival is this Sunday, Jan. 11! The event is an awesome opportunity to kick off the New Year with a special day devoted to all things eagle!

The return of our national symbol to the Meadowlands after being on the verge of extinction is an amazing story that underscores the area’s environmental comeback.

The festival, co-presented by the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority and the Bergen County Audubon Society, is from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at DeKorte Park and the Meadowlands Environment Center in Lyndhurst.

This celebration of the majestic raptor is packed with fantastic activities for all ages, including eagle watch walks, talks, plenty of kid’s activities, a host of information tables, live raptors, a raptor photography workshop, music and more. Kids are encouraged to bring their eagle artwork!

Renowned author Tina Morris will sign copies of her acclaimed book, “Return to the Sky: The Reintroduction of the Bald Eagle.” Morris will also be among those honored by the BCAS as they present their 2025 Frank M. Chapman Awards and Harold Feinstein Awards. Visitors can meet author and photographer Kevin Karlson, who will also receive the Frank M. Chapman Award.

DeKorte Park and the Meadowlands Environment Center are located at 1 DeKorte Park Plaza.

For all of your Eagle Festival inquiries, contact BCAS President Don Torino at greatauk4@gmail.com or 201-230-4983.

Credit: Tariq Zehawi/NorthJersey.com

A big thanks to Jim Wright, whose article, Celebrate our nation’s symbol at North Jersey bald eagle festival, appears on northjersey.com and celeryfarm.net Jim details all of the great activities happening at the Meadowlands Eagle Festival on Sunday, Jan. 11, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at DeKorte Park and the Meadowlands Environment Center in Lyndhurst. The festival is co-hosted by the NJSEA and the Bergen County Audubon Society.

The article details the amazing return of Bald Eagles to the Meadowlands and New Jersey, from the verge of extinction to 264 active Bald Eagle nests in 2024, including roughly a dozen nests in Bergen and Passaic counties.

Join us on Sunday, Jan. 11, to join Eagle Watch Walks, attend talks, see some live raptors, and much more.

DeKorte Park and the Meadowlands Environment Center are located at 2 DeKorte Park Plaza in Lyndhurst.

For more information, contact Don Torino at greatauk4@gmail.com or 201-230-4983.

Full schedule:

Celebrate the New Year with the Bergen County Audubon Society as they lead a walk through DeKorte Park, the jewel of the Meadowlands park system.

Please Note: The park will open for the walk at 9:30 a.m. – it is not opening at 7 a.m. – and close promptly following the walk.

Meet outside the Meadowlands Environment Center, 2 DeKorte Park Plaza, Lyndhurst.

Information: Don Torino at 201-230-4983 or greatauk4@gmail.com

Please note the following schedule for the NJSEA administrative offices and DeKorte Park for Wednesday, Dec. 31, though Friday, Jan. 2.

Dec. 31 – Offices close at noon.

Jan. 1 – Offices and DeKorte Park closed.

Jan. 2 – Offices closed.