Activity Guide and Events
Winter, 2021
Seasonal Stories
Snowshoeing
Not only does snowshoeing provide a cardio packed punch of a workout, it is also a lot of fun! Snowshoeing is easy to learn, inexpensive compared to other winter sports, and poses little risk of injury. Try a tundra trek this winter!
The Morris Canal Greenway
The Morris Canal Greenway encompasses part of the historic Morris Canal's alignment and is a cooperative effort of the New Jersey Division of Parks and Forestry, the Canal Society of New Jersey, Waterloo Village and Friends of the Morris Canal. As you walk the Greenway you will see the remains of canal features, including inclined planes, locks, canal bed, and historic industries and communities directly related to the Morris Canal's operations.
Up In Smoke: Warm Season Grasses
They called it "prairie coal". The abundant fuel that kept American midwestern farming families warm through the winters of the late nineteenth century was the tallgrass that grew wild all around them across the plains, twisted into bundles and burned in rudimentary household stoves. Sometimes it was the digested dried dung of grass-eating buffalo or cattle, or straw harvested from the farmer's field, all steady reliable sources of heat-yielding, combustible, carbon-rich biofuel.
Winter Hikes
The Winter season has its own wonders that merit braving the cold. In fact there are intrepid hikers that don't take to the trails until the branches are bare, in search of vistas from ice formations to sun glistening on a freshly fallen snow.
Core Values
Many, many stories adorn the history of the Highlands. But what about the future? What are the significant challenges ahead for our cherished home? That question has an easy answer: climate change.
Cosmology and the Present Moment
With the multiple shock waves of this year's events, it could seem utterly naive to hope that today's adult decision makers could face the challenge of exploring a new cosmological perspective different than the familiar one of the past centuries. But that is exactly what Swimme, Carl Sagan and Stephen Hawking have proposed by entreating and encouraging us to change our own inadequate perceptions of the world around us.
Hard Facts and Solid Stories
Nearly everywhere you look there are rocks; big ones, little ones, sometimes fields of them. Curious explorers cannot help but wonder why some have drawn enough attention in days gone by to have been given names of their own.
If Not Now, When?
It's been a tough year's virus we can't seem to control, economic hardship, social unrest across the country, the warmest summer on record, and a citizenry as divided as it has ever been. These are the thoughts running through my mind while driving toward Bonnie Brook on this fall morning. Alongside the road, tawny strains of summer grasses wave in the breeze that sweeps across the fields. A barn leans to one side. In need of painting, the roof sags like the back of an old mare.
Cross Country Skiing
Nordic skiing represents an easy glide through woods and gentle valleys surrounded by the sparkling serenity of freshly fallen snow.Equipment is simple, straightforward and inexpensive, with little risk of injury.
White Lake and the Vaas House
The property, acquired through the state Green Acres Program is enjoyed immensely by fishermen and outdoor enthusiasts. Beyond the crystal clear water and enchanting scenery, there is a story worth knowing.
Winter Bird Watching
Hastened by the first blanketings of snow, the shortened days of winter in the Skylands afford a chilly but unequaled opportunity to draw closer to nature and to enjoy the quiet that descends with the withdrawal of activity to the indoors. On these cold days, while local countryside vistas remain open and unshrouded by their canopy of leaves, the fields, forests, and woodlands of our region are prime for the pastime of winter birdwatching.
Winter Outdoors
Looking for a new relationship? Well, how about you and Northwest New Jersey; Perfect Together? The landscape is frigid and quiet, yet stunningly attractive. Somebody's got to take some action here. If you don't do it, somebody else will!
Homeward Bound on the Morris Canal
A canal boat captain and her daughters navigate the Bread Lock in June, 1863.
Risky Business: Bringing in the Hemp
In August, 2019, the New Jersey Hemp Farming Act became law under the New Jersey Department of Agriculture (NJDA). Only those who pass the screening process, criminal background checks and fingerprinting can apply to obtain a license. And there must also be a particular appetite for risk in order to bring in New Jersey's first industrial hemp crop.
Women in New Jersey Agriculture
Women make up twenty-two percent of New Jersey's 15,936-plus farmers, and their rate is steadily increasing. They come with ideals and energy to make the world a better place. They earn a living being outdoors doing what they love, and they come to educate. They all come with grit, knowledge and spirit.