Restoring Habitat

In the middle of her election campaign for Township Committee, Lois took a day “off” on May 8th to head a group of volunteers who planted more than 300 bare-root shrubs during Andover Township’s Spring Detention Basin Planting Day. “Nature doesn’t wait until it’s convenient,” she said. Planting conditions were perfect: An overcast day that had been preceded by a week of rain.

NJ Department of Environmental Protection’s preferred Best Management Practice for handling stormwater over large areas is the so-called Marsh Meadow Detention Basin, designed to mimic a natural wetland. They are low/no maintenance, eliminate the need for fertilizer and pesticide treatments, act as a visual and physical buffer, control erosion, act as biolfilters, and restore wildlife habitat.

This year, local Girl Scouts led by Liz Kapuscinski assisted Commissioner Harvey Hummel in planting the basin at the municipal building

Thanks to everyone who participated, from left: Environmental Commission Vice-Chair Peter Spinney, Fred and Commissioner Diane Gillespie, Commissioners Linda Hubbard, Bob Green (rear) and Harvey Hummel, Commission Chair Lois de Vries, Partners in Wildlife Biologist Brian Marsh, and Master Gardener Irene Christodlous.

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