Meadowland Park Conservancy thanks the South Orange Village Department of Recreation and Cultural Affairs and the South Orange Environmental Commission for their partnership on this event.  For a list of native plants, please visit the sogreenteam.wordpress.com.  To become a Meadowland Park Member and support imrpovement efforts, visit www.meadowlandpark.org.  MPC ordered Sunday's native plugs from thepollennation.com.  Here's information about how to purchase David Mizejewski's book "Attracting Birds, Butterflies, and Other Wildlife To Your Yard."  Here are the relevant social media handles:  @MeadowlandParkNJ @SOGreenTeam ​

In an effort to connect our South Orange open spaces in eager preparation for our River Greenway Project which hopefully kicks off in 2023, Meadowland Park Conservancy and Farrell Field Park Conservancy partnered as hosts of Paint Your Parks.  A handful of artists (some pictured above) gathered to depict our prime open spaces as they are just beginning to turn for the fall.

"FFPC loves Paint Your Parks simply because it is a way for all our parks to work together with each other and with our larger community as connected spaces," said Farrell Field Park Conservancy President, Richard Stephen Bell.

Ed Gunneson, who worked from the Farrell Field sign in table shared his experience, "“Paint Your Park is a good reason to get out to your local park and do some outdoor painting. If you have been thinking of trying to paint from nature this is a great way to start. I came away from the day with a scene that I would not have done otherwise.”

Stand by for our spring Paint Your Park date!
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We did it! Thanks to all who came down in the heat to celebrate National New Jersey Day on Flood's Hill in Meadowland Park. More photos to come soon, but check out what we made together! South Orange Village, Town Hall Deli, South Mountain YMCA, NJ

In the words on Village President, Sheena Collum, "Well, no one can accuse South Orange Village of not being creative.  Yesterday we celebrated #NationalNewJerseyDay by forming a human NJ map and rocking out to Bon Jovi while enjoying sloppy joes from Town Hall Deli .  Check this out Governor Phil Murphy, that's NJ Strong!"

Click here to read TapInto's coverage on the event.

Under perfectly sunny skies, a large but socially distant and masked crowd came to the park to get twisted in many ways. Baker Street Yoga hosted a free class for 25 next to the Pond and Baker Street Market distributed 80 free delicious warm pretzels next to the Skate House.

"I'm pretty confident that we're the first non-profit to hold an even that mixes pretzels with yoga.  It feels great to be a team of innovators!"  said, Matt Glass, MPC Chair.
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The twisted fun continued with games of Twister and a music soundtrack that included songs like Peppermint Twist, Twist and Shout and, of course, Chubby Checker’s The
Twist.

It was a glorious day to be in the park today at our National Puppy Day celebration.  Over 50 pups showed up to get their photos taken with their human companions in one of our park hearts.  

The park was cheerfully populated, respecting social distancing of course, by kids and seniors alike, neighbors, friends, and a large handful of public officials - all gathered to celebrate our local canines. ​

Jack from Pet Wants SOMA left the shop and his cats to divvy out treats for the pups and St. Hubert's Animal Shelter was on hand to provide take away information on keeping our pets safe and healthy.  Jennifer Gregory from the shelter remarked on how nice it was to see a number of St. Hubert's orphans frolicking happily with their new families.

This event's success was the result of hard work by our Steering Committee Members, especially the Leads on this particular event, Jen Steig and Debi Rednik.  We are also always grateful for our partnership with the village in coordinating this event and others.

We look forward to reprising our puppy park day next March.  In the meantime, stay tuned for news on our April Event!

Cheers!

MPC