3/21/2025
Spring has sprung at Batsto Village! The signs were everywhere from a sunny but windy day, to crocuses and snowdrops in bloom, to singing birds. Our first day provided us with a preview of our upcoming adventures through both the human and ecological histories of Batsto and the Pine Barrens. We practiced with our cameras to create lasting digital memories.
Our guide Sean helped us understand the human history of Batsto. Originally an industrial village founded near the Batsto River for iron production and glass later on, the village was purchased by Joseph Wharton in 1876. Wharton (yes, the person the school of business at UPenn is named for!) turned the village into a farming and milling community. Ultimately, the State of New Jersey acquired the 96,000 acre property. Wharton State Forest is the largest in New Jersey, and along with Batsto, is protected as part of the Pinelands National Reserve. Our tour of the village included the general store where workers had to pay using scrip (like Monopoly money), the workers’ residences where one family of 14 lived in a small, four-room house, and the mansion (just one of the Wharton family’s summer homes), gave us a real sense of the time period, as well as the economic disparity between the family and its workers.
Stephen took us on a short guided hike after lunch. It’s hard to imagine that the Pine Barrens were once covered by ocean (but explains all the sand) and before that covered in glacial ice the height of a skyscraper! “Barrens” isn’t quite the right word: when Europeans came here, they expected to grow their usual crops, but the soil was too acidic, so they said the land was barren. There are so many things that grow in this “barren” area, like blueberries, cranberries, bayberries, teaberries, paw paw, and many varieties of mushrooms, in addition to all the trees – black walnut, chestnut, pine, oak, and white cedar. Hint: If you are sweltering in the summer and come across a white cedar swamp, go to it – it’s often much cooler in the swamp.
Our adventures next week will be enhanced by some apps Stephen introduced us to, and we want to share them with you! iNaturalist helps people identify items as they explore in nature using their camera. (Arjun was identified as “human” – good thing!) We’re hoping to also use Merlin Bird and its database, eBird, to help us identify birds through pictures or their songs. We can participate in “citizen science” by agreeing to add our observations to their databases.
We were happy to get back on the warm bus and take a nap on the long ride home. We awoke refreshed, knowing our adventures in the amazing Pine Barrens continue next week!
