Today, the group visited Franklin Parker Preserve. We left school at 9 AM and took a 40-minute bus ride to the Chatsworth Lake entrance to the preserve.
When we arrived, we were eager to quickly start our hike, as it was very cold and windy. As we were hiking, we saw bridges, blue jays, and even NJ’s state bird the goldfinch! As we continued on, we passed over an old, abandoned railroad that went out of use when the area was protected. This railroad had been in the documentary we had watched about the Pine Barrens, though from a different section of the winding rail road.
After about one-and-a-half miles of hiking, we stopped at a lookout and got a great view of the old cranberry bog. We learned that Franklin Parker Preserve was once the third largest cranberry bog in the country! From the observatory, you could even see some of the old pump houses used at the cranberry farm. These were used to control the water levels of the bogs. Since the farm was abandoned a long time ago, the bog was overrun with bushes and plants.
A bit further into our hike we came upon the ruins of an old house, which was now simply a pile of cinder blocks. We were told the house had been built for volunteer firefighters to practice their skills.
Another mile into our hike we saw some massive wooden Adirondack chairs. We had also seen them in the documentary we watched on Friday. The group got to hang out and take photos on the chairs, and take a little bit of a break before heading back the way we came for our return trip.
On our way back we ran into a conservationist from NJ who invited us to see what he was working on, which was a completely unplanned part of the trip. He showed us his efforts to bring back a federally endangered plant, the American Chaffseed, describing how it needed to grow next to a certain plant (Maryland golden-aster). This plant has only been found in a few other places in the US! It was a great way to end our five-mile hike and a great way to see the real life benefits of keeping the Pinelands safe and pristine!
After our return to campus, we worked with Ms. Day, who helped us finish our “chasing the Jersey Devil” videos. We look forward to viewing them together tomorrow morning over breakfast!