🍁 Fall Classes
for Kids!
Thursday October 15: Fall Hike in Brightwood Park
- Enjoy Fall by hiking in Brightwood Park. We will make our own personalized hiking sticks and use them to hike through Brightwood Park. We will identify trees by the shape and color of leaves, the texture of bark and the shape of the trees. Take home your hiking stick and newly learned skills for identifying natural objects
- Introduce the new season coming in December: Winter! Snow only happens in winter in NJ because snow needs moisture and FREEZING cold to form. Explor snow's shape and fee and fun! Dress for a cold experience in Brightwood Park and look for signs of the approaching season.
In Partnership with the Westfield Recreation Department
Our monthly educational nature classes are each a different theme & encourage children to explore and grow while enjoying all the natural setting that Brightwood Park has to offer. Each session usually includes a themed project, a story and a guided walk thru the park.
Location: Brightwood Park (1175 Prospect Street)
Ages 2-4 = 10:00 am - 10:45 am/Child must be accompanied by an Adult / ONLY Register the Child Attending.
Ages 5 - 8 = 3:45 pm - 4:45 pm
Fee: $10 per child per clas
Location: Brightwood Park (1175 Prospect Street)
Ages 2-4 = 10:00 am - 10:45 am/Child must be accompanied by an Adult / ONLY Register the Child Attending.
Ages 5 - 8 = 3:45 pm - 4:45 pm
Fee: $10 per child per clas
Adopt a Tree - it was a terrific day!A lot of fun was had at the 2026 Adopt-a-Tree Day
Join our effort in restoring our unique woodland area right here in Westfield.
Sponsored by The Westfield Tree Preservation Commission, Department of Public Works and The Friends of Brightwood Park. |
Visiting their Tree, One Year Later
Emmy and Jack paid a visit to "Treekachu" , the tree they planted last year. It's now 60" tall! This has been an invaluable lesson and a lot of fun! |
Invasive Species The invasive species swat team meets in the Prospect Street parking lot at 9 A.M. and work for a few hours on most Wednesdays, weather permitting.
Lately we have focused on pulling garlic mustard. This aggressive invasive plant produces thousands of seeds; by pulling the small rosettes now, we prevent much larger seed-producing plants from developing later. Phil will provide guidance on identifying garlic mustard and other targeted species. most Wednesdays
|
Forest & Park Health
Invasive Species Irradication
The Friends of Brightwood Park was formed in late 2019/early 2020 to try to protect and restore the park as a healthy natural space for all to enjoy. The situation was quite dire. Japanese Knotweed, taller than your head, obscured the view of the pond from the parking lot, Wisteria was climbing up many of the largest canopy trees, choking them (and had already killed many). And since the animals species in the park don't consume invasive species, but love the tender young native plants, the forest was rapidly dying. The FoBP went to work to remove invasive plants, (restoring the beautiful view of the pond), saving existing canopy trees, and replanting and protecting native trees.
This is an on-going effort. The team, led by Phil Round, meets up at the park most Wednesday mornings.
This is an on-going effort. The team, led by Phil Round, meets up at the park most Wednesday mornings.
A New Invasive Species in the Park
|
|
We recently discovered a new invasive in Brightwood. Identified as Japanese Hop.
This a really nasty new invasive! -Phil Sarah Schaefer did some research on it and found that it is native to East Asia from Russia to North Vietnam. It was brought over to the United States in the 1800s as an ornamental for arbors or to grow up a wall because it has very quick growth.
|
Sustainable Gardening Information for the Curious
Hickory Planting Project
|
We are partnering with Rutgers for a germination study of Mockernut Hickory. Initiated and led by Jean Epiphan, Agriculture & Natural Resources Agent at Rutgers, it is designed to counter the regeneration debt of our forests.
The idea is simple: we will plant them like squirrels do - burying nuts in lots of places - and then test the germination rates to see what works better. The idea is to get Mockernut Hickories growing in Brightwood Park. Last December, volunteers planted nuts along the trail parallel to Prospect Park. We concentrated on planting them under existing beech trees to try to remediate the anticipated canopy loss from to beech leaf disease. In early May, we will begin tracking the germination. Until then, we are monitoring that the flags and signs remain in place and if there is any form of digging for the nuts. -Bianca Wright
|
Planting Pines and Hollies - How are We Doing?
|
Since 2023 we have planted 128 American Hollies (Ilex opaca) and Pitch Pine (Pinus rigida). They are great evergreen trees providing berries for birds in the winter as well as year-round hiding spots for them. Even better: deer do not like to nibble on them so they do not need any wire cages for protection.
This spring we would like to see how they have been faring. Anyone who wants to track through the 4 reforestation areas in the park is welcome to help! photos by Bianca Wright
|
Saving Mature Trees - in Brightwood Park
|
|
Wisteria, although beautiful in the spring, winds it's way around mature trees and eventually kills them.
|
Saving Mature Trees - in the town of Westfield
Many cities have been planting trees to increase shade and make the town more beautiful. But a new study directly compares the tree canopy coverage over the years with mortality rates and shows a significant decrease in deaths - including respiratory illnesses and mental health. This shows that counting the number of trees is not sufficient - we need to save our older trees to keep a cooling tree canopy over our neighborhoods. Links to the article and to the original publication are below.
Thanks to JPL for the "heads up"!
Thanks to JPL for the "heads up"!
membership
Volunteer Spotlight: John Linderman
|
FROM COMPUTER ENGINEER
|
|
Volunteers Needed! |
|
The Friends of Brightwood Park are working to:
|
|
Follow the Latest on our Instagram
|