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Poster designed by Alexandra Bolinder-Gibsand

NPR travels the Passaic

The Great Swamp and the Passaic River made it on NPR last month.  Sally Rubin helped them track down the headwaters in Mendham and then they headed downstream to ponder the effects of industrialization.  Today our students are still exploring the next steps for the Great Swamp Watershed.

An expensive place to live

07976 is getting recognition as one of the most expensive zip codes in the US.

Fun in the Great Swamp Watershed

If hiking isn't you thing, then maybe a gentle bike ride on Rails to Trails Traction Line is more your style.

10 Towns; Morris Township

Morris Township is the doughnut to Morristown's doughnut hole. It includes Convent Station, but it probably also includes some things that many people thought were part of Morristown. In contrast with the urban core of Morristown, this appears to be a fairly sprawling residential town.

The blog will now return to its regular lack of schedule.

10 Towns: Morristown Town

It really is named Town of Morristown even if you only call it Morristown.  With its historic Green, old churches and much of Fort Nonsense.  It is also home to a growing Hispanic population. 

Tomorrow: Morris Township

10 Towns: Mendham Township

Mendham Township wraps itself around Mendham Borough, protecting it from the rest of the Borough.  Governor Chris Christie calls it home. It has lots of pieces of open space woven between a fair number of developed areas.

Tomorrow: Town of Morristown

10 Towns: Madison

Look at that map.  How is this the same small watershed as the previous towns?  Madison is known for its walkable downtown and good restaurants.  But it also made news for a few minutes when it became a 3D pioneer.

Tomorrow:  Mendham Borough

10 Towns: Long Hill Township

Long Hill Township runs an urban corridor along a ridgetop that drops down to the North into the Great Swamp and in the South to the Passaic River.

We are half way done with the 10 Towns now, are we down to just 17 readers yet?

Tomorrow: Madison

10 Towns: Harding Township

Harding Township represents more of the land in the watershed than any other municipality.  The Township is named for the controversial President Warren G. Harding.  It includes New Vernon, which is home to Jets Coach Eric Mangini.

Tomorrow: Long Hill

10 Towns: Bernards Township

The 10 Towns Committee was disbanded in June. Our fall studio will be looking at the Great Swamp Watershed and its 10 towns this fall. Coincidence? (mostly, yes)

We'll spend the next 10 days or so taking a peek at Land Use in the 10 towns. Even though newer LULC data is available, the posts will be using the 2002 land use. (Sorry) Since each map will use the same legend, I've included it below. None of the maps will include a scale bar - we'll explore scale in class.

Here's Bernards Township founded in 1760. Wikipedia reports that is is home to headquarters of Avaya, Fedders, Hitachi Power Systems and Verizon, but maybe we'll seek out some independent confirmation.

Tomorrow: Bernardsville

Closer things to see

Since junior studio is going to be looking at the Great Swamp Watershed, this might be a special time to get out and see some interesting sites in and near the watershed.

• Take a hike at Jockey Hollow.
• Grab a sandwich at a local deli and picnic in a little neighborhood park.
• Bike the Loantaka.
• Go talk to Jake the Raven at the NJ Raptor Center.
• Take the nature walk at the Environmental Education Center at Lord Stirling Park.
• Finish the day with a scoop of strawberry.
• Look for the ridges that are the edges of the watershed.
• Try to find a farmstand for some fresh veggies.
• Meet people at a local hardware store.
• Hang out at a coffee place.

Whatever you do, take lots and lots of pictures and find the time to sketch a little.

Fall Festival

This will fit well into the fall studio:

The Lord Stirling 1770s Festival

Colonial history lives at the Somerset County Park Commission's annual 1770s Festival when Lord Stirling's grand manor house and estate come to life in Lord Stirling Park in Basking Ridge, NJ. Colonial craftspeople ply their trades and a Revolutionary War military detachment camp on the former estate lawns and conduct maneuvers. The event promotes historical and environmental education by familiarizing people with the rich local history of Basking Ridge, highlighting an unsung Revolutionary War hero, demonstrating the colonial heritage of New Jersey, and recreating a typical autumn afternoon in 1770. In 2006, the Lord Stirling 1770s Festival won the Cultural and History Commission of Somerset County History Award for Education. Period re-enactors attired in replicas of 1770s clothing participate in the festival demonstrating their trades and crafts (no crafts are sold). These crafts people make articles such as buttons, rifles, brooms, furniture, lace, stained glass, redware pottery, and powder horns. Other trades and crafts include a blacksmith, tinsmith, wool spinning, decoy carving, and colonial herbs. Children of all ages enjoy the hayrides, clay crafts using Stirling clay, stenciling, and toy making. Visitors may try on colonial costumes and have their photograph taken while restrained to the Somerset Gaoler's wooden stock. $4 per person suggested donation

Sunday, October 3, 2010
10:30am - 4:30pm

A pretty Great Swamp and its watershed

Just a few miles south of Morristown is a bowl-shaped valley called the Great Swamp Watershed.  This fall our junior studio will be working with locals, particularly the Great Swamp Watershed Association, to investigate and envision alternative futures for these landscapes as part of the Regional Design Studio.  Within the context of North Jersey, it looks a little small. 

The unusual shape of the valley, and the severity of the hills surrounding it are important to the history of the valley.  After the Wisconsin glacier it was the site of the Glacial Lake Passaic and it is still easy to pick out on satellite images.  It was also hard to reach so has avoided highways and crossroads of any serious size, adding to its rural character.

Upon closer examination, you can see that the watershed is large enough to include the Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge.  You can see that it also includes most of the Jockey Hollow NPS site.  And, the Passaic makes a complete U-turn to get back to its better-known urban environment.

The watershed includes parts of 10 different towns, which used to be represented on the 10 Towns Committee (and the Jersey Jetport Site Association).  In 2000, the total population  of the 10 towns was under 125,000.  While there have been teardowns, add-ons and new commercial sites, it doesn't seem likely that the 2010 census will show this as an area of significant growth relative to its neighbors.  The one town with the largest land area in the watershed is Harding Township, which has been working to retain its rural feel for decades.

Several of the remaining towns are very small and sit atop the ridges that constrict the valley and help keep it swampy.  The ridgetops have good views and create a special sense of character for the communities.

The location of the watershed places it on or near 2 major commuting highways - I-78 and I-287 - with additional service by NJ Transit.  The small towns with great access to Newark and New York include some prestigious, wealthy bedroom communities.  But, the Great Swamp itself remains a a little bit of a pain to get to, so the area's residents can feel safe in thinking that future development in the valley is less likely than in other parts of New Jersey. 

What is the true Great Swamp watershed like?  And what sort of future does it have?