After Sandy, Weekend Nature Walks Back at EEC in Basking Ridge

Naturalist-led Nature Walks, “One Hour Wanderings,”  at the Environmental Education Center in Basking Ridge are scheduled for various Saturdays and Sundays through January, with each of the free walks focusing on a different theme each week.

No preregistration is required for the hour-long interpretive walks, which meet at the EEC, surrounded by 450 acres of the western portion of the Great Swamp Basin of the Passaic River. However, the walks are not designed for organized groups.

The park, located at 190 Lord Stirling Road, had been closed following Hurricane Sandy, particularly while South Maple Avenue had been blocked by large trees, wires and damage to the road.

Saturday walks from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. noware scheduled for Nov. 24; Dec. 22; and Jan. 26. Sunday walks from noon to 1 p.m. are scheduled for Dec. 23, 30; and Jan. 13.  

The Environmental Education Center, part of the Somerset County Park Commission, normally is open seven days each week. Call 908-766-2489 for schedule updates. 

The land includes variety of habitats: floodplains, swamps, rivers, intermittent streams, marshes, meadows, fields, forests, and nautral and man-made ponds.  These habitats provide homes for diverse plant and animal populations in the environmentally sensitive park. All are within walking distance of the main building, which includes a library with an environmental focus. The Exhibit Hall also hosts environmentalpresentations that are free to the public.