A Greenway on the Banks of Big Timber Creek in Deptford Township
upcoming events
ANNUAL MEETING AND GUEST SPEAKER SET FOR OLD PINE FARM NATURAL LANDS TRUST ON OCTOBER 15
The annual meeting of Old Pine Farm Natural Lands Trust will be held on Tuesday, October 15, at Auletto’s Caterers, 1849 Cooper Street, Deptford.
Following a brief business meeting at 6:30 p.m. there will be free refreshments followed by guest speaker Nate Kleinman of the Experimental Farm Network in Pittsgrove. This meeting is free and open to the public.
Nate Kleinman co-founded the Experimental Farm Network in 2013 to promote a variety of sustainable agriculture projects. He teaches agro-ecology techniques, how to utilize germ-plasm resources and how to access free seeds and find rare plants. He presents workshops addressing climate change on the farm and in the garden, through the fostering of native and resilient plants, grassroots plant breeding, citizen research, and seed saving. His work champions what he calls “a citizen-science model for developing staple crops.” With the Experimental Farm Network, he is evolving techniques for variety development and putting them into the hands of laypeople. “Anyone can do it,” he says, “and regular people ought to be doing it. Nate is a graduate of Abington Friends School and Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service.
Auletto’s Caterers is located at 1849 Cooper Street, Deptford with plenty of free parking. For Information about Old Pine Farm, please check our website www.oldpinefarm.org or our Facebook page or call 856-340-3208.
PRIMITIVE FIRE STARTING TECHNIQUES WALK IN THE WILD AT OLD PINE FARM SUNDAY, OCTOBER 20
Join Charles White at Old Pine Farm Natural Lands Trust for our “Walk in the Wild” on Sunday, October 20, at 2 p.m. for a workshop on Primitive Fire Starting. If you have ever been camping in the rain or snow and not been able to get your fire started, you need to join us. We will discuss, demonstrate and practice primitive fire starting techniques. We will explore several methods of starting a fire with friction and flint and steel. There will also be presentations of fire starters for short cuts to fire starting.
Charles often describes himself as an “old boy scout”. Charlie’s love of the outdoors started early in the woods of Quebec, and along Lake Ontario. Since then, Charles has camped, hiked, canoed and kayaked throughout the Northeast, Southeast and Southwest, mostly as a solo hiker. He has also organized and led many groups as they ventured into the outdoors.
We will meet at the Willoughby House at the end of Pine Avenue, off Good Intent Road in Blackwood Terrace, or you can put "340 Pine Avenue, Deptford" into your favorite mapping service. There is an additional small parking lot available at the end of Rankin Ave, one block from Pine Ave. Please check our Facebook for changes and directions. Information and questions: Charles White, 856-217-9138. Car pooling recommended. Free and open to all.
Our Mission
Old Pine Farm Natural Lands Trust is dedicated to the continued care of the woods, wetlands, and meadow it manages. We are continuing to acquire additional lots to connect the original Old Pine Farm acreage to a larger trail network running through the Blackwood Terrace area. We also strive to create a deciated green trail from the headwaters of Big Timber Creek to the Delaware River.
Currently, Old Pine Farm Natural Lands Trust is working toward the immediate goals of obtaining additional property to complete the greenway, as well as the purchase of Willoughby House.
Old Pine Farm
Consisting of more than 45 acres of land, Old Pine Farm is one of the few remaining natural and protected areas along the highly developed tidal portion of Big Timber Creek. It offers a variety of terrain, including a meadow, woodlands, and wetlands, while being surrounded on three sides by many acres of fresh water in the Big Timber Creek.
The original Old Pine Farm Natural Lands Trust includes land contiguous to the Big Timber Creek and the Willoughby property, roughly 33 acres. In 2001, the trust purchased an additional 5.1 acres south of Good Intent Road along Bayer Avenue, creating an area called Greenway I. After this purchase, the trustees established a goal of developing a trail to connect Greenway I to the original 33 acres. This lead to the 2003 purchase of another 9.6 acres of land at the end of Second Avenue. This property, Greenway II, adjoins Greenway I. In 2006, an additional 3.3 acres of land between First Avenue and McNaughton Avenue was obtained, creating Greenway III.Acquiring these properties can take up to several years per property, since the process involves getting approval from the New Jersey Green Acres program, finding funds for payment, having the land appraised, and doing a title search.