What's in this issue? A celebration of May! Take a look at some of the plants and animals that are thriving in spring and learn a bit bout them! Magical May It’s spring at last! There are many interesting natural events happening in South Jersey. Take a walk or add native flowers to your garden. Visit one of SJLWT’s preserves. May is when Mountain Laurel first blooms in the understory of the woods and is always a marvel to see. Here are a few treats: Mountain Laurel Mount

April is National Native Plant Month, first established by Congress in 2021. Events may be planned in your community to celebrate native plants and help educate others about the many benefits of native plants to our fragile ecosystems, or you can work on your own or with your neighbors to help support native plant gardening. Why are native plants so important? Because they are a source of food and shelter for native bees, butterflies, birds, caterpillars, and all wildlif

There’s a crucial connection between monarch butterflies ( Danaus plexippus ) and milkweed plants (genus Asclepias ). You may know that monarchs only lay their eggs on milkweed, and that this plant is the only one on which the larvae (caterpillars) can feed. The milkweed plant, however, is a challenge to eat. It’s covered in fine hairs (trichomes, a defense mechanism that helps deter herbivores), exudes sticky latex when bitten that can glue a small insect’s mouthparts t

What's in this issue? A brand new tract of land has been preserved and it's got a poetic piece of history attached! LAUREL LAKE PRESERVE & WALT WHITMAN On January 16, 2026, South Jersey Land & Water Trust conserved a 3.5-acre remnant of woods along Laurel Lake in Laurel Springs, New Jersey, where Walt Whitman once found enduring inspiration, and where generations of children have “played in the woods.” We believe the “Good Gray Poet” would be jubilant! Our newly established L