Summer Solstice Guided Walks Trails-to-Table Events D&R Greenway

Press Release Princeton: D&R Greenway Land Trust invites the public to its third Trails-to-Tables Walk, Thursday, June 20th, from 6:00 to 8:30 p.m. The event will celebrate the summer solstice and D&R Greenway’s 30th Anniversary. It will feature a guided walk along Pennington’s PennView Heights Trail, preceded by a picnic supper under the gazebo at Kunkel Park on King George Road. The $30/per person fee includes a picnic supper provided by Lawrenceville’s Chambers Walk restaurant, and an guided nature walk. Families are welcome for an additional $3 per child between the ages of 5 and 12. Strollers and pets are not permitted. Pre-registration is required. To sign up, log on to www.drgreenway.org or call (609) 924-4646. Unless the weather is severe, the event will be held rain or shine. Registrants will receive confirmation e-mail.

The beauty of the PennView Heights property begins with a lengthy section of frontage along the Stony Brook. This land links the Baldwin Lake Management Area and Kunkle Park. This forested floodplain along the Stony Brook protects the water quality of this crucial stream. The trail is maintained by D&R Greenway’s Land Stewardship team.

D&R Greenway’s President and CEO, Linda Mead, says, “This year, the summer solstice will officially occur on Friday, June 21st, at 11:54 a.m. In addition to enjoying the extra light during the year’s two longest days, participants will learn fascinating sagas of local land preservation, including that of PennView Heights. Join us for Thursday evening’s picnic supper and walk; or otherwise support preservation by having a meal at any time of day or evening, at Lawrenceville’s Chambers Walk restaurant on Friday.”

This walk showcases a preserve not widely known to the public, one of the first properties permanently protected by D&R Greenway. Its connection with Pennington’s Kunkle Park, featuring a ‘Peter Pan’ bridge and inviting stepping stones crossing the brook, makes this trail magical experience. The guided solstice nature walk will take place to the music of summer’s first insects. Participants may also hear owls, and experience the emergence of fireflies.

The day following this walk, D&R Greenway supporters are invited to enjoy lunch or dinner at Chambers Walk Café on Lawrenceville’s Main Street with family and/or friends. Say “D&R Greenway” upon ordering and the restaurant will donate 10% of your tab to support the Land Trust’s preservation and stewardship mission. While every effort will be made to accommodate walk-ins, reservations are suggested. (609-896-5995)

Peter Dawson, a resident of Pennington and a member of D&R Greenway’s Board of Trustees, will be honored at this event for his volunteer commitment to the community. Owner of Leigh Imaging, Inc., Dawson helped D&R Greenway design signs that introduce the public to D&R Greenway’s properties. He created effective merchandise to herald the inaugural River Days, --a celebration of the Delaware River watershed by twenty-three nature centers belonging to the Alliance for Watershed Education.

“Peter has a wholehearted and hands-on understanding of our mission to preserve and care for land and inspire a conservation ethic,” Mead says. “He mirrors the integrity and passion of his Pennington neighbors, past and present, who solicited funding to preserve these forty-two acres.”

Mead went on to note that founding D&R Greenway Executive Director, Maude Backes, negotiated the purchase of the property along with Pennington resident and former D&R Greenway Board Chair Alan Hershey. It was among Hershey’s many volunteer contributions to D&R Greenway and the region. Hershey recently was awarded the prestigious 2019 Donald B. Jones Conservation Award at the annual spring Greenway Gala.

The purpose of D&R Greenway’s Trails-to-Tables initiative is to encourage local residents to get to know natural treasures which are close by, and often adjacent to their very own neighborhoods. For more information, visit www.drgreenway.org.

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D&R GREENWAY LAND TRUST IS IN ITS 30TH YEAR of preserving and protecting natural lands, farmlands and open spaces throughout our region. Through continuous preservation and stewardship -- caring for land and easements to ensure they remain protected and ecologically healthy in perpetuity -- D&R Greenway nurtures a healthier and more diverse environment for people and wild species in seven New Jersey counties. One of the first 10% of land trusts to be accredited by the national Land Trust Accreditation Commission, D&R Greenway’s mission is to preserve and care for land and inspire a conservation ethic, now and forever.

Since its founding in 1989, D&R Greenway has permanently preserved more than 20,500 acres, an area 20 times the size of New York City’s Central Park, including 30 miles of trails open to the public. The Johnson Education Center, its circa-1900 restored barn at One Preservation Place, Princeton, has been D&R Greenway’s home since 2006. Through programs, art exhibits and related lectures, D&R Greenway inspires greater public commitment to safeguarding our region’s priceless open land.