Work Begins to Revitalize Monument Park Garden Beds

[Princeton, New Jersey] – On June 6th, the first official workday to restore the garden beds surrounding the Princeton Battle Monument began. The project, sponsored by Sustainable Princeton in partnership with a group of enthusiastic neighbors led by Jody Erdman and Sarah Ringer, who have been nicknamed “Friends of Monument Park,” came together to fundraise and hire the professionals at WildLawn to renaturalize the garden beds surrounding the monument and plaza. Invasive weeds had overtaken the garden beds for years. As the semi-quincentennial anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence celebrations is planned for 2026, the neighbors felt there was an opportunity for the town to put its best foot forward and showcase our bioregional heritage.

“Since one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence lived at the Morven house, we expect many visitors to be coming through this part of town. We want to take this opportunity to showcase our natural heritage, too. Native plants are part of our history. Adding these native plants is an homage to our past and future, as we hope to preserve this heritage for future generations,” said Sarah Ringer

“We are extremely grateful to Sustainable Princeton for conveying the uniqueness of this project to Mayor Freda, the Historic Preservation Commission, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, and many others in proximity to the Monument so that we can improve the beauty of this essential gateway into Princeton. We would also like to honor our close-knit community of donors who stepped up to support the rejuvenation of this historic park,” said Jody Erdman

“We were excited about partnering with the neighbors to do something like this. Protecting the local ecosystem is one of our strategic action pillars, and the garden beds are a perfect place to revitalize and reintroduce native plants. We received overwhelming financial support from like-minded neighbors and local organizations to make the project possible. We are grateful to the municipality for donating all of the native plants to the project and for the volunteers who came to make our first planting day a success.These are all wonderful examples of how our community shows up for each other.” Said Christine Symington, Executive Director of Sustainable Princeton.

The June 6th work day was the first planting day. Ecologists and botanists from WildLawn were joined by volunteers from Sustainable Princeton, Friends of Princeton Open Space, and Garden Club of Princeton, as well as project donors. The native species planned for the site include:

Butterfly milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa)
Fox hedge (Carex vulpinoidea)
River oats (Chasmanthium latifolium)
Lanceleaf (Coreopsis lanceolata)
Golden tickseed (Coreopsis tinctoria)
Wavy hair grass (Deschampsia flexuosa)
Bottlebrush grass (Elymus hystrix)
Purple love grass (Eragrostis spectabilis)
White wood aster (Eurybia divaricata)
Joe-pye weed (Eutrochium purpurea)
Wild geranium (Geranium maculatum)
St. John’s wort (Hypericum prolificum)
Spicebush (Lindera benzoin)
Blue cardinal flower (Lobelia siphilitica)
Wood rush (Luzula multiflora)
Foxglove beardtongue (Penstemon digitalis)
Hairy beardtongue (Penstemon hirsutus)
Wild phlox (Phlox divaricata) (Blue Moon)
Mountain mint (Pycnanthemum muticum)
Lyreleaf sage (Salvia lyrata)
Wreath goldenrod (Solidago caesia)
Broadleaf goldenrod (Solidago flexicaulis)
Roan Mountain goldenrod (Solidago roanensis)
Blue wood aster (Symphyotrichum cordifolium)
Heart-leaved foamflower (Tiarella cordifolia)
Arrowwood (Viburnum dentatum)

The work is scheduled to be finished by the end of the year, allowing the plants a full year to establish themselves. The matured garden beds will be in full bloom in time for 2026.

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About Sustainable Princeton

Founded in 2012, Sustainable Princeton is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to inspire the community to develop and implement solutions that positively impact the environment. We envision Princeton as a model town that examines every action through the lens of sustainability, ensuring a healthy environment, a strong economy, and the well-being of all community members now and in the future. Our office is located at 1 Monument Drive, Princeton, New Jersey. For more information, visit SustainablePrinceton.org.