300 Tulip Bulbs Planted!

This past Sunday, November 14th, a handful of BPC Volunteers planted 300 Tulip Bulbs in the triangle by the Grove Street entrance. The bulbs were donated by the May in Montclair Committee which is a local nonprofit working in partnership with the Montclair Arts Council. A big Thank You to Paul Cote, Fred Chichester, Yuliya Bellinger, Lois Palomaki, Mike Ser, Bruce Simon, Nick Joanow, and Tina Gargiulo (and Julia!).

Thanks for Helping Our New Trees!

Over 100 trees were planted by Essex County Public Works as part of a dog park buffer for the nearby residents. It's also helping to re-establish the plantings that were around the park originally. The plant selection is a mix of evergreens including spruces, hemlocks, cedars and pines as well as flowering dogwoods. The plants were selected based on historic planting plans, existing conditions, budget and availability.

George Prell, Co-Chair of the Conservancy, began a watering inititative. He and a small number of volunteers (Carolyn Burton, Paul Cote, Barbara Miller, Nick Joanow, and Mike Ser) helped save the majority of plantings. Thanks to the NJ Tree Foundation for the plants, themselves!

Indian Spring Restoration Project.

In June of 2009, with cooperation from the Essex County Parks Department, the BPC will start restoration work on the historic Indian Spring site. The project will began with an aggressive clean up of pedestrian litter, plant debris and sediment. Phase Two involves the careful removal of a non-native and highly invasive shrub, Amur Honeysuckle, which has completely obscured the site from view. Phase Three reintroduces native shrubbery to the area and well as native herbaceous groundcover to keep the nearby brook's appearance natural while incorporating an environmentally responsible and sustainable maintenance program to be carried out by the BPC and supervised by the Essex County Parks Department.

The Indian Spring once gushed from the foot of a six-foot sandstone cliff, a crossing point for the Watchung-Acquackanonk Indian trail where it served as a tribal gathering place for the Lenni Lenape Indians. The Indian Spring fed a small brook that crossed the park towards the east, feeding water into a natural pond area. In the early 1900s, this naturally occurring scenic feature was incorporated into the Olmsted Brothers' Brookdale Park Master Plan, so that it could be viewed and enjoyed by all of the park community. Today, what remains of the Indian Spring can be found near the middle of the park, just south of the present West Circuit Drive.

Click here for a current "Before and After" photo.

For more information on the invasiveness of Bush Honeysuckle visit The Nature Conservancy's Web site.

The Playground's Paint, Plant, & Play Event!

Fifty painted stepping stones were decorated by local families on September 13th, and now make up four pathways that lead into a center circle in the new Brookdale Children’s Garden. Many thanks to all the people that came by to compliment the garden and our efforts. Thanks also goes out to Penny, a Brookdale Park neighbor that brought by some Forget-Me-Not sprouts from her own garden to be included in the area.The children’s garden project was made possible through the generous support of Essex County’s Brookdale Park repaving project and the Home Depot Foundation’s Building Healthy Communities Grant awarded to the Brookdale Park Conservancy, spearheaded by Pat Gilleran.

September 23, from 9AM to noon, we hope to wrap up the plantings at the children’s garden. Details are the same as before.

Small plants will be transplanted from a generous park neighbor’s private garden on the east side of the park to the new center planting bed and along the stone wall to the north of the playground.

Volunteers can wear shorts and short sleeves – if you’ve got them, please bring gloves, shovels, hand trowels and watering cans. An extra wheel barrow would also be helpful. Parking is nearby in the lot at the top of the playground.