Princeton University Students Visit Herrontown Woods

Again this fall, we provided a tour of Herrontown Woods to students taking Professor Andy Dobson's Princeton University course on the Ecology of Fields, Rivers, and Woodlands. His course, now in its second year, has more than doubled in size, speaking to the growing interest in local nature.

It was a chance to speak of many things: the Veblens' founding role in preserving open space in Princeton, the biological richness of a forest clearing, the vernal pools that draw frogs and salamanders in the spring, the perseverance required to quell a giant clone of wisteria, the joy of bringing back native species like Hearts a' Bustin' and Butternut. 

For more on this highly commendable connecting of students to the nature residing all around them in Princeton, here's a writeup on last year's visit and the students' presentations. 

We can also thank Andy for letting us Princetonians know about the extraordinary annual gathering of chimney swifts in town.