Our Annual Birthday Celebration of the Veblens

Every year we throw a Veblen Birthday Bash in June to honor Oswald and Elizabeth Veblens' role in founding the open space movement in Princeton. They were born on the 24th and the 2nd of June, respectively.

This year's celebration was particularly successful, with lots of socializing, lawn games, live music, and displays documenting our accomplishments and plans for the future. 

Of particular note was a display put together by our new architect, Paul Buda, who showed off some of his past work and ideas for restoring the Veblen House and Cottage.

While pianist Phil Orr and I performed our original latin and jazz music,

there were all sorts of productive conversations about where the Friends of Herrontown Woods has been and where it's going. Town council members David Cohen and Leighton Newlin came to learn more about our work and offer their ideas. 

Inge Regan, seated on the right, was the primary organizer of the event, with lots of help and encouragement from board members Angelique, Hope, and Pallavi. 

Clifford Zink, an architectural historian who has been our longtime advisor, came to join in the conversation.

Mathilde and Ninfa gave tours of May's Garden. Located just down from the Veblen House, where Elizabeth ("May") Veblen once propagated flowers, the expanded garden now serves as a setting for Mathilde's Grow Little Gardener classes.

Later in the evening, as the fireflies began to join us, it was very moving and healing to have a Native American, Carlos Eagle Feather, sing a song of gratitude, honoring and connecting the work we do to the love his ancestors had for the Herrontown Woods lands.

The west side of the Veblen House provided a backdrop for displays of the past year's accomplishments.

There was the Princeton Salamander Crossing Brigade's work to protect salamanders during their spring migration, 

a special approach to circus called Circus Quercus, led by Zoe Brooks in the stone circle next to Veblen House, 

our interns, Ninfa and Moss, funded by a grant from Green Matters,

a Herrontown Woods Community Collage project led by our board member and Artist in Residence, Hope Van Cleaf, 

May's Garden Club led by master gardener Mathilde Burlion, 

and scenes from our work this past year with Princeton High School students to manage two PHS detention basins for native flora. 

Earlier in the day, Robert Budny and his daughter Sophia had helped me display our work in front of one of the basins, as part of a Ciclovia event. 

All in all a full and joyous day for the living, honoring those who came before. Thanks to everyone for making it possible.