Help the Musconetcong Watershed Association
PUSH BACK THE LAWN
in Hampton Borough Park!
Current Conditions
​The park borders on the Musconetcong River and one of its tributaries. However, the streambed of the tributary is highly eroded, meaning plants don’t have much soil to grow in and soil gets in the water. There are invasive and nonnative species in the area, and a fence blocks access to the small tributary.
Future Park
The MWA has money from the NFWF Push Back the Lawn grant to improve Hampton Park! Our vision is that “live stake plantings” will restore the stream bed with only native plants in the area, and two new rows of trees will provide more shade and easier access to the river. Working on the park will help keep this area and the rest of the Musconetcong safe and healthy.
Planting Plan
MWA could stabilize the stream bed of the local tributary by using live stake plantings. We can remove the fence in the area (white dashed line) and work with Hampton to remove dead trees and nonnative species. Finally, MWA can add in two rows of young trees (bright green) to expand the riparian buffer of the tributary. Riparian buffers are vegetative areas along a body of water that help keep it safe by reducing temperature, erosion, and pollutants in the water.
Live Stake Plantings
In live stake plantings, living pieces of native plants (propagation) are planted in a stream bed. Doing it this way means plants grow much more quickly in the area, but not everything is successful so volunteers typically plant more than we think we’ll need to stabilize the stream bed. Native plants are adapted to the area, so they generate much longer roots than nonnatives. This means live stake plantings with natives help the stream bed hold soil (reducing erosion) and filter water (reducing pollution).
If you have questions about the Push Back the Lawn project in Hampton Borough Park or want to help out
please reach out to Craig Fleming! craig@musconetcong.org