Welcome!
This 45-acre township-owned property offers a stream, forest, meadow, network of trails and a community nature center. They are ideal for you, your family or a school field trip. We are located at 481 Drexel Avenue, Lawrence Township, NJ 08648.
The “Friends of the Lawrence Nature Center” is a community volunteer organization. Please join us,we need your help and support! We are awaiting approval for our non-profit 501 (c) (3) status.For more information about the Lawrence Nature Center, please contact the Lawrence Township Recreation Department at 609-844-7067, go to www. lawrencetwp.com or email lawrencenaturecenter@gmail.com
Resources
- Download the New Lawrence Nature Center Brochure.
- Site Map and Information
See the Brochure for a map of the Nature Center and Drexel Woods including trails. - Programs for all Ages
Check announcements for upcoming events! - Download the attached Newsletter and list of upcoming events for 2012 at the Lawrence Nature Center.
- Download the 2012 Mushroom Calendar
- Download the Nature Coloring Book for a funfilled activity to enjoy nature and wildlife.
- Where to Hike in Lawrence
Use the guide to find local hiking trails.
MEETINGS (TIME/DAY)
The Friends of the Lawrence Nature Center (FLNC) meet at 7:00 pm on the second Wednesday of each month at the Nature Center. Please call the Lawrence Township Recreation Department at 609-844-7067 for schedule changes.
The LNC Education Committee meets the fourth Tuesday of each month at 7:00 pm at the Lawrence Nature Center. Check the attached for updates and details.
You can also reach the Friends of the Lawrence Nature Center and the LNC Education Committee by emailing: lawrencenaturecenter@gmail.com
Join Our Mailing List
Herptile Research comes to a close for 2011
by Rick Dutko
The second year of the reptile and amphibian research project at the Lawrence Nature Center came to a close on November 8th, 2011. I ‘elected’ to try the final survey for these secretive animals on a beautiful Fall morning after casting my early morning vote (number 27 for my district) even though the overnight temperatures were in the low 40s or upper 30s. Reptiles and amphibians, collectively called herptiles, are cold blooded animals. They need to warm up to be active; especially on this early November morning. My hope was to find them sluggishly awaiting beneath our wooden cover boards. I deduced they would be patiently waiting for the warmth of the sun to gradually increase the subtle microhabitat of that inch or two of soil and leaf litter in Drexel Woods. In other words, it was probably going to be easy pickings for me.
Based on previous Cover Board Surveys I have done in Hunterdon, Monmouth and Ocean Counties as a volunteer for the Endangered and Nongame Species Program in the Division of Fish and Wildlife, I knew that October and early November are peak periods to find salamanders. However, Drexel Woods and its surrounding environs are not prime habitat for a high diversity of salamanders (or other herptiles for that matter).
Walking amongst the tall trees one might think this is a great locale for woodland creatures. It is easy to hear and see the many species of songbirds, woodpeckers and even birds of prey. The field and forest are home to many types of mammals, some of which can be seen regularly such as the white-tailed deer, cottontail rabbit, woodchuck or ground hog, eastern gray squirrel, even red fox and bats. [Speaking of bats, in the late afternoon I was back on the White Trail and got the pleasure of watching a red bat forage in the open subcanopy, just over my head.
Read the full article on The Herptile Survey including photographs.
This site is sponsored by The Township of Lawrence. For webpage comments or questions,
please contact Steve Groeger. Web site design by Monica Zhou and Castle Haven.