As the interim membership chair, please look for the new GCNJ Annual Club Registration form – coming soon. Garden clubs can submit their registration along with their dues and new member information by May 15th. The form will be available in PDF format or Word document. You can submit new members in an Excel worksheet.

Ellen Preissler
GCNJ Membership Chair

LIBERTY STATE PARK DEP Public Meeting

February 4th, 6:00pm

Please login at http://bit.ly/libertyeco for “The Ecological Restoration” program about the varied habitats and trails in the 234 acre interior of the Liberty State Park. Learn about how the natural environment will be improved and the passive amenities that will be installed for public use with all of its benefits to urban residents & students, all visitors and wildlife.

By logging in and filling out the post-meeting survey you are showing your support for the “LSP Protection Act” which will protect the Park and its wildlife habitats.

Many congratulations to the Garden Club of New Jersey 2020 Perennial Bloom Award recipient, Joan Baker, Spring Lake Garden Club. Joan is an unanimous choice from a group of outstanding candidates submitted from our state.

Joan’s accomplishments abound. Over 60 years she has been an active member of the East Brunswick Garden Club and the Spring Lake Garden Club, of which she is a founding member and a past President. Her mastery of horticulture and floral arranging extend to sharing her knowledge and expertise with young people, her community and fellow gardeners. She serves on the Spring Lake Garden Club Scholarship and Awards committees, is the club’s Historian and its Parliamentarian and she wrote the club’s Constitution and By-Laws. Her presence in her Club and in our State are invaluable examples of the impact of how one person’s love of gardening, lovingly shared can build something of enduring value.

The Perennial Bloom Award is a wonderful way to celebrate those in our Garden Clubs who have contributed and given back so much to our communities year after year. Joan certainly embodies all of these qualities and more. Her application now moves on to CAR-SGC for consideration for the regional Golden Perennial Bloom Award. We are sure they will enjoy getting to know Joan as much as we do!!

CONGRATULATIONS JOAN!!!!👏👏👏👏

1. The Garden Club of New Jersey, Inc. is proud to announce that we have unanimously voted to join the Coalition to Pass the Liberty State Park Protection Act and Save the Park’s Caven Point Natural Area.
• Please write, email, and/or phone your local legislators to support this critically important legislation: Senate Bill S1449 and Assembly Bill A2189. Please go to Environment, the circle to the right on our Home Page to find details and links to the petition & state legislature.
2. The GCNJ is working with Liberty State Park, the NJDEP and NJDOT in establishing a Blue Star Memorial at LSP in 2021. Please read the November, 2019 issue of Gardener News under Publications on our website for this back issue with front page History of the Blue Star.
3. The Garden Club of New Jersey, Inc. will embark on a project entitled ‘Freedom Trail of Great Americans’ that will showcase our nation’s great Americans for New Jersey, our nation and for the world to view at Liberty State Park, New Jersey’s gift to the nation. We look forward to working with the NJDEP and other groups to make this a reality.
4. My GCNJ President’s Theme: Paths to Discovery Through Outdoor Learning Centers we hope will have its debut at Liberty State Park with a Pollinator Learning Center. By establishing this initial Learning Center, we wish to inspire many more Learning Centers entertaining and educating the public about conservation, the environment and wildlife with these interactive displays. Full speed ahead as we invite everyone to participate in the design and execution and make this a reality.

View Liberty State Park – Caven Point Video

Jeannie Geremia, GCNJ President

The GCNJ Symposium planned for October 14-15, 2020 has been canceled due to the Covid 19 pandemic. It will be rescheduled for the Fall of 2021 with a specific date to be determined. Information will be posted on this website when further information is available. Thank you.