The Conservancy has been working with the Rutgers Master Gardeners program to have the Hilltop Reservation listed as a Master Gardeners work site. This means a local Master Gardener will be nominated as “coordinator” for the Master Gardener volunteers who want to work on one of many Hilltop habitat restoration projects, and hours worked on […]
On Saturday July 7, a group of Scouts from Caldwell Troop 6 helped move a large volume of logs, branches and cut brush in the northern section of the site that is currently choked with Japanese Knotweed, a particularly challenging invasive species to eradicate. With the recent cutting of brush and felling of dead ash […]
The Hilltop Prisoner’s Pond Forest Restoration Project has made significant progress towards its first phase objectives. A dedicated group of volunteers has cleared approximately 1 acre of invasive plant species, primarily bush honeysuckle. These woody-stemmed large shrubs/small trees were so thick one could not walk more than a few feet. Now, most of the aforementioned […]
Read about the Essex County project in North Caldwell that will create a new dog park adjacent to the Hilltop.
Over 6 afternoons, sharpshooters removed 52 deer from an area smaller than one-half square mile in size. Wildlife biologists, ecologists and nature preserve managers recommend keeping deer density down to 20 or fewer per square mile in order to allow the forest to regenerate over time and gradually achieve a more balanced, stable and resilient […]
The Hilltop Conservancy is leading an effort to restore the forest east of Prisoner’s Pond in Verona. Prisoner’s Pond is located just off White Rock Road immediately adjacent to the upper ball field parking lot (“Freedom Field”). This spring-fed pond is the only year-round water source in the Hilltop Reservation and currently supports birds, mammals, […]