Skip to content

A town square for an unsquare town

redbankgreen

Standing for the vitality of Red Bank, its community, and the fun we have together.

RED BANK: TURTLES & PLANTS SETTLE IN

red-bank-bellhaven-turtle-beach-060821-500x332-8009434Creating the turtle habitat at Bellhaven involved trucking in a special blend of sand. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

Red Bank’s Environmental Commission has debuted a pair of completed projects spotlighting turtles and water conservation in recent weeks.

red-bank-first-aid-063021-1-500x375-5473140The new rain garden at the First Aid building on Spring Street. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

• In the Bellhaven Natural Area alongside the Swimming River, at the foot of Locust Avenue, the commission recently oversaw the creation of a turtle habitat.

The project, executed by the nonprofit group Project Terrapin, involved creating a small nesting beach for Northern Diamondback Terrapins, said commission Chairwoman Nancy Facey-Blackwood.

It was needed, she said, because baby turtles were attempting to cross the new Red Bank Primary School emergency access road going to and from the river, but “some could not make it because the curbs on the access road were too high for them to climb over,” she said via email.

Some died there, and others were taken as food by bald eagles, she said.

Beginning in the summer of 2020, a group of volunteers from the commission, Project Terrapin, Clean Ocean Action and the borough’s Animal Welfare Committee met at Bellhaven to assess the situation and determine a location for a “turtle garden” – an artificial nesting site on the riverbank.

Jersey Soil Blending was contracted to bring in a particular blend of sand required to attract the terrapins. That expense, paid by the borough, was the project’s only outlay for the project, said Facey-Blackwood.

The turtles seem to like the result, she said. While organizers did not expect any turtle activity for at least a year, “we noticed turtles popping up with interest while the soil was being laid down, and 12 hours later there were signs that turtles were present,” she said. A recent count found four nests.

The habitat is located behind a split-rail fence, and visitors are prohibited from accessing the site.

• The commission also completed the creation of a rain garden at the volunteer First Aid building on Spring Street, also home to the Independent and Liberty Hose fire companies.

The location was one of the municipal properties recommended for action i in the Impervious Cover Reduction Plan created for the borough by the Rutgers Cooperative Extension Water Resources Program in 2017.

The garden, located in a small triangular island of pavement, does not need to be irrigated and should survive by picking up water runoff, said Facey-Blackwood. Rainwater gardens also help reduce stormwater runoff, according to the Rutgers report.

The borough “is adding rain gardens wherever feasible” as it works on projects, she said. There’s one in front of the public library, on West Front Street, and another was created as part of the White Street parking lot makeover near White Street and Maple Avenue, she said.

Remember: Nothing makes a Red Bank friend happier than to hear "I saw you on Red Bank Green!"
redbankgreen Classics
Partyline
DEM GOV HOPEFUL FULOP VISITS RED BANK
110 people braved the ice on Super Bowl Sunday morning to head to Triumph Brewery to hear Steve Fulop’s case for why he should be our ...
REAL BRICKS!
Pardon our nerdiness, but we were excited to see the facade of the long-vacant building at 42 Monmouth being renovated with a facade that ap ...
NAVESINK SUNRISE
Sunrise colors Sunday over the Navesink. Shot from Maple Cove. (photo by Partyline contributor Thomas Doremus)
PET OWNER TO RED BANK: SCREW YOU
(photo and text by Partyline contributor Anna Cruz; headline by redbankgreen) Remember to scoop the poop!  
A HAIR DRYER IN A TREE?
(Photo and text by Partyline contributor Nicole Taetsch) If someone is missing a red hair dryer, it’s hanging from a tree on Oakland S ...
FROM DEEP LEFT FIELD..
(Photo and words by Partyline contributor Peter Cavalier) Shapes, Angles, and Colors: an Artist’s Canvas Where: A frigid Saturday morn ...
SUNSET ICE BOATING
Sunset ice boating Saturday. (photo by Partyline contributor Thomas Doremus)
ICY NAVESINK BLISS
Ice boating is back, baby! (Photo by partyline contributor Boris Kofman)
TEACHERS GET COUNCIL KUDOS
The Mayor and Borough Council honored five teachers from the Red Bank Borough Schools who were selected for the Governor’s Educator of the ...
RED BANK LIBRARY HEAD BIDS ADIEU
Eleni Glykis in her last day on the job in Red Bank Thursday (photo by Brian Donohue) redbankgreen stopped in the Red Bank Public Library to ...
TO TOWER HILL!
Parents and kids flocked to Tower Hill on Monday morning, taking advantage of the federal holiday and perfectly timed Sunday snowfall.
BROAD STREET IN WHITE
Taken during the snowstorm Sunday. (Photo by Partyline contributor Thomas Doremus)
Stunning Sunrise at Marine Park
Sunday’s sunrise from Marine Park. (photo by Partyline contributor Thomas Doremus)  
WALL STREET CLOSED FOR LEAK
Wall Street in Red Bank closed for water leak.
INDOOR SOCCER KICKS OFF
Pre-k and kindergarten aged kids were at Red Bank Middle School bright and early Sunday, participating in the indoor soccer program hosted b ...
SUNSET OVER FROZEN NAVESINK RIVER
Sunset colors Saturday evening over the ice shot from  Shrewsbury Ave. (Photo by Partyline contributor Thomas Doremus)  
ICY VIEW FROM TRAIN WINDOW
View of the partially frozen Navesink River Saturday afternoon from NJCL Train #7244. (Photo by Partyline contributor Karly Swaim)
RBR BEATS RBC IN BOYS HOOPS RIVALRY
 Red Bank Regional's boys basketball came out with the win at home against their crosstown rivals Red Bank Catholic on Tuesday in Little Si ...
FRIGID DINNER FOR WATER LINE WORKERS
Work continued into the late night hours on Bank Street Tuesday night as a crew replaced several water lines to homes under the town wide le ...
SNOWY THREE KINGS DAY
The three kings in the St. Anthony of Padua Nativity scene have a dusting of snow on their crowns as well as the gold, frankincense and myrr ...