EcoPreserve Trails closed due to drone overflight. There is a drone research flight scheduled and due to FAA regulations we have to exclude non-participants from certain trails in the EcoPreserve for the duration. These trails will be posted at trailheads and key trail junctions. Thursday September 17 2026 9AM-3PM
We were all astonished to see and hear a scarlet macaw in the oaks near the EcoPreserve gravel lot. Who knew that macaws like to eat acorns? The bird spent a good bit of Wednesday morning pulling acorns off the branches from a number of different pin oaks. A very impressive bird and very loud! Lorenzo, as we learned was the macaw’s name when the owner came to try to coax him down from the treetops. After a few hours,…
Two new benches were added to the central portion of the EcoPreserve. One adjacent to the large meadow off the Orange/Green Trails (pictured above); the other overlooking Buell Brook off the Red Trail. The seat and backs are from slabs sawn from a Dawn Redwood tree that came down on campus; the frame is oak. Thanks to the Urban Forestry program (Dr. Jason Grabosky and Rosyln Dvorin) for the redwood slabs.
Rutgers students Kathryn Wulf, Jun Zhang, Gabriel Palmieri inspecting a mosquito trap Dr. Jennifer Sun, Assistant Professor in the Rutgers University Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology (SEBS), leads a research group interested in the myriad relationships present between insects and microorganisms in nature. In particular, they look at the effects microorganisms have on insect behavior. A core facet of insect-microbe interactions is the insect microbiome, the collection of microbes that live on and inside of the bodies of bugs. Sun’s lab…