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Natural Awakenings Central New Jersey

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Special Incentives to Show Love for the Trails in February

The New York–New Jersey Trail Conference is celebrating Valentine’s Day by asking trail lovers to keep the mountains close to their heart with an exclusive, limited-edition T-shirt—a gift to anyone who becomes a Trail Conference member in February. Also, an anonymous couple who love each other and the trails will match February donations to the Trail Conference by Natural Awakenings readers.

The Trail Conference is a volunteer-powered organization that builds, maintains and protects public trails. Together with its partner organizations, it strives to ensure that the trails and natural areas in the New York–New Jersey area remain sustainable and publicly accessible for generations to come.

Every month, the Trail Conference hosts guided hikes and trail runs. This month’s free events include a guided hike on February 28 at Teatown Lake Reservation, in Ossining, New York, and a trail run on February 8 in Cedar Grove, New Jersey.

For more information about this or other events, or to read about donating to, volunteering for or joining the Trail Conference, visit nynjtc.org  To learn how to double a donation, see ad on page 26.  

In-Print News Briefs February 2020
Tick Talk

Spring officially sprung on March 21. We have turned our clocks ahead. We are looking forward to warm winds, sunny skies and the smell of fresh cut grass. The daffodils and tulips have recently bloomed and we are just starting with the yard work that comes with the warmer weather.  Sadly, another season has started ramping up.  Tick season.

•             The best form of protection is prevention. Educating oneself about tick activity and how our behaviors overlap with tick habitats is the first step.

•             According to the NJ DOH, in 2022 Hunterdon County led the state with a Lyme disease incidence rate of 426 cases per 100,000 people. The fact is ticks spend approximately 90% of their lives not on a host but aggressively searching for one, molting to their next stage or over-wintering. This is why a tick remediation program should be implemented on school grounds where NJ DOH deems high risk for tick exposure and subsequent attachment to human hosts.

•             Governor Murphy has signed a bill that mandates tick education in NJ public schools. See this for the details.  Tick education must now be incorporated into K-12 school curriculum. See link:

https://www.nj.gov/education/broadcasts/2023/sept/27/TicksandTick-BorneIllnessEducation.pdf

•             May is a great month to remind the public that tick activity is in full swing. In New Jersey, there are many tickborne diseases that affect residents, including Anaplasmosis, Babesiosis, Ehrlichiosis, Lyme disease, Powassan, and Spotted Fever Group Rickettsiosis.

•             For years, the focus has mainly been about protecting ourselves from Lyme disease. But other tick-borne diseases are on the rise in Central Jersey. An increase of incidence of Babesia and Anaplasma are sidelining people too. These two pathogens are scary because they effect our blood cells. Babesia affects the red blood cells and Anaplasma effects the white blood cells.

•             Ticks can be infected with more than one pathogen. When you contract Lyme it is possible to contract more than just that one disease. This is called a co-infection. It is super important to pay attention to your symptoms. See link.

https://twp.freehold.nj.us/480/Disease-Co-Infection

A good resource from the State:

https://www.nj.gov/health/cd/topics/tickborne.shtml

 

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