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Natural Awakenings Central New Jersey

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National Herb Day Festival

May 01, 2024 02:40PM ● By Jeaniesa Santiano

Enjoy a day celebrating all the wonders of herbs! Enjoy free informative lectures and presentations, tours of spectacular gardens, as well as a Craft Market featuring a wide selection of vendors, basket and gift raffles, and food. All of this and more will take place from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., on May 4 at Well-Sweep Herb Farm in Port Murray.

In addition, three different live musicians will add to the festivities.  Featured speakers include founder of Herbalist and Alchemist David Winston, RH, as well as his students and colleagues Kerry Adams, Dr. Glenn Gero, Dr. Wendy Warner, Amanda Crooke, Charis Lindroth, Cheryl Karcher, Jim Furey and more.  Plus, a large selection of the farm’s 1,898 varieties of plants will be available.

Admission and parking are free at this rain or shine festival.

Location: 205 Mount Bethel Rd., Port Murray. 908-852-5390. For details, call 908-5390 or visit WellSweep.com.

In-Print, Wellness, Nutrition Health Brief May 2024
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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