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Friends of Hopewell Valley Open Space to expand community conservation efforts

The Friends of Hopewell Valley Open Space, a nonprofit land trust, has launched a survey to help the organization understand Central New Jersey residents’ concerns about the environment and their top priorities for expanding conservation efforts.

You can take the survey online. It takes about seven minutes.

The Friends of Hopewell Valley Open Space received two grants totaling more than $100,000 from the Princeton Area Community Foundation’s Bunbury Grant program and the Open Space Institute and Land Trust Alliance’s Land and Climate Program to support the expansion of the nonprofit’s community partnerships to conserve privately owned land.

Grants will support research, planning, and strategy work to expand the Community Conservation Program, which enlists private landowners to promote native plants, reduce stormwater runoff, and increase biodiversity on their properties. Currently, the organization has nearly 300 homeowners participating in the Community Conservation Plan, which encompasses nearly 4,000 acres of land.

“We are extremely proud to own or manage nearly 3,000 acres of natural lands in the Hopewell Valley for the benefit of nature and the public,” said Friends of Hopewell Valley Open Space President Judith Karp. “But we also recognize that’s a small percentage of our valley and of the larger region, so it is important to help residents and corporations become better stewards of their lands, too.”

Representatives said new stewardship efforts will be aimed at the wider region, including all of Mercer County and neighboring communities such as Montgomery to the east, Lambertville to the west, and the Amwells to the north.

“We believe that expert land stewardship is essential for enhancing biodiversity and preserving human health,” Friends of Hopewell Valley Open Space Executive Director Jenn Rogersand said. “By expanding our partnerships with government agencies and private companies, we can further our mission to protect and restore natural lands.”

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Krystal Knapp is the founding editor of Planet Princeton. Follow her on Twitter @krystalknapp. She can be reached via email at editor AT planetprinceton.com. Send all letters to the editor and press releases to that email address.