Agenda

Day 1 – Sunday, Oct 1

7:00 am – 3:00 pm        Meadowlands Birding Festival – FREE at 2 De Korte Park Plaza, Lyndhurst, NJ

The event starts with an early bird walk at 7 a.m. and continues throughout the day until 3 p.m. There will also be live raptor shows, a keynote talk on Osprey, kid’s crafts and games, and much more. Check out the full schedule below!

7:00 am            Harrier Meadow Walk/Bird-Banding Demonstration, led by Bergen County Audubon Society and NJSEA-MRRI Biologists

9:30 am            Sawmill Trail Walk, led by NJSEA-MRRI Biologists

10:00 am          Birding for Beginners, Don Torino, BCAS

10:30 am          Marsh Discovery Trail Walk and Birdability Event, led by BCAS

11:00 am and 1:15 pm          Live Raptor Show by Giselle Smisko, Avian Wildlife Center

11:45 am           NJSEA-MRRI Report on Meadowlands Bird Research

12:00 pm          Guest Speaker: National Audubon’s Dr. Jill Deppe

1:00 pm            Marsh Discovery Trail Walk, led by NJSEA-MRRI Biologists

2:00 pm            The Screech Owl Companion, a new book by Jim Wright

ALL DAY:          Flat Rock Brook Nature Center Raptors, Children’s Activities, Music by Hudson Woodpile

3:00 pm – 5:00 pm        SER-MA Opening Reception at Bolero Snort Brewery, 316 20th Street, Carlstadt, NJ

 

Day 2 – Monday, Oct 2

At 2 De Korte Park Plaza, Lyndhurst, NJ (NJSEA’s Environmental Center)

7:30 am – 8:00 am        REGISTRATION AND BREAKFAST

8:00 am – 8:10 am        Terry Doss, CERP – Welcome to the Meadowlands

8:10 am – 8:20 am        Rich Pfingsten – Welcome from the SER-MA President

8:20 am – 9:00 am        Don Torino, Bergen County Audubon Society – My Life in the Meadowlands

9:00 am – 10:15 am      Plenary Session 1

  • 9:00 am      Chris Haight, NYC Department of Parks and Recreation: Assessment Techniques for Evaluating Salt Marsh Resilience to Sea Level Rise in NYC
  • 9:15 am      Georgina Cullman, NYC Department of Parks and Recreation: A Social Assessment Methodology for Natural Areas Restoration Design and Planning
  • 9:30 am      Christina Pollack, CERP, GISP, CFM, Princeton Hydro, LLC: Liberty State Park Natural Resource Restoration Project
  • 9:45 am      Eve Allen, Ecological Health Network: The Northeast Seed Network: Overview, work to date, and next steps on developing a restoration supply network
  • 10:00 am    Sarah Koser, PWS, BCES, CERP, Chesapeake Bay Trust: Urban Restoration Practices Need the Maintenance Funds They Deserve!

10:15 am – 10:30 am     BREAK 1

10:30 am – 10:45 am     Paul Juliano, NJSEA President – Welcome from the NJSEA

10:45 am – 11:45 am     Marty McHugh, GES Director of Regulatory Affairs: The Public Trust Doctrine & Ecological Restoration, “Perfect Together” in NJ & Across the US

11:45 am – 12:00 pm     BREAK 2

12:00 pm – 1:00 pm      LIVE RECORDING – Native Plant, Healthy Planet Podcast with Fran Chismar and Tom Knezick, and guest Rebecca Swadek, NYC Parks

1:00 pm – 2:30 pm        LUNCH & SER-MA CHAPTER MEETING

2:30 pm – 3:00 pm        Danielle McCulloch, USFWS, NJ Coastal Resilience Collaborative: Coastal Habitat & Aquatic Resource Research & Monitoring Work Group

3:00 pm – 4:30 pm        Plenary Session 2

  • 3:00 pm      Geoffrey Goll, PE, Princeton Hydro, LLC: Dam Removal and River Restoration in the Urban Environment
  • 3:15 pm      Jamie Ong, NYC Department of Parks and Recreation: Bronx River Fish Passage: Evaluating Dam Removal
  • 3:30 pm      Bill Young, CERP PWS, Reforestation Solutions: A River Runs through It, Restoration of a Highly Contaminated Site in Plainfield NJ
  • 3:45 pm      Michael Rehman, CERP PWS, Princeton Hydro LLC: Elizabeth NJ Wetland Restoration – Ecological Uplift in an Urban Setting
  • 4:00 pm      Kevin Dahms, PE, Biohabitats: From an Abandoned Rubble Fill to a Sand Seepage Wetland – Restoration and Ecological Uplift of Teaneck Creek Park within Bergen County’s Overpeck County Park
  • 4:15 pm      Mark Gallagher, Princeton Hydro, LLC: The Third River Wetland Floodplain Wetland Creation Project – An Urban Restoration Story

4:30 pm – 5:00 pm        CLOSING REMARKS

5:30 pm – 7:30 pm        HAPPY HOUR & NETWORKING EVENT/POSTER PRESENTATIONS – Courtyard by Marriott, 1 Polito Avenue, Lyndhurst NJ (Cash Bar)

 

Day 3 – Tuesday, Oct 3

Field Trip Excursion

7:30 am – 2:00 pm        Northern NJ Field Trip

Field trips at the SER Mid-Atlantic Conference are one of the many ways to take advantage of your time here in the Meadowlands with your fellow restoration practitioners! The excursion allows you to get up close and personal with restoration projects and explore the beauty of the region.

A box lunch and round-trip shuttle service to the sites will be provided. Please wear appropriate field gear, bring bug spray and sunscreen, and bring plenty of water. The field trip will be a 6 to 7-hour event. The field trip will leave from the Courtyard at Marriott at 1 Polito Drive, Lyndhurst, NJ.

*Please note that the Staten Island, NY field trip has been cancelled and only the Northern NJ field trip is being offered. 

A description of the field trip is provided here.