The Friends for the Abbott Marshlands (Friends) are an all-volunteer grassroots organization, organized in 2002 as a project of  D&R Greenway Land Trust. (See Origins, below).  The mission of the Friends is to:  engage and inspire a diverse community to experience the unique nature and history of the Abbott Marshlands. The Friends strive to partner with other agencies (public, nonprofit and private) to protect, preserve, enhance and promote the natural, historical and recreational resources provided by the Marshlands.

Reflecting (c Ann Darlington)

Priorities for Action

1. Expand the community of people who cherish the Abbott Marshlands and take part in their stewardship.
2. Advance the Tulpehaking Nature Center as the Gateway to the Abbott Marshlands and the center for education and recreation programs that offer people various ways to connect to the Abbott Marshlands.
3. Increase our organizational capacity so that we may better serve people who care about and benefit from the Abbott Marshlands.
4. Work with the Abbott Marshlands Council in its Cooperative Stewardship efforts.
5. Serve as a “Voice for the Marshlands” advocating for protection, preservation, and stewardship for the whole of the Abbott Marshlands.
Approved by the Executive Committee

Revised 7/12/2019

 

Origins of the Friends

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Ned Gilmore & Boy (© MA Leck)

In 2002, Friends for the Marsh was organized in support of preservation of the Marshlands, following a recommendation of the Hamilton/Trenton Marsh Management Plan –1999, which was published by the Hamilton/Trenton Marsh Management Plan Committee and coordinated by Delaware & Raritan Greenway (now known as D&R Greenway Land Trust).

The name for the Friends was changed to Friends for the Abbott Marshlands in 2011 to acknowledge the branding initiative designed to bring attention to the historical and natural significance of the area.
Since 2002, the Friends have organized and sponsored a variety of programs with the intent of educating people about the marsh. Programs have included field and canoe trips, trail maintenance and clean-up activities, symposia, and Voices for the Marsh juried photography shows. Two major exhibits have also featured the Marshlands. Ebb & Flow: 10,000 Years at the Hamilton – Trenton – Bordentown Marsh, an exhibit shown at D&R Greenway Land Trust in 2010 featured the Voices for the Marsh show. In autumn 2014, an exhibit, The Abbott Marshlands – More than Meets the Eye, held at The Trenton City Museum at Ellarslie, located in Cadwalader Park, also featured marsh photographs.

Friends for the Abbott Marshlands worked together with the other partners to develop the Cooperative Stewardship Plan – Hamilton – Trenton – Bordentown Marsh 2010, a blueprint for Marshlands stewardship and management.  Friends for the Abbott Marshlands is also a member of the Abbott Marshlands Council, whose charge is to assist in implementing this plan.