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Fit Walk Route planning

Belmar Recreation will be meeting interested persons on the boardwalk in front of the Belmar Fishing Club starting Monday March 15  at 11:00. The purpose will be to measure different routes with  Belmar residents using a Rolatape. This will assist people in setting goals and distances for walks or jogging and helping them keep accurate times and distances to mark improvement.

Our goal is to get you moving in a positive direction towards better health. The walks can start in Belmar and go in any reasonable direction and distance. If you have specific needs please plan ahead and call Michael Campbell at 732-681 3700 dial 9 then 211.

Weather permitting we will meet every weekday starting March 15 thru March 25th 2010.

Belmar Rain Garden makes Rutgers Calendar

Belmar’s Rain Garden is featured as “Miss November” in the Rutgers Water Resources Program Calendar for 2010.

The Belmar rain garden was a collaborative project between the Belmar
Borough Environmental Commission and Master Gardeners from Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Monmouth County.   The rain garden is situated near the intersection of Eighth Avenue and North Lake Drive
by Silver Lake and is frequented by citizens of the adjacent
community.  The purpose of installing the rain garden was to divert a portion of the runoff from the road into a vegetative system rather than directly into the storm sewer that discharges into Silver Lake.  It is also intended to serve as an example for homeowners in the area to replicate on their own properties.

See more pictures and information  here.

This rain garden manages stormwater from a portion of North Lake Drive.  The
drainage area was estimated by observing the direction of flow over the road and along the curb/gutter system.  It was determined ahead of time that a curb cut would be required.

After obtaining support from Belmar’s Mayor and Council and being awarded a grant from Verizon, the Belmar Environmental
Commission worked alongside the Master Gardeners from Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Monmouth County to plan and install the rain garden.  The first step of the rain garden installation was to perform the heavy excavation and curb cut.  A small stone-lined ditch was created to connect the curb cut with the rain garden.  A berm was formed on the side of the rain garden closest to the lake.  The final size of the rain garden was 275 square feet in area and 6 inches in depth.  The excavation was generously performed by the the Belmar Borough Public Works Department. Master Gardener  volunteers performed fine excavation by hand, planting, and mulching.  The Belmar Boy Scout Troop also assisted with the rain garden planting.

So if you’re walking around the lake one day, stop by the rain garden and check out the great work done by the volunteers who made this all possible.   Great job everyone and Thanks!

Silver Lake is a haven for winter birds

I have been an amateur bird watcher for over 20 years and I walk my dog near Silver Lake every morning.  Did you know Silver Lake is very attractive habitat for birds, especially in Winter?   I already posted about Atlantic Brant which use the lake and surrounding area, but if you pay attention there are other birds that use the lake all winter for feeding and shelter.

Most mornings the Atlantic Brant, which have spent the night roosting on the water in Shark River Bay, will fly in to Silver Lake in small flocks to bathe in the fresh water that Silver Lake has to offer.  There will sometimes be over 100 birds all thrashing around in the lake to keep their feathers clean.

There is also a small flock of ducks known as Hooded Mergansers that call the Lake their winter home.  These ducks dive in unison to probe the bottom for worms and other invertebrates.  The males have a beautiful white crest that they raise and lower when they are agitated.

Ruddy Ducks are another diving duck that feed in Silver Lake in the same fashion but they are usually in smaller numbers.  American Widgeons feed along the edges of the lake and Northern Shovelers will feed on the surface of the lake.   Occasionally a rarer species like a Canvasback or  a Redhead can be found.   Last winter birders came from all over to find a Drake Eurasian Widgeon that spent the winter here.

And don’t forget the island is a roosting spot for Great Blue Herons and Black Crowned Night Herons.  Look for them every morning sitting in the sun on the Southeast side of the Island.

I’ll post updates on individual species throughout the winter so keep posted, and when you’re walking around the lake pay attention to some of our unusual winter visitors.

Atlantic Brant return to Belmar for the winter.

When we think of snowbirds, we usually think of people fleeing the cold Belmar winters for sunny Florida.   But there is another type of snowbird that calls New Jersey and the Mid- Atlantic its winter home,  a small goose called the Atlantic Brant.  The first flock arrived the other day while I was raking leaves in my yard and for me its a sure sign that winter is here and its time to get ready for  cold weather.

Brant are similar to the Canada Goose but smaller, shorter-necked, and lacking  the conspicuous white cheek patch. They are dark brown above with black head and a white collar on neck.  After nesting in the Arctic during summer, the Brant find the Mid-Atlantic winters just right.   Growing up in Belmar I never saw many Brant around the area but now they are much more abundant.

In the 1930s a disease virtually wiped out eelgrass, until then the favorite food of the Brant, and numbers of this species declined sharply. The survivors switched to the seaweed called sea lettuce. Eelgrass is abundant again in coastal bays, and the numbers of Brant have risen; there are now more than 100,000 wintering on the East Coast, and more than 150,000 on the Pacific Coast. These geese usually spend the winter in very large flocks, feeding on mudflats, constantly uttering their low, muttering calls. All winter long large flocks of noisy Brant will be seen feeding at the marina, on the soccer fields of Maclearie Park, and around Silver and Como Lakes.

Just as the arrival of Brant signals the arrival of cold weather, their departure in the spring means warm weather is sure to follow.

For more information about the Atlantic Brant  go to the NJ Fish and Wildlife website at http://www.state.nj.us/dep/fgw/brant03/main.htm

October 24 is “Make A Difference Day”- Town Cleanup Event

 

Volunteers are needed to help with Belmar’s “Make-a-Difference-Day” activities, on Saturday, October 24th from 9-12.

Activities include town wide cleanup, a sticker removal project and planting of donated flowers and plants.

Tools and clean up materials will be provided.

Volunteers should meet at 9:00am on the Sixth Avenue side of the Municipal Building, at 601 Main Street.

Please come out and help make a difference.

For more information contact Claire Deicke at 732-681-0522 or email ctd@verizon.net<

Event Date(s) and Time(s):

October 24, 2009 9:00 am to 12:00 pm 9:00 am to 12:00 pm

Tags:

New/Used DVDS for our Armed Forces

Belmar Recreation is collecting DVDs for our Service men and women stationed at Kandahar Afghanistan. In their down time it is a great distraction to be able to check out a movie from a video library and dream of being somewhere else. For these brave men and women who sacrifice so much,  we would love to be able to assist them in building the DVD library. Any and all movies will be accepted and sent to Kandahar in care of the USMC. The DVDs will be accessible to all service personnel assigned to that base. If you have some movies that you just don’t use or wish to purchase some for the cause,  Please drop them off at the Belmar Gym at 601 Main Street or call Mike Campbell and I can pick them up if that helps. 732-681-3700 dial 9 then 211

Kayaking the Shark River

Down at the Belmar Marina, next to the charter fishing boats, is a little shack — we call it the Yak Shack. That’s the place to go when you want to cool off in the water after a hot day on the beach. Shark River Kayak Co offers guided kayak tours of the Shark River as well as the Shark River basin. You can also rent kayaks and go exploring on your own. All the kayaks are sit-on-top style, and you have the option of renting a single (for one person) or a tandem (built for two). They also offer fishing kayaks, which are set up to hold all your fishing gear and have up to 6 rod holders. Life vests and paddles are included in the rental price.

Visit www.SharkRiverKayaks.com for more information or call (732) 749-0490.

Low-Speed Vehicles Arrive in Belmar

The Shark River Kayak Company now rents LSVs (Low-Speed Vehicles) at their “Yak Shack” in the Belmar Marina.  These LSVs are 100% street legal and 100% green.  Legal on streets with a speed limit not to exceed 25 mph, you can cruise the Shore from Asbury Park to Sea Girt.  For more info, contact the Shark River Kayak Co. at (732) 749-0490; www.SharkRiverKayaks.com.

Gazebo Arrives at 8th & Main

As part of continuing plans to improve the lot at the corner of 8th Avenue and Main Street, a small gazebo was put in place as a decorative seating area. The lot will be edged by arborvitae trees and the area around the gazebo will be landscaped with flowers and native shrubs, in a design created by members of Belmar’s Green Team.

Mayor & Council Considering “Small Wind” for Belmar

The Mayor & Council recently heard a presentation on wind turbine technology from former Belmar resident Will Heyniger. Will is a 1995 graduate of Kean University, and is currently a graduate student at Montclair State University, where he is seeking a Masters degree in Environmental Management and certification in Geographic Information Systems (GIS). Will works in Kean University’s Geology/Meteorology Department, providing technical and logistical support for 20 faculty members and students. For his service in that role, Will was selected as the sole recipient of the 2009 Presidential Excellence Award for Distinguished Service among professional staff.

Will’s presentation at the Council’s June 10, 2009 Agenda Session incorporated elements of a wind study he performed for Kean University, and grew out of a graduate school research requirement and presentation in Environmental Geoscience. Will’s presentation also covered a variety of more basic issues for the 75 members of the public who attended the presentation, including the difference between “horizontal axis wind turbines” (”HAWT“), the traditional large-scale wind turbine technology that is currently in use in Atlantic City, and “vertical axis wind turbines” (”VAWT“) which are much smaller-scale wind turbines that spin around a vertical shaft like a carousel.

As Will explained in his presentation, large scale turbines require a large open land area away from homes because of the noise they generate. They are generally not a realistic option for densely developed communities like Belmar, at least based on current technology. VAWTs, in contrast, are much quieter and smaller in scale. Indeed, some models are designed to be mounted on the roofs of homes and commercial buildings. Unlike HAWTs, which must swivel so their blades can face the wind, VAWTs can capture the wind from any direction with a much smaller footprint. They also can be visually attractive, and some models appear sculpture-like.

The downside of VAWTs is their “power curve.” While VAWTs begin to spin in windspeeds as low as 5mph, they do not start generating a significant amount of power until the windspeed reaches 10-12 mph. (In very high winds, an internal brake automatically prevents the turbine from spinning out of control). Because New Jersey is a “net-metering” state, any amount of renewable electricity generated in your home will help lower your electric bill. Indeed, on a very windy day, the VAWT (like rooftop solar panels on a very sunny day) can generate enough electricity to make your meter spin backwards. So, the more wind, the more electricity the VAWT will generate, and the more quickly a homeowner — or the Borough of Belmar — can pay off the cost of a wind turbine.

During his presentation, Will stressed the importance of gathering accurate location-specific wind data. He noted that because nearby buildings and other structures can affect the wind at a site either positively or negatively, the Borough should not rely upon generally available data to attempt to assess the feasibility of specific locations for a municipal wind turbine, such as at the marina, beach or lakes. To that end, Mayor Ken Pringle and Council President Merry Brennan, who heads up Belmar’s Green Team, will be meeting with representatives of The Big Wind, a Sea Girt-based distributor for Urban Green Energy, a manufacturer of vertical axis wind turbines, to discuss placing a series of data-recording anenometers in various locations in Belmar in order to begin gathering data and assessing and comparing various locations in town in an effort to identify cost-efficient sites to install VAWT turbines. The Belmar Green Team will take the lead on this effort. In addition to collecting wind data, the Green Team will also assemble information about rebates and energy tax credits to make available to Belmar residents who might be interested in exploring the idea of installing a VAWT wind turbine on their homes.

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