Urban Garden

Maybe "sustainable bird garden" isn't the first thing that comes to mind when you think about downtown Newark, NJ, but did you know that we have not one, but two of them on the Rutgers campus here?

These gardens were planted and enlarged over the past several Earth Days with the help of student volunteers, the Greater Newark Conservancy, and campus staff. Our very own Professor Claus Holzapfel helped choose plants that would attract and feed the birds that regularly fly over campus on their migratory paths.

Right now both gardens are in full bloom in the Norman Samuels Plaza. Helen Paxton took these great photos of the plants (and bumblebees) this week.

The signage on our first garden, the smaller of the two, describes the project.

Our larger bird garden includes a sign with photos and descriptions of a few of the many bird species (over 100!) that have been spotted on campus.

Close up of a bumblebee on an echinacea plant - if you click on the photo for the larger version, you'll see some amazing detail on the wings. I love this photo (and no, I'm not just saying that because the photographer happens to be my boss!)