To the Editor:

We would like to thank the Mountain Lakes Association and Steve Hiltner, naturalist and editor of Princeton Nature Notes (www.princetonnaturenotes.blogspot.com) for making possible the entertaining and educational “tree identification and invasive species” walk through Mountain Lakes Preserve on June 24. Perfect weather set the stage!

This free two-hour tour, attended by more than 30 area residents, was one of a series of outreach activities of the Princeton Borough Shade Tree Commission (PBSTC) to raise awareness of and interest in the tree resources found in our soon-to-be-consolidated Princeton. Attendees encountered hazelnut trees, redbuds, black locusts, pignut hickories, sugar and red maples, witch hazels, red oaks, black walnuts, among others, and they identified many invasive grass and shrub species as well. Mr. Hiltner introduced hikers to the results of restoration work on dams and waterways in the Preserve. He described successful projects to plant native wildflower gardens and rain gardens on the Mountain Lakes property, and he explained future plans to prepare vernal pools, shallow habitats to protect frog and salamander eggs from hungry fish.

The Princeton Adult School will cosponsor the next PBSTC tree walk on October 6, a Fall Foliage trek through the Institute Woods, to be led by Dr. Henry and Betty Horn. Participants will register through the Adult School.

More about the recent walk, the mystery tree detective contest, and other tree-related events can be found at our website: www.pbshadetree.org.

Alexandra Radbil, chair

Pat Hyatt, vice-chair

Princeton Borough Shade Tree Commission