Conservation Management Area
The Germenhausen Park - Conservation Management Area is 3.8 acres of protected open space and a restored natural habitat located off of Brooklake Road. The site is the first place in Florham Park designated solely for passive recreation. It offers a natural retreat for all visitors and promises to serve as an informative destination for schools and community groups to learn about local ecology.
The Commission has been working to restore the property to its original natural form as an early successional forest rather than a mowed piece of public land. Visitors can now observe native trees, shrubs, wildflowers and wildlife and better understand how environmental conservation and restoration projects ensure biodiversity. Visitors can follow a ½ mile walking trail overlooking the Passaic River floodplain.
Stop and listen for a few minutes and you may hear songbirds such as orioles, song sparrows and gold finch, and see green frogs, butterflies, dragonflies, turtles and flora with names like beardtongue, black-eyed susan, boneset and mistflower that were planted with the help of many volunteers.
A big THANK YOU to the work groups that have volunteered to clean up and maintain the site. Prudential employees devoted a day in 2008 and on May 2, 2009, the Hatch Mott McDonald Group made significant progress helping install the new sign, remove invasives and protect plants from deer damage. A committed group of volunteers from town made huge progress weeding on June 27th (see photos below) and another productive cleanup took place Saturday July 11th with tons of mugwort removed. Additional thanks goes to Novartis and the motivated group of nearly 50 employees who spent Thursday, October 1, 2009 improving the site and assembling a boardwalk for better access. The work day was coordinated through the NJ Land Conservancy. Florham Park resident and handyman Roger Steinbach donated a lot of time to cut the lumber for the walking path that now enables people to walk along the trail on the site.
Here’s a flyer that describes some of the activity you can observe when you visit. The Environmental Commission provides this flyer to the Girl Scout troops and groups that take tours of the site. Conservation Management Area Tour Flyer
You can also read each month’s naturalist notes, posted in the kiosk on site. Or download those posted here and bring with you so you can refer to it as you walk around.
January Natural Events - CMA
July Natural Events - CMA
WHAT VISITORS ARE SAYING
“It was great to stop by and walk around. We can’t wait for spring to come and watch all the flowers and plants. Also, we are going fishing at the lake! Keep up the good work!” March 2010
“A short local walk turned into a charming and educational meandering. We were already curious about finding out what was going on with the catwalk, and Blaine’s visit sparked even more curiosity & civic/environmental pride. Well done! We’ll be back to check out the seasonal antics of nature!” April 2010
