11/8/20: River Road Park

Date: November 8th, 2020

Location: River Road Park; Bedminster, NJ

Parks Normal Uses: 

• Softball

• Baseball

• Golf

• Lacrosse

• Soccer

• Events/Gatherings

• Hikes/Walks/Biking

Total Trash Weight (lbs): 10 pounds

Time Spent: 1 hour

Expected Trash Type:

• Softballs

• Golf balls

• Food waste

• Water bottles

• Food wrappers

Found Trash Types (unexpected):

• From a local cub scout troop, they launched a rocket that got stuck in the trees.

• Squash

• Milk jug made out of glass

• Glove

• Bike reflector

• Pesticide signs that were broken apart

 

Where the Litter may be Coming From: 

• Sports (balls that got lost in the woods)

• Someone just left a squash, maybe from a farmer’s market; unsure. 

• The bike reflector may have come from the trail, which people use to walk/bike/hike/run. 

• Fell off of a bike

• The fields use pesticides to keep the grass green, but the lawn maintenance may run over the signs that caution people about them. 

Ideas for Future Cleanups:

• Decide the route to take before starting

• We only completed the fields; go back and complete the hiking trails. 

Interesting things I noticed:

• It was cleaner than the past fields done in Hillsborough.

• I cleaned this after practice with another teammate. The new person added to the experience; they made the cleanup more entertaining, compared to someone affiliated with the troop. 

Additional Photos:

11/7/20: Singley Park Clean-up

Date: November 7th, 2020

Location: Singley Park; 425 Woodfern Road, Hillsborough, NJ 08844

Parks Normal Uses: 

• Sports

• Softball

• Soccer

Total Trash Weight (lbs): 30 pounds

Time Spent: 2.5 hours

Expected Trash Type:

• Sports garbage

• Plastic bottles

• bar wrappers

• Masks 

Found Trash Types (unexpected):

• Metal bench in the woods

• Sandbags (many of them)

• Diapers

• Golf balls (one was destroyed)

Where the Litter may be Coming From: 

• The metal bench could have been deemed unused, so it was put into the woods for some reason instead of being taken care of properly.

• Sandbags are used to hold down the soccer nets, but they were in the woods, so -- like the bench -- it was thrown into the woods.  

• The diaper was under a tree, so I guess someone did not feel the need to dispose of it. 

Ideas for Future Cleanups:

• Take drinkable water/food in the cart if longer than an hour because some wanted water very often.

Additional Photos 

10/10/20: Docherty Park Clean-up

Date: October 10th, 2020

Location: Harold Docherty Memorial Park, 154 Route 206 South; Hillsborough, NJ

Parks Normal Uses: 

• Softball

• Soccer

• Field hockey 

• Roller rink could be a hangout-out spot where people drink alcohol, etc. 

• Using a park for alcohol consumption should not be normalized; it is illegal.

• Playground
• Picnic Area/Shelter

Total Trash Weight (lbs): 28 pounds 

Time Spent: 2.5 hours

Expected Trash Type:

• food wrappers

• water bottles

Found Trash Types (unexpected):

• alcohol/vapes

• a dozen softballs 

• a tarp

Where the Litter may be Coming From: 

• softball/soccer practices

• the loading area on the opposite side of the fence

• group(s) that meet at the park to smoke/drink

Ideas for Future Cleanups:

• Wagon to pull trash

• Wear different shoes (durable ones)

• Bag(s) for plastics/recyclables and bag(s) for trash

Thoughts:

• It was the first clean up, so we did not know what to expect. 

• Not very difficult; we just walked the perimeter. 

• The skating rink was the dirtiest aspect of the park: the second being the parking lots.

Additional Photos:

Hillsborough Clean Communities Litter Kit "Unbagging"

Hi!  We are Colleen and Gunja from Troop 60640!  We are working on our Silver Award project about the environment and the human impact on them. Specifically, we are focusing on litter. As a part of the project, we have involved ourselves in the Hillsborough Clean Communities team. We wanted to share with you what came inside the kit we received from the Hillsborough Clean Communities team to help us clean up around town.

Look for our posts coming soon about our recent cleanups:

- Docherty Park (Hillsborough) on Oct 10, 2020

- Willow Road Park (Hillsborough) on Oct 11, 2020

- Singley Park (Hillsborough) on Nov 7, 2020

- Woodfield Park & Mr C’s Ballfields (Hillsborough) on Nov 7, 2020

- River Road Park (Bedminster) Nov 8, 2020

- LitterCon sponsored by the Hillsborough Clean Communities program on Nov 14, 2020

- Raritan River Cleanup sponsored by Girl Scouts Heart of NJ on Nov 14, 2020 -- https://www.gshnj.org/en/events-repository/2020/take_action_watershe1.html

#htcclittercleanup #kaptaincleanup #bealitterhero #litterhero

Silver Award: Reflect, Share Your Story, and Celebrate - Memory Book Making

Hi, I’m Meghana G from Troop 60640. My Silver Award Project was to spread awareness about Alzheimer's and other forms of Dementia. I did this by working with an organization called Grace Healthcare Services to create memory books for patients with Alzheimer’s and Dementia. I worked with many other Girl Scouts to create these memory books, and the subject matter of the books ranged from food, to clothes, to wild animals. The books were fun to make, and even though there were some issues with meeting due to the pandemic, I was able to successfully help others understand what Dementia is, and why it is so important to know about.

Mary Ellen Day (From Grace Healthcare Services) and me, in front of all of the books that were worked on!

Breathe Journey videos/poster

As part of the Cadette Breathe Journey, the girls investigated, well, breathing!

For their take action projects, they explored some different aspects of ways to improve breathing, from the dangers of smoking and ways to avoid it, to taking time to "breathe" to improve their physical and emotional well-being.

Cookie Sale 2019 Info

Welcome to our troop page on buying Girl Scout Cookies in Hillsborough, NJ 08844!

Pre-orders are currently being taken through Feb 10th, 2019 with product arriving in mid-March.  Booth sales around town will begin in mid-March through mid-April.

Looking for the nearest booth sale to you?  Check out the GSHNJ cookie finder:

https://www.gshnj.org/content/gshnj/en/cookies/find-cookies.html

Feel free to email our leaders at gshnj60640@gmail.com to find out if any of our scouts live near you to take your order!

Thanks for supporting Girl Scouts!