The Friends of Hopewell Valley Open Space (FoHVOS) announced it received two grants totaling $101,250 from the Princeton Area Community Foundation’s Bunbury Grant program and the Open Space Institute and Land Trust Alliance’s Land and Climate Program. Both grants will support the expansion of the nonprofit’s community partnerships in the conservation of privately owned land, and its continuing stewardship of FoHVOS-owned and managed lands.
“We are extremely proud to own or manage nearly 3,000 acres of natural lands in the Hopewell Valley for the benefit of nature and the public” said FoHVOS President Judith Karp. “But we also recognize that’s a small percentage of our valley and the larger region, so it is important to help residents and corporations become better stewards of their lands, too.”
While the FoHVOS preserves are in the Hopewell Valley, their stewardship efforts will be aimed at a wider region including all of Mercer County and neighboring communities such as Montgomery to the east, Lambertville to the west, and the Amwells to the north.
To help inform the nonprofits’ expansion of stewardship programs, the organization is asking residents in those areas to take a 7-minute online Community Conservation Survey available at the following link: 2025 FoHVOS Survey.
The two new grants will support research, planning, and strategy work to expand the FoHVOS Community Conservation Program, which enlists private landowners to promote native plants, reduce stormwater runoff, and increase biodiversity on their properties. Currently, the organization has nearly 300 homeowners participating in the Community Conservation Plan, encompassing nearly 4,000 acres of land.
“FoHVOS and its Invasive Species Strike Team are recognized as statewide leaders in land stewardship, which gives us an opportunity to deepen our impact in this critical area,” said FoHVOS Executive Director Jenn Rogers, who joined the organization in early 2024. “We believe that expert land stewardship is essential for enhancing biodiversity and preserving human health. By expanding our partnerships with government agencies and private companies, we can further our mission to protect and restore natural lands.”
FoHVOS Vice President Mark Bean, and his wife Samantha, have created a biodiverse yard at their Hopewell Township property, where they have converted a detention basin to a lush meadow, established native landscaping beds, and a rain garden to reduce stormwater runoff and recharge groundwater supplies. A tangible result of their efforts is reduced water in their basement during rainstorms.
Samantha Bean’s blog, Flutterby Meadows, documents the large increase in birds and pollinators that have been attracted to their property since they replaced exotic plants and traditional lawn area with native plants. “Seeing a migratory bird in our yard, or an opportunist native plant that chooses to grow, I find joy in the unexpected,” she explained.
For more information about FoHVOS, visit their website: https://www.fohvos.info. And to read Jenn Roger’s column with MercerMe, check out this link: https://mercerme.com/author/jenn-rogers/
