Day: 13 May 2022

Yellow Door

This small yellow-door kiosk is one of many badge purchase kiosks one sees along the boardwalks in New Jersey.

In New Jersey, you pay to access the beach. I was told that the money is used for beach cleanup. Beach passes can be expensive and have made some beaches in New Jersey inaccessible to some year-round residents and low-income families looking for an inexpensive beach experience.

I want everyone to enjoy the beach ~ Lisa Cramp, Asbury Park resident and Founder of the Asbury Park Community Beach Badge Fund

The Asbury Park Community Beach Badge Fund was established by Lisa Cramp when she noticed a trend in the beach area. While working at a bar on the boardwalk, Lisa noticed that many families would wait until after the beach staff and lifeguards went home for the day. Underprivileged families and teens could enjoy the beach for free but ran the risk of swimming in the ocean without professional supervision. Since 2018, the Asbury Park Community Beach Badge Fund has raised over $36,000 towards badges for Asbury Park residents in need.

I remember the first time I was asked to pay a fee to access the beach in New Jersey. I was appalled. In the West Indies, beaches are public property. You can put up a multi-million dollar house on the beach, but if you fence off the beach, you will be fined, but the citizens have the right to destroy the fence to ensure their right of way.

I can’t even imagine how that would work. Imagine a scenario where you are born on the island. Wealthy westerners buy up all the beaches and fence them off. The only way you, the island-born person, can see the beach is via the tourist brochure. I imagine there would be a revolt.

This small yellow-door kiosk is one of many badge purchase kiosks one sees along the boardwalks in New Jersey.

Northern Parula

This Northern Parula was a feathered artist painting the forest with song.

A Northern Parula warbler perches on a slender branch amid the emerging spring in Stokes State Forest Park. The background showcases the emergence of new delicate foliage in shades of red and green. Hanging catkins resemble a chandelier surrounding the warbler, which is decorated in a mosaic of blues and yellows.

This Northern Parula has a slate-blue back, a vibrant yellow throat extending down its chest, and a distinctive patch of rusty or chestnut colouring within the yellow. Its breast and belly transition to greyish-white. Dark blue-grey feathers with two white wing bars grace its wings, contributing to its complex plumage. The head features the same slate blue with a white eye crescent.

Despite its size, this Northern Parula, nearly hidden amid the springtime foliage, highlights the rich ecosystem of Stoke State Forest Park in Sandyston, New Jersey. The parula performs as a feathered artist, painting the forest with its melodious song.

I stumbled upon this photograph while organising my Adobe Lightroom catalogue. It was among a collection of warbler images captured during a workshop in Stoke State Forest Park in the spring of 2022.