The Jersey Shore Chapter of the Native Plant Society of New Jersey held an informative workshop on Winter Sowing at Jakes Branch County Park in Beachwood, New Jersey, in January 2026.
Ellen Silverman, a member of both the Native Plant Society of New Jersey and the Rutgers Master Gardeners of Ocean County, provided expert tips on how to jump-start your garden with winter sowing.
Steps include gathering plastic jugs, creating drainage holes, cutting the jugs almost all the way around, adding soil and water, labeling the jugs, sprinkling on (ideally) native seeds, taping the jugs closed, and putting them outside for the winter.
The seeds used require cold stratification to bring them out of dormancy. The jugs protect the seeds from birds, chipmunks, mice, and other wildlife.
In the spring, gardeners will separate the hardy seedlings and put them in pots or in the ground. Growing plants in this way is much less expensive than purchasing seedlings from a store.
Growing native plants both beautifies your yard and benefits local wildlife.
Native Plant Society of New Jersey https://npsnj.org/
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Do you want to help butterflies, birds, and bees thrive, and help mitigate some of the damage we've done to Mother Earth? Master Arborist, Basil Camu, wrote "From Wasteland to Wonder: Easy Ways We Can Help Heal Earth in the Sub/Urban Landscape" to provide practical ways everyone can do their part to help the planet. He is so committed to this work, he is offering the book to everyone for free.
After Camu began working in his family's tree service business, Leaf and Limb, in Raleigh, North Carolina, he realized cutting down trees was doing massive harm to the environment. He and his father, Colin, made the radical decision to stop cutting down trees, and concentrate on structural pruning, instead.
In this interview, Camu explains the difference between dirt and soil, and offers tips on improving soil health, reducing the size of lawns, creating meadows and pocket forests, and substituting compost for harmful chemicals.
Project Pando, a nonprofit Camu founded, engages people in collecting native seeds, which are then grown into saplings, and given away for planting.
Camu calls himself a "treecologist" and a "Wizard of Things"; through extensive reading and taking action, he's working to do his part to preserve nature for his children and generations to come.
Project Pando https://www.leaflimb.com/project-pando/
"From Wasteland to Wonder" https://www.leaflimb.com/wonder/
Sandra Levine Productions https://sandralevine.com

Watch "Still Time for Joy" as a video podcast on YouTube @SandraLevineProd

Working in law enforcement can be among the most stressful jobs: police respond to traumatic situations including fatal motor vehicle accidents, suicides, shootings, fires, domestic violence, and much more. For more than 25 years, a peer support program called Cop2Cop has provided expert help to New Jersey police officers and their families. The phones are staffed by men and women who have retired from careers in law enforcement, so they truly understand callers' concerns.
In this episode, we talk to Retired Correctional Police Captain David Weiss, who has worked for Cop2Cop for 11 years. He has found his calling as both a peer support specialist and peer recovery specialist, helping officers deal with the trauma of the job, as well as addiction issues.
Help can also be received via chat and email. Visit https://njcop2cop.com/
The 24/7 hotline is 1-866-COP2COP, or 1-866-267-2267.
Cop2Cop is housed at the Rutgers University Behavioral Health Care National Call Center, along with several other hotlines.
Sandra Levine Productions https://sandralevine.com/

Watch "Still Time for Joy" as a video podcast on YouTube @SandraLevineProd

Working towards protecting the environment, feeding the hungry, and taking care of our loved ones, not only does good in the world, so often it makes the person helping feel good, too.
As the new year begins, take a look at this episode of "Still Time for Joy", full of wisdom from some of our favorite guests of the podcast during 2025. They talk about finding purpose and meaning in pitching in to work towards addressing a variety of issues. Guests represent HorseSense Therapeutic Center, Best Friends Animal Society, Move for Hunger, dementia caregiving, American Littoral Society, Cattus Island County Park, A Walk On Water, Atlantic Audubon Society, Rutgers Master Gardeners of Ocean County, Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Morris County, and CAREing for Children.
Sandra Levine Productions https://sandralevine.com/

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CAREing for Children is a small, nonprofit in Ocean County at the New Jersey Shore, that provides food and toys around the holidays to families in need. CFC President Barbara Farley says if you see a problem in your community that needs addressing, just start!
CFC, like many nonprofits, holds a yearly golf outing to raise funds to support its mission. This year, CFC had just 8 weeks to organize its event, that remarkably netted more than $22,000. In this podcast, Farley provides tips on making this type of fundraiser successful.
Established organizations, like the Salvation Army and church food pantries that deliver the food and toys provided by CFC say they are very grateful for the supplies. The groups all note that in recent years they've seen tremendous growth in the need.
CAREing for Children is a 501(c)3 started by members of the Ocean County Business Association, a business networking group at the New Jersey Shore.
CAREing for Children https://careingforchildrenj.com/
Ocean County Business Association https://oceancountybusinessassociation.com/
Sandra Levine Productions https://sandralevine.com/

Watch "Still Time for Joy" as a video podcast on YouTube @SandraLevineProd

Tina Coetzee was looking for a way to keep her 77-year-old father, Chris Taylor, who lives with Alzheimer's disease, happily occupied. She handed him a paint brush and changed his life. Taylor, who had been struggling with severe emotional outbursts in recent months, now paints every day, and, with the help of new medications, is feeling much better.
Taylor's vibrant paintings are attracting a lot of attention, with some fans even expressing interest in purchasing them. Selling the artwork was never the point; the idea is to help Taylor find peace and purpose. Coetzee creates outlines on canvases with permanent marker as the basis for her father's paintings. She encourages other caregivers to give artwork a try, as a calming activity for people living with dementia.
Coetzee took early retirement to become a full-time caregiver for her parents, living in the Free State province in South Africa. In this interview, she talks openly about the intense challenges of caregiving.
Still, she considers helping her parents to be a privilege; they immediately came to her aid a few years ago when her fiancee was diagnosed with stage four lung cancer, and helped her until he passed away eight moths later.

Sandra Levine Productions https://sandralevine.com/

Watch "Still Time for Joy" as a video podcast on YouTube @SandraLevineProd

There's a movement underway to educate homeowners and landscapers on the benefits of leaving leaves, rather than removing every leaf that falls from trees. Decomposing leaves improve soil health, and a vast array of plants, insects, birds, and mammals depends on leaf litter to survive.
Jean Epiphan holds a Master of Science degree in Ecology from Rutgers University in New Jersey. She is an agriculture and natural resources agent with Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Morris County, and an International Society of Arboriculture Certified Arborist.
Epiphan is passionate about educating people on why leaf litter is so important for bees, fireflies, moths, and more. Birds forage for food in leaf litter. Toads, snakes, and turtles live among the leaves which serve as camouflage.
Leaves can be removed from lawns and spread in garden beds, and excess leaves can be placed in a compost pile. Putting leaves in the trash destroys habitat (and the insects in those leaves), and pollutes the environment as trucks travel to the landfill.
Gas blowers also pollute, and can be harmful to the workers who use them.

"Why Leave the Leaves & How to Do It" https://njaes.rutgers.edu/fs1369/
Sandra Levine Productions https://sandralevine.com/

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A Need We Feed is a small, but mighty nonprofit at the New Jersey Shore whose volunteers bring meals to Ocean County residents living at the federal poverty level, who don't qualify for help from other programs. Many of the organization's clients are veterans, homebound elderly, and families living in motels.
From local restaurants, A Need We Feed purchases boxes of individually packaged meals which volunteers then split up into bags for delivery.
A Need We Feed began in 2012 after Superstorm Sandy devastated much of the Jersey Shore, by providing meals to first responders.
The cost of living is already high in New Jersey, and the recent rise in the price of groceries has meant more residents are struggling to put food on the table.
To help fight hunger and food insecurity, A Need We Feed welcomes additional restaurant partners, monetary donations, and volunteers.
A Need We Feed https://aneedwefeed.org/
Sandra Levine Productions https://sandralevine.com/

Watch "Still Time for Joy" as a video podcast on YouTube @SandraLevineProd