Opening Notes

This warbler's weekly musings and feathered observations

Tweet tweet, neighbors!

Wait until you see all the adorable pups I spotted while fluttering around town this weekend – they were absolutely precious! 🐕

First, if you missed the Gloucester County 4H Fair last weekend (and from all the chirping in our local Facebook groups, quite a few of our flock did!), don't ruffle your feathers! We've got the Salem County Fair taking flight this weekend. It's a bit further from our nest, but well worth the migration if you enjoy skillet tossing and those gloriously deep-fried fair treats that make us all temporarily forget our summer diets! ::raises wing::

Now, this got this warbler thinking about how our local Facebook groups have become quite the tangled nest of communication. While these digital perches should help our community flock together, they often do the opposite! Some groups are bustling with activity while others barely have a peep. The folks who really know what's happening don't always share the news, and with so many groups being closed or private, important information gets trapped in small circles instead of spreading its wings across our whole community.

It's honestly a bit maddening! Facebook was supposed to strengthen our neighborhood bonds, but instead it's created these isolated roosts where we're all scrolling past endless ads and mysterious bot posts, hoping to catch an occasional tidbit we actually care about. I know I'm preaching to the choir here, fellow nestlings!

This is exactly why I'm so passionate about writing this newsletter for you beautiful birds. I want every single member of our Woodbury flock to know what's happening in our nest! As we flutter into cooler weather events and folks return from their summer migrations, I'm determined to get EVERYONE showing up (or at least knowing where to perch when they want to join the fun!). I'm absolutely thrilled with how quickly this scrappy little newsletter is taking flight – and tweet tweet, we're just getting started!

Here's my one big ask for you this week, dear neighbors: please forward this newsletter to a friend or family member and invite them to join our growing flock. If these weekly musings have helped you discover a local event, find a helpful resource, or connect with an opportunity, tell them how! Share why you think they'd love being part of our community nest.

After all, the more birds we have singing together, the stronger our song becomes! 🎵

On that note, let's get into the good stuff happening in our nest!

This Week's Migration Pattern

Where the local flock is gathering

Wednesday, July 30

Midlife Matters - A South Jersey Menopause Health & Wellness Event

Night sweats + 100 degree weather is no joke! Informational panel of experts and local health representatives will be there to offer resources available to treat perimenopause and menopause.

Under The Sea Puppet Pals - a family sing- and dance-along brought to you by Gloucester County Parks & Recreation

Thursday, July 31

BINGO!

Ukelele Club at Wenonah Lake

In Stitches - A Fiber Arts Craft Club

A slice of time and space to work on your projects. BYO supplies encouraged, drop in anytime!

West Deptford Center Stage Players are delighted to present Cabaret!

Food Pantry

Free emergency food offered by The Greater Woodbury Cooperative Ministries Food Pantry

Friday, August 1

BINGO!

Woodbury Fresh for All

Friday Night Music at Wenonah Lake

Kick off the weekend with local music by the lake brought to you by Wenonah Porch Fest. Check the schedule here.

Saturday, August 2

National Park Back Porch Farm Stand

Ukelele Club at Wenonah Lake

Cooper River Dragon Boat Regatta

Come cheer on the Gloucester County Vixens!

Food Pantry

Free emergency food offered by The Greater Woodbury Cooperative Ministries Food Pantry

Sunday, August 3

Silent Book Club

Bring a favorite book, a beverage, and settle into read for an hour.

BINGO

This game benefits Holy Angels Catholic School and the students who receive financial aid.

Monday, August 4

Salem County Fair

Schedule and fairgrounds map available here.

Art in the Streets

Mr. Doud will lead exciting activities encouraging kids to unleash their creativity and have a blast each week!

Mondays in Mantua

Meet up with the car enthusiast flock and enjoy some pizza from Sal’s and some ice cream from Dippy’s!

Tuesday, August 5

Art in the Streets

Mr. Doud will lead exciting activities encouraging kids to unleash their creativity and have a blast each week!

Bugs on the Go!

Investigate the diversity of the inset world with live insects and pinned specimens from Insectropolis, New Jersey’s very own bug museum!

Food Pantry

Free emergency food offered by The Greater Woodbury Cooperative Ministries Food Pantry

Wednesday, August 6

Busy birds need a rest sometimes!

Flock Stewardship

Keeping our nest tidy and our community thriving

Woodbury Heights Planning/Zoning Board Meeting

Woodbury Heights Borough Hall, 500 Elm Avenue. Monday, August 4 at 6 p.m. Free! [no agenda link, this part of the website appears to be down]

Main Street Woodbury is hunting for a new Executive Director - the nonprofit that's been the wind beneath our downtown's wings, supporting small businesses and strengthening community connections through the National Main Street Four-Point Approach®. Check out the full job posting [here] and flutter over to MainStreetWoodburyNJ@gmail.com with questions. What an amazing opportunity for someone to spread their wings and make a real difference in our community nest!

Trains carrying liquified natural gas may soon be migrating through our nest.

Tweet tweet to all our newest fledglings who just joined our flock in the last couple of days – welcome to the nest! 🐦 Since you're just settling onto your perch with us, I wanted to circle back to an important piece that flew out to our community just a few days ago about proposed rule changes that would permit rail cars carrying liquified natural gas to travel through our neighborhoods.

The public comment period closes on August 4, so if this ruffles your feathers (and honestly, it should give us all pause), you'll want to spread your wings and make your voice heard. All the information you need to take flight on this issue is nested right in the original article – just a quick flutter over there will give you everything you need to participate in the public comment process.

This is one of those times when our flock's collective voice really matters, neighbors. Sometimes the most important conversations happen when we're not all gathered in the same roost, so I'm making sure every bird in our community has a chance to weigh in before this opportunity flies away.

Crowing about our kids!

Supporting and celebrating our community's future leaders

Woodbury High School fall sports registration is now open! Visit this link for more information.

Save the date/register now: Back-to-School Body & Internet Safety Workshop presented by trauma therapist and author Amber Gonzalez, LPC for children ages 3-12 and their parents and caregivers. Free school supplies will be provided to every child who attends. Text the word "SAFETY" to 856-887-4647 to register for the program, which will be held on August 20 at 6:30 p.m.

Mommy’s Time Out Preschool at Kemble United Methodist Church has some openings for children aged 6 weeks to 5 years. More information on their website or get in touch with Normajean at kemblepto@gmail.com​

Dottie is looking for Waldorf teachers/homeschoolers who are interested in teaching art, gardening, and singing for their nonprofit summer camp in Westville. Have some skills to share? Get in touch with Dottie at elderberrieshollywood@gmail.com​

Girl Scout/Daisy troops are forming in Woodbury Heights! Jessica Marchese is collecting email addresses now and will be sending out a registration link soon, so get in touch with her either on FB or via her post in Woodbury Heights Town Talk.

Good Eggs and New Neighbors

Highlighting the wonderful humans who make our community soar

After a series of posts in the local FB group about Woodbury Heights being full of trash, I see a lot of you out there doing what you can to tidy up! Nice work! The best part is that when you share your adventures in nest-tidying it inspires others to join in the fun.

Westville has a new pollinator garden!

Westville’s Environmental Commission and volunteers created this pollinator garden at Galbraith Park along River Drive to support our bees and butterflies! Well done, Westville!

Got some good news? New in town? Just want to say hi to all your neighbors? Send a carrier pigeon to editor@woodburywarbler.com.

Our Animal Friends

Because every creature deserves a loving nest

I’m excited to introduce you to this weekend’s market doggos!

We also had a couple of brunch doggos (what an amazing crowd we had at Acoustic Sundays!)!

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Can't have a furry friend nesting permanently in your roost? NO PROBLEM! You can now "rent" a pup from Homeward Bound Adoption Center – and honestly, this warbler's heart is just soaring over this brilliant idea! 🐕

Flutter over between 11-3 and take one of their adorable rent-a-dog team members out for some much-needed wing-stretching time. It gives these sweet souls a break from shelter life while helping potential adopters really get to know their personalities – which is exactly what helps these precious pups find their forever flocks! You'll need to be 18 or older with a valid driver's license to spread your wings with this program. For all the details, reach out to the nest at caninecareteam@homewardboundnj.org.

Now, speaking of dogs who need our flock's attention – meet Beckham, the Gloucester County Animal Shelter's longest resident. This sweet boy has been perched there far too long, and it's breaking this warbler's heart to hear they're watching that joyous sparkle in his eyes begin to fade as he waits for his forever family. He's loving, friendly, housebroken, knows how to sit, and would make someone an absolutely wonderful companion. Neighbors, Beckham needs us to help him take flight to his new home ASAP. Just look at this precious face! Sometimes all it takes is the right person seeing the right pup at the right moment – could that person be you, or someone in your own flock?

Got a furry, scaly, floofy, or feathery friend you’d like to show off? Send us your photos! We love celebrating all of our community critters!

Bulletin Bird

Community announcements that'll make you chirp

Register now for the Woodbury Car Show (8/30)! Professionally judged with over 100 trophies! Enter your car for $20 before 8/27 or $25 day of registration. Register at woodburycarshow.org. Questions? Email info@woodburycarshow.org​

Tickets are on sale now for a day at Morey's Piers (August 17) to benefit the Ronald McDonald House of Southern New Jersey, sponsored by AtlantiCare. $80/person or $300/family of 4 includes admission to several parks and a barbecue lunch. Purchase tickets here.

Attention bookworms! I was today years old when I learned that there’s a book club that meets at the Woodbury Heights Fire Department on the first Monday of each month. Due to the Labor Day holiday, they’ll be meeting on September 8 instead. If you’d like to join them, September’s book is Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry.

Sticker nerds! (Judging by the state of the cargo container at Lot 323, there are a lot of you here!) Submissions are open until October 1 for Characters Welcome, an international sticker art show. Mail your stickers to 614 S 4^th Street, #212, Philadelphia, PA 19147 or drop them off in person at Tattooed Mom, 530 South Street, Philly. ALL stickers are welcome.

The Woodbury Heights Fire Department 2nd Annual Truck Raffle has been extended! - This prize will make you fly off your perch! Your $25 raffle ticket enters you into a drawing to win a 2025 GMC Sierra 1500 (!!!) with second and third prizes of $3,000 and $2,000. The drawing will now take place on September 16. You can drop off cash at the Woodbury Heights Fire House, 534 Elm Avenue or send them a Venmo here (put truck raffle and your phone number in the comments):

Zillow Snoop and Swoop

Dream nests near and far

There was a LOT of information in the newsletter this week -- as much as I love sharing amazing houses with you I’ll give you a break and we’ll be circle back with Zillow Snoop and Swoop next week.

One last warble...

Final chirps before I fly away until next week

Philly Zine Fest is taking flight on November 1! Want to flock together and make some zines or swap creative materials? Have no idea what a zine is but you heard all the cool birds are crafting them and you want to learn how to spread your own creative wings? 📖✨

This warbler is thinking late August-ish would be perfect timing for our first little creative gathering – right when everyone's migrating back from summer adventures and ready to nest into some artsy projects! Send me a chirp, and let's make this happen, neighbors!

Before I flutter off for this week, I want to circle back to my earlier plea – if this newsletter has helped you discover something new in our community nest, please forward it to someone who'd love being part of our growing flock! Whether it was learning about the Salem County Fair, understanding the LNG rail situation, or discovering you can rent a dog for an afternoon adventure, these connections are what make our neighborhood stronger.

Every time you share our little warbler's musings, you're helping another neighbor find their perch in our Wonderful W Towns World. And honestly? The more voices we have singing together, the more beautiful our collective song becomes.

Until next time!

Singing the songs of our shared communities,

Jen Russell, your neighbor and Editor-in-Chief, The Woodbury Warbler​

PS, you've subscribed, right? If not, click this button:

PPS – Thank you again for being an early bird to The Woodbury Warbler. This is a pre-launch birdseed-sized newsletter while I’m organizing information and building the nest. Anything you’d like to see more of? Hate the format? Too many bird puns? Don’t want to hear about my groundhog skunk new metal band The Milkshake Nightmare? Your feedback is helpful and I love hearing from you! Send a carrier pigeon to editor@woodburywarbler.com with any suggestions, complaints, tips, celebrations or even just to say hi!

​Thumbnail image: "Consulting the compass" by angrysunbird is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.

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