Holland Township Junior Girl Scout Troop 80309 names park O’sakame Preserve

Holland Township’s new 68-acre riverside park has been named “O’sakame Preserve” by the girls of Junior Girl Scout Troop 80309.
The park is off the Milford-Riegelsville Road and is upstream from the old Gilbert Generating Station. It was a joint venture of Hunterdon Land Trust and Holland Township, N.J., purchased with dedicated open space funds.
The park is owned by township and a contract is in place for farming its fields and hunting its woods. A parking lot has been established for visitors, and it is dedicated to passive recreation.
The Scouts worked with Mayor Dan Bush and township historian Larry LeFevre to find a name for the park that honored the Lenapes, who formerly inhabited this area. O’sakame means “across the river” in their language.

The girls helped design the sign at the park’s entrance and planted daffodil and hyacinth bulbs in front of it. In recognition of the Scouts’ effort, Bush placed seven large rocks around the base of the sign, one for each of them. The girls have earned Bronze Awards, which are the highest decoration a Junior Scout can earn.
The girls are Alyssa Deets, Taylor Fox, Evie Johnson, Maggie Mead, Elisabeth Muller, Paige Nungester and Olivia Pelican.

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