By Robert Zullo Staff Writer
Honey Locust. Weeping Cherry. Sweet Gum.
What may sound like a bizarre collection of ice cream flavors are actually the names of trees found right here in Cranford.
Though few residents take the time to reflect on the variety of trees and plant life they see every day, thanks to an independent project by Cranford High School senior Alana Buonaguro, local students and community members will be able to enjoy a lasting bridge to understanding the township's natural environment.
Buonaguro, who will be attending Bard College in Annandale, N.Y., next fall, designed an ecology trail around the high school to bring environmental and ecological issues home - in a literal sense - for Cranford students and other residents.
The trail, which circles around the high school and contains some 35 stops, was one part of Buonaguro's independent study project, titled "The Campus Environment." The overall endeavor also included a five-chapter book that examined local soil, water, wildlife, and vegetation and climate issues with an eye toward explaining them in a global context.
The plan is for Buonaguro's research to be added to the CHS Web site, where it can be accessed.
"We wanted to do something that other people would be able to use," Buonaguro said. "We initially wanted to do it at Nomahegan, but we thought it would be more useful here."
Buonaguro began work on the trail itself - which involved putting up bird feeders, hand-painting a path of cougar paws to guide visitors and identifying the stations as well as constructing wooden placards to number them - in May, but began researching the project in February.
"It's going to open a lot of people's eyes," said Amy Biasucci, Buonaguro's independent study adviser and environmental science teacher.
Biasucci, who helped Buonaguro come up with the project, added that the trail and book constituted a unique, lasting benefit to the community.
"This is something that's going to be in place for Cranford district students to use for years, and no one's done that before," Biasucci said. "This can be expanded on and used by people of all ages and backgrounds."
At the unveiling of the trail last week, Buonaguro led a collection of students, faculty, board of education members, administrators and other visitors from station to station, with the paws accentuating the project's "cougar-ness," to paraphrase Biasucci.
Participants were aided in identifying the numbered exhibits by a pamphlet - prepared by Buonaguro - that Biasucci hopes to place in every school in the district as part of a "starter kit" that will allow other students to benefit from the trail.
"I thought it was really cool," said Betty Ann Kelly, an environmental specialist with the Union County Parks Department, where Buonaguro will intern throughout the summer. "It will connect students with their environment in a simple but nice way."
