A group of nearly 20 nature lovers gathered at 9 a.m. in the Taco Bell parking lot on Route 130, but they were not there for breakfast on the gorgeous beautiful summer morning of Aug. 14. Instead, they crossed Chester Avenue and walked along the tiny foot path beside the busy highway.
Some 50 yards later they turned right into a large clearing of grass dotted with tree saplings soaking up the sunlight, surrounded by dense woods, with century-old tall trees and inhabited by deer families and wildlife.
Soon, the loud din of the noisy traffic road faded and young birds could be heard chirping merrily in the 13-acre Delran Alboretum. Entering the serene, peaceful greenspace felt like walking into an alternative universe.
“We want to show people what we have here, have some fun and walk around,” said Debra Hammond, chairperson of the Sustainable Delran Green Team, who welcomed the group around a table filled with donuts and coffee.
Dedicated earlier this year on Arbor Day, April 25, the Alboretum is named after Al Carp, who spearheaded the effort to transform the space into a peaceful sanctuary for people to enjoy.
“Al is always ready to pitch in on any project,” Councilman Lynn Jeney remarked. “We named the new arboretum after him.”
A small placard on a new Quercus ‘Forest Knight’ English White Oak sapling reads: “Albert Carp – Veteran, brother, husband, father, grandfather and friend. As a Green Team volunteer, he planted over 200 trees in Delran parks.”
While serving on the nuclear-attack submarine USS Gato with the U.S. Navy, the vessel collided with the Soviet nuclear powered K-19 sub on Nov. 15, 1969, at a depth of 60 meters about 15 miles in the Barents Sea.
“We went completely silent and did not surface,” Carp said. “It was during the heart of the Cold War.” Although both submarines were damaged, they eventually were able to return to their respective bases without any loss of life.
After the introduction by Hammond, everyone took a tour of the Alboretum but they did not see any deer because of not being totally quiet. However the milkweed was full of monarch butterflies fluttering around. “We’ll have to look for caterpillars,” she said.
Besides the milkweed, the Green Team volunteers have planted numerous native trees, flowering shrubs, perennial beds and wildflower seeds.
“The Alboretum is not a finished project,” Carp said. “It will continue to grow season by season, shaped by the generosity of residents, the guidance of our township leaders, and the hard work of our volunteers.”
Joining Carp and Hammond for the stroll through the grounds with local residents were Green Team volunteers Eve Carp and Teresa Rogan, Councilman Jeney and Mayor Barnes Hutchins.
Carp explained how the Green Team got a grant from Sustainable Jersey in 2025 to plant a micro-forest at the site. Plans evolved after PSE&G gave the team 25 trees as compensation for tree removal.
Hammond, Carp, Councilman Jeney and volunteer Alexandra Edge had decided that creating a micro-forest would be perfect as it would “transform the monoculture of grass into a forest that would not require mowing,” he said.
The donated trees were planted at the rear of the wildflower garden on the jug-handle to help enlarge the forest. Since then, more tree saplings and wildflowers have been planted.
“The Green Team reached out to residents and local landscaping and gardening businesses to help bring the arboretum to life, and the response was overwhelming,” Carp said.
“Bailey’s Landscaping generously donated additional trees and beautiful shrubbery. Flowers, shrubs, bushes and seeds arrived from residents across the community,” Carp said. “Delran High School created the tree tags with the common name, genus species and year planted.”
On a beautiful summer morning Aug. 24, the volunteers and local residents had a chance to enjoy the fruits of the labors while walking through the grounds just a stone’s throw away from the always busy Route 130 known as the “Indy 500.” And yes, the traffic and the peaceful Alboretum are in the same universe.
