Independent Arts News Reporting Friends for the Abbott Marshlands’ Voices for the Marsh 2026 Photographic Exhibition
Reported on Tuesday, June 9, 2026.
Pictured Above: Best in Show 2024, Breath of Life. Photo Credit: Jerry Flynn.
NEWSROOM POST: HAMILTON TOWNSHIP, NEW JERSEY
On view June 14 through August 23 at the Tulpehaking Nature Center, 157 Westcott Ave., Hamilton, New Jersey
Hamilton Township, NJ — The Friends for the Abbott Marshlands (FFAM) proudly presents Voices for the Marsh 2026, its 12th juried photography exhibition, on view June 14 through August 23 at the Tulpehaking Nature Center, 157 Westcott Ave., Hamilton, New Jersey. The Tulpehaking Nature Center is open Wednesdays-Saturdays, from 10am–4pm, and Sundays, 1pm–4pm. Featuring images captured throughout the Abbott Marshlands, the exhibition showcases the region’s extraordinary talent and creative spirit through the work of regional photographers inspired by one of New Jersey’s most significant natural treasures.
The Opening Reception will be June 14, 2:00-4:00pm. Register to attend at https://tinyurl.com/2k6pmekh Awards Presentation will be at 3:00pm led by Voices for the Marsh chairperson and photographer Ann Darlington, along with this year’s esteemed juror, photographer Debbie Aniano. See her work at https://www.flickr.com/photos/debbiea57/albums
Forty juried images of 156 entered were shot at one of the Abbott Marshlands locations as a requirement for the show, and include the categories Flora/Fungi, Wildlife, Landscape and Digital art. The Digital art category is for photographs that have been digitally altered beyond standard optimization.
FFAM guided many visitors on local trails in their quest for the perfect shot, and facilitated weekly Wednesday Wonder Walks, monthly First Saturday Walks, as well as walks and talks on birding and photography in the year preceding the exhibition. Participants who are FFAM members were eligible for a discounted entry.
The Voices for the Marsh Committee members, to help support participants in preparation for this juried show, hosted several events including a Wildflower Walk, Abstract in Nature workshop, an Overview of the Abbott Marshlands workshop and a Matting and Framing workshop by Michael’s. Additional Saturday sessions were facilitated by the Abbott Marshlands Photo Club.
All entries will be available for viewing in a presentation at the Opening Reception, and at the start of the show on the ArtCall site via a link at abbottmarshlands.org. All juried entries will be available for viewing in the galleries as well as on ArtCall and are available for sale. They are modestly priced, with 30% of each sale helping the FFAM with their mission to engage and inspire a diverse community to experience the unique nature and history of the Abbott Marshlands and to advocate for its stewardship.
A coinciding fundraiser is the FFAM Benefit Auction. It opens June 6 at 12 noon during Abbott Day Celebration and goes through the Voices for the Marsh Opening Reception June 14. The auction will close at 9pm (here).
Background
Just where are the Abbott Marshlands? Situated in Lenapehoking, the traditional and ancestral homeland of the Lenape, the land includes 3,000+ acres of open space along the Delaware River, in Central New Jersey. Although a satellite view of the area quickly reveals its ecological unity, the land parcels are divided among two counties (Mercer and Burlington), four municipalities and numerous private landowners. Crisscrossed by a canal, a railroad, and even a major highway interchange, the essential nature of this northernmost freshwater tidal marsh on the Delaware River becomes evident. It provides rich habitat for a wide variety of birds (an Audubon Important Bird Area), fish, mammals, and plants. FFAM is the only organization whose sole focus is the promotion and stewardship of the entire marshlands. It consists of locations at Roebling Park, Bordentown Bluffs, the D&R Canal towpath, the Crosswicks Creek tidal water trail near the Delaware River, Northern Community Park in Bordentown, and a portion of Duck Island’s trail system, Hamilton.
Visitors to the unique freshwater tidal marsh of the Abbott Marshlands remark on it being an urban oasis, a critical wildlife habitat in the Delaware River’s estuary, to be relished and protected.
FFAM’s efforts include a volunteer trail stewardship program, an active calendar of programs on marshlands ecology and history, and other community outreach activities. FFAM coordinates their work with the Tulpehaking Nature Center, Hamilton; the Mercer County Park Commission, the D&R Canal State Park, the City of Bordentown, and Bordentown Township. The public is invited to join in this important endeavor. For more information, visit https://abbottmarshlands.org/volunteer-opportunities/ or join one of many free walks.
The Abbott Marshlands Cooperative Stewardship Council members include representatives from the NJDEP, the D&R Canal Commission, the NJDOT, Mercer County, and local municipalities of Trenton, Hamilton, Bordentown City and Bordentown Township. The website, https://abbottmarshlands.org, provides extensive information regarding ecology, cultural history, archaeology, recreation, education and stewardship.
Historically, on December 8, 1976, the Abbott Farm Historic District became the first National Historic Landmark in New Jersey, designated by the U.S. Department of the Interior, now celebrating 50 years. It is a unique archaeological site, recognized as the largest Middle Woodland village of its type on the east coast of the United States. It was named after Charles Conrad Abbott, whose early archeological work, and writings from the 1850s on, spurred much research there.
What we call the Abbott Marshlands was previously known as the Trenton Marsh, the Hamilton Marsh, or sometimes the Hamilton-Trenton-Bordentown Marsh. In 2011, a coalition of marsh supporters, working on an interpretive plan for the marsh, saw the opportunity to change the name. The name “Abbott Marshlands” acknowledges the historical and natural significance of the area.
