Anne Demarais - The Lawrence Township Nature Center

January 23, 2023

The town of Lawrenceville and its surrounding communities are full of businesses, schools, and nonprofit organizations. However, one of the most critical aspects of these communities is nature. Anne Demarais, a long-time contributor to Lawrence Township and former Lawrence Township Greenways Committee chairwoman, helped the community in profound ways. The Lawrence Township Nature Center, dedicated to Anne, is a place to honor her legacy and love for nature.

While Anne's passion is for nature, she had a strikingly diverse career. She had been a high school teacher who married a jazz musician, Joseph Demarais. He became a sculptor and intaglio-relief printer. After he died young, Anne acquired a printing press, formed an atelier, and began to complete the editions of her late husband's work. After twenty years, the Demarais Studio Press was created, where she promoted the vision of artists in the community, often celebrating nature, which we may not appreciate.

Anne recruited artists to celebrate or campaign for a cause, and they strived to create their best work of the year. She helped by finding venues for them to share what they had made.

The Nature Center has become a place to meet and work with friends, fulfilling Anne's original vision. For her, getting involved with the community is the most important way to help nature. She worked with the township to plead for open areas and public access.

"Without Anne Demarais, there would be no Lawrence-Hopewell Trail," said Becky Taylor, co-president of the Lawrence-Hopewell Trail (LHT) Corporation. It was Anne's passion for creating greenways to connect the community to parks, schools, and other resources that inspired Ms. Taylor, then Corporate Affairs Director for Bristol Myers Squibb, to initiate the creation of a community-inclusive bike trail from its Lawrenceville campus to its facility in Hopewell. While Anne is no longer at the center, volunteers are still inspired to work there.

When Lawrenceville Township purchased the Lucy Rinck house, Anne suggested it become a nature center. She knew that Rinck loved the fields she and her husband worked to develop and taught children about pollen, trees, and other natural resources. Anne recognized this and knew Lucy would approve of the decision to turn the house into a nature center.

Not only did Anne lead children on nature walks from Eggerts Crossing Village, but she spearheaded the movement to save the Drexel Woods, near where the Rincks lived. Anne wanted to preserve Lucy's efforts with the woods and knew she could get the funding to save them.

She was already a leader in securing an open space fund for the township, so she knew funding was available to acquire the property. She then persuaded the Educational Testing Service to fund a tree ID booklet.

For twenty-five years, Anne, with her Greenway Committee and her Friends of the Lawrence Greenway nonprofit, started an annual hike. She took the names of members to increase the listing of potential supporters. Every year, Anne would pore over maps to pick out a route for a new hike, constantly aware that the township would win the hearts of those who wanted to see it.

Without Anne, they would not have been able to maintain the Pole Farm as open space, rather than becoming another county golf route. The Pole Farm's preservation and incorporation into Mercer Meadows Park enabled the Mercer County Park Commission to designate the LHT as the spine of its Mercer Meadows paths. This segment became an area of the Lawrence-Hopewell Trail as we see it today.

Anne's passion for helping the environment is undeniably contagious, and the Nature Center's mission strives to educate as many people as possible.

"The Anne Demarais Nature Center seeks to facilitate environmental education in Lawrence Township by providing programs for community members of all age groups that promote a respect for and understanding of the environment within the community," the center's website says.

The Nature Center is precisely the right kind of facility to honor Anne Demarais' contribution to the people. To get involved with the nature center, visit the website of the Lawrence Township Environmental Education Foundation (LTEEF - https://www.lawrencetwpnature.com).

Originally published in Lawrence Neighbors magazine