TO THE EDITOR: It’s been four years since Friends of the Drew Forest began advocating for a conservation sale to protect the 51-acre Drew University forest from development.

That’s eight feet in oak tree years. In child years, it means learning to crawl, walk and finally hop on one foot. In town council years, it involves enough patience and persistence to be character shaping.

These four years have shaped those of us on the Friends of the Drew Forest team. We’ve developed the kind of intertwined roots that you get in a forest—we know who’s good at what, who to turn to when a twist in the road arises.

For me personally, these years have been marked by an ever deeper understanding of the ecology of our town—and the difference between deer-browsed forests that characterize most of New Jersey and the Drew Forest’s rich understory of plants, saplings and flowers.

Finally some good news, after 3.5 years of tireless advocacy: It looks like the 51-acre, biodiverse forest on the Drew University campus will be preserved through a conservation sale. All the latest (newsletter by yours truly).