neighbors
5 Things You Didn’t Know About
Alice Moskowitz
Friends of Laurelwood Arboretum president nurtures a love of nature
W
WRITTEN BY ALBINA SPORTELLI
ayne’s Alice
Moskowitz is
the president
of the Friends
of Laurelwood
Arboretum, a
30-acre nursery-turned-township-park
with walking trails, paths, and great
spots for photographing blossoms
and pausing for quiet reflection.
2. SHE WAITED UNTIL SHE WAS
SEMI-RETIRED TO PUT HER LOVE OF
GARDENING TO WORK. “Becoming
a master gardener was something I
always wanted to do, but
it requires that you com-
mit to doing 70 hours of
volunteer work a year,”
Moskowitz says. She
worked for many years as
a freelance medical writer,
editor and proofreader, and
was the editor of Suburban
News in central New Jersey
for more than five years.
Moskowitz completed the
Master Gardener class
about seven years ago.
3. VOLUNTEERING HAS ALWAYS
BEEN PART OF HER LIFE. A 47-year
resident of Wayne, Moskowitz has
three grown children and seven
grandchildren, but she has always
12
SPRING 2018 WAYNE MAGAZINE
made time to volunteer. She is a past
president of the Wayne League of
Women Voters, and was formerly on
the board of directors of
the League of Women
Voters of New Jersey.
4. SUPPORTING AN
ARBORETUM MEANS
TENDING TO PEOPLE,
TOO. Moskowitz says
that over her three
years as president of
the volunteer group,
her biggest challenge
MOSKOWITZ
has been juggling all
her responsibilities. She
plans and chairs the annual meet-
ing and the monthly meetings of the
board of directors, as well as educa-
tional programs and activities; she
also promotes membership and helps
to raise funds.
5. THOUGH THE LAURELWOOD
ARBORETUM IS VAST AND LOVELY,
MOSKOWITZ RECOMMENDS FIVE
MUST-SEE SITES. Visitors should
not miss these spots, she says: The
Sensory Garden; Azalea Way;
the Gazebo and pond; the South
Rock Garden; and the Native Plant
Demonstration Garden. “The arbo-
retum is uniquely beautiful year-
round,” Moskowitz says. “In the
spring, there is the dazzling display
of azaleas in bloom along Azalea
Way. In June, rhododendrons are
in bloom throughout the arbore-
tum. The Sensory Garden is in full
bloom in the summer. Fall features
a spectacular display of colorful fall
foliage.” She also loves it in winter,
when “visitors can appreciate the
arboretum’s natural architecture,
framed by its tall evergreens and
winding pathways.” ■
1. SHE GREW UP IN MANHATTAN.
Growing up on the 18th floor of
a high-rise building in Manhattan
didn’t give Moskowitz much opportu-
nity to garden as a child. Nonetheless,
she loved flowers and gardens, and
eventually trained to be a master gar-
dener at Rutgers University.