About the Institute Woods
IAS
Institute for Advanced Study
For more than sixty years, the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton has been the steward of 589 acres of woods, wetlands, and farmland that are historically important and environmentally vital to central New Jersey and beyond. The Institute, founded in 1930 by Louis Bamberger and Caroline Bamberger Fuld, gradually acquired most of the land between 1936 and 1945, strengthening the Institute’s endowment and providing a tranquil environment for scholars engaged in theoretical research and intellectual inquiry. The 589 acres comprising the Institute Woods and Farmlands were permanently conserved in 1997, representing about 75 percent of the eight hundred acres owned by the Institute. In addition to conserving a historic parcel of land, the permanent easement unites nearby preserved properties and protects a fifty-six-milelong greenway network through central New Jersey critical for the feeding and nesting of two hundred species of birds on the Atlantic flyway. It also protects a unique laboratory for studies of forest succession. The Woods has provided a place for contemplation and discussion for generations of Institute scholars from Einstein onward. Among those who have felt a personal connection to the Institute Woods and Farmlands was the late George F. Kennan, Professor Emeritus in the Institute’s School of Historical Studies: “I have lived in the proximity of these Woods for over half a century. They are a friend, a source of inspiration and restoration, and were they to disappear it would be like the disappearance of an old, beloved, and respected friend.” Today the Institute Woods and Farmlands are open to the public and utilized year-round by bird watchers, walkers, runners, and cross-country skiers. The Institute exists to encourage and
Institute for Advanced Study
support fundamental research in the sciences and humanities— the original, often speculative, thinking that produces advances in knowledge that change the way we understand the world. It is equally committed to sustaining the Woods and Farmlands for generations to come.
EINSTEIN DRIVE P R I N C E TO N NEW JERSEY 08540
To ensure that the peace and beauty of the Institute Woods remain accessible to all, the maintenance of its trails is made possible by the generosity of Addie and Harold Broitman. ALL PHOTOGRAPHS BY VLADIMIR VOEVODSKY, PROFESSOR IN THE SCHOOL OF MATHEMATICS
w w w. i a s . e d u (609)734-8000
The InstituteWoods
A Guide to the Institute Woods The Institute Woods is remarkably diverse for its size. It includes some forty-five species of trees, prime among them beech, birch, black gum, dogwood, hickory, maple, oak, pine, sweet gum, and tulip (see guide below and map for primary locations). Largely grown from fields where cultivation ceased, from as recently as 1940 to before 1727, the Woods is a rich habitat for wildlife and migrating bird species.
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To Mercer S t re e t
O
RO
R BE
AD
ce in
B
Tulip
E
D
C
Black Gum
D
Hickory
E
Pine
F
Sweet Gum
G
Birch
H
Oak
I
Dogwood
J
Maple
A
LE
EN
DRIV
L
A
D
LD
LA
N
A
S
D
E
Member Housing
TE
Golf Course
RO
LA
IN
E
EW
RO
G
O
LL N
N
IN
IN
Pr
Beech
PR
WE
To
A S
AX
to
M
Olden Farm
N
N
E
EI
A TR
G
E IV
I
R S H A
Water Co.
A
Observation Platform Charles H. Rogers Wildlife Refuge Swinging Bridge
l
n
a
F
J
L AI TR
a
F
E
C
A I L T R
y Ston
n
ta
ED
k oo Br
ri
R I V E R ’S
G
a
EE R
ST ER
N
F
Observation Platform
M
L AI
TR
S
E C N E
Marsh
E
D
Grassy or indeterminate path
W
K
L
Narrow footpath
D
G
B
A
IL
L
E F I
Historic marker
A
H D
D
Field
Trails Signpost
A
R
T
A I L T R
L AI TR
R N C O
Institute Woods
H
E
B
R
A
L
R FA
T
P I P E L I E N
Field
L
R
E
L AI TR
E
A B
R EA
’
N
OL
B
D F
S’ ER
FO
To Updike Farm
B E D D L M I
B
H D UN FO
E
Friends Meeting House and Cemetery
Founders’ Rock
AI
J
T
T
L RO
To Alexander Road
N
Thomas Clarke Farm
Swimming Pool
J
IL
TRACK
Y LE
EUMAN
DE
P
N
OL
M
ER
C
Pond
Crossroads
N
Princeton Battlefield State Park
AN
DR
G
Institute for Advanced Study Campus
LA
VO
T
Mercer Oak
OLDM
D
aw el
e ar 0
a
n
d
R
250
500
1,000 Feet
Service road Wetland
Map of tree species courtesy of Henry Horn, Princeton University