See recycled materials become larger than life art New Jersey’s Troll Trek

By Chandler Lutz

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    BURLINGTON COUNTY, New Jersey (KYW) — Interactive art installations are now a part of the permanent landscape of Burlington County, New Jersey. It’s art and nature coming together, and it’s creating new conversations about sustainability.

It’s part of an outdoor exhibit across the county called the Burlington County Troll Trek.

If you walk through historic Smithville Park, you’ll find unique, larger-than-life, whimsical creatures — like Gracie the Gardener, made from bottle caps, cans and old baseball gloves by artist Norma Neimeister and her husband, John.

“She’s not typical. She’s kind of prettier than a regular troll,” Neimeister said. “We used over 300 of the orange Gatorade-type ones, over about 800 of the clear water bottle (caps).”

One of Gracie’s friends is an old garden ornament that Neimeister found in the trash.

“I decided to cover it with aluminum cans,” Neimeister said.

Gracie is one of 19 troll statues around Burlington County made from recycled materials.

“We brought it to residences in Burlington County to say, what if you had found materials, what would you do with them if you were to create your own trolls?” Burlington County Commissioner Deputy Director Allison Eckel said.

“The bottle caps and the jar lids that you throw out, you never think of them again. But what if you kept them and what if you turned them into maybe flowers and a snake and some really great garden friends?” Eckel added.

Troll Trek has created a bigger conversation about sustainability.

Another statue nestled in Smithville Park is a Troll on a Stroll, made from a collection of old bicycles.

“They were destroyed and rusty, and they sat in my driveway for years until I decided what I was going to do,” artist KT Carney said. She describes her sculpture as “eclectic. It’s figurative.” Carney was inspired by funk artists of the 1970s.

The trolls have been embraced by locals and visitors alike, while inspiring new conversations about how what’s old can become new again.

“They can be inspired and see what the regular objects around us every day could possibly become if we see them in a new light,” Eckel said.

The art is giving every day discarded items a new life.

“Gracie’s hair is made out of old jeans, which no longer fit me, so we’re recycling them,” Neimeister said. “She looks beautiful.”

Visit Burlington County’s website for more information on the trolls and how you can track all 19 around the county.

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