Sustainability in Action

Recognizing that increasing rainfall from a changing climate was causing a chronic problem with stormwater runoff entering the Highland Park Public Library building, Sustainable Highland Park sought to find a solution. With support from a $10,000 Sustainable Jersey Grant funded by the PSEG Foundation, Highland Park Borough installed a rain garden on the side of the library to alleviate stormwater runoff issues. In addition to reducing flooding, the garden captures and filters stormwater runoff before it enters the storm sewer system. The plants in the rain garden are native to the region and provide pollinator and wildlife habitat.

Since the library is a popular destination for kids and adults, Sustainable Highland Park added an educational component to the project. A Green Infrastructure Walking Tour, with ten stops between River Road and North 5th Avenue, was created. Each stop is marked with a green sign that explains the environmental benefit of the green infrastructure project and includes a QR code that connects the user to the Sustainable Highland Park website, where they can find additional information, such as the plant materials used in each of the projects, as well as suggestions for making their lawn and landscaping more stormwater-friendly. The signage was also paid for using the Sustainable Jersey grant funds.

The library's rain garden was designed by Rutgers Cooperative Extension Water Resources Program and was planted with the help of more than a dozen volunteers and Borough staff members. The library rain garden is the tenth green infrastructure installation in Highland Park. Highland Park Borough is certified at the silver-level (2023 Certification Report) with Sustainable Jersey and has completed other green infrastructure actions including: Green Infrastructure Planning and Green Infrastructure Implementation.

The first round of Sustainable Jersey-PSE&G Partnership Program participants have launched customized outreach campaign videos and websites. Each video spotlights local community members and shares ways to better manage energy use and access energy-efficiency programs and incentives.

Check out the impressive efforts of the first 11 municipalities: Audubon; Barrington; Glen Rock; Haddonfield; Irvington; Montclair; Moorestown; Orange; Princeton; Somerville and West Orange. Irvington Green Team Chair Charnette Frederic explained “We’re urging our residents to take advantage of PSE&G’s programs to help them save energy and reduce utility bills. This can include initiatives like energy audits, rebates for energy-efficient appliances and guidance on implementing energy-saving practices.”

When applying to the program, each municipality selected the type of preferred assistance they wanted. The options include Residential Energy Efficiency Outreach Campaign; Technical Assistance for Energy Efficiency in Municipal Facilities; and Commercial Energy Efficiency Outreach Campaign. The first group of 16 municipalities participating in the program was announced in June 2023. In addition to the 11 municipalities listed above that are engaged in outreach programs, five municipalities are receiving technical assistance for energy efficiency in municipal facilities; these towns include: Saddle Brook Township, Rutherford Borough, Bogota Borough, Palmyra Borough and Prospect Park Borough.

The Sustainable Jersey-PSE&G Partnership Program is now open to schools districts as well. Interested municipalities and school districts are encouraged to check their eligibility and apply.

Maplewood Township’s Health Assessment and Action Plan was formally approved by the Maplewood Planning Commission and incorporated into the Master Plan in fall 2023. After a comprehensive review of local health data and a community engagement process, six community issues were identified: 1) food access; 2) climate change; 3) community relations with police; 4) health equity; 5) underserved vulnerable populations; and 6) healthier communities (neighborhood revitalization plans). Based on these priorities, the Township is implementing strategies, several of which resulted in immediate changes, including road and transportation improvement projects, the hiring of a crisis intervention social worker to collaborate with police, improved stormwater drainage, tree planting projects, and a community fridge, to name a few.

In November 2023, Maplewood Township achieved silver-level certification (2023 Certification Report) and the Sustainable Jersey Gold Star in Health (2023 Health Gold Report). Municipalities receive Gold Star recognition for reaching high levels of achievement in key dimensions of sustainability. Maplewood Township Health Officer Candice Davenport led the effort. “I support a ‘Health in All Policies’ approach,” Davenport explained. “A healthy environment creates a healthy person and vice versa. The Sustainable Jersey Gold Star in Health is a first step to help municipalities implement large scale efforts to impact health behavior and make systemic changes.” Davenport served on the Sustainable Jersey Task Force that developed the Gold Star in Health framework. Maplewood Mayor Dean Dafis said, “Government plays a critical role in promoting and sustaining public health. We look forward to continuing to develop our health and health equity needs with Sustainable Jersey's support.”

Maplewood Township completed a number of actions to achieve the Gold Star in Health including the Local Health Assessment and Action Plan, Integrating Health Into Municipal Decision Making and Building Healthier Communities.

The 2023-2024 New Jersey Student Climate Challenge is open to public school students in grades 6 to 12. Under their teacher's mentorship, teams of 2 to 12 students complete a school or community project that addresses climate change. Each team creates a video about the project and completes a Climate Challenge submission form by April 10, 2024.

To inspire new teams to participate, past participants are sharing testimonials on social media. Deep Patel, a two-time Climate Challenge finalist from South Plainfield High School said, "I had a great experience working on the NJ Student Climate Challenge. It educated me on the often overlooked factors contributing to climate change. I gained insights into the importance of supporting local businesses. The Challenge inspired me to pursue a career in finance, leveraging the world's financial capital to address the environmental, social and governance (ESG) detriments of our era." Patel is currently a student at Rutgers Business School. Taylor Brennan shared, “The most exciting thing about our project was getting over 50 oak trees from the Shade Tree Commission. Seeing all 50 saplings was great because I knew we were making a physical impact on the world. It might not have been as big as 100 trees, but it is still a start!” Brennan was a 2022/2023 Climate Challenge winner from Howell Middle School South. Review the list of past Climate Challenge finalists and watch the videos: NJ Student Climate Challenge Past Winners. Middle and high school winners are recognized at an awards ceremony hosted by New Jersey First Lady Tammy Murphy and receive grants to advance their climate education initiatives ranging from $3,500 to $500.

Teachers and students can register now for the New Jersey Student Climate Challenge: bit.ly/NJStudentClimateChallenge. To learn more about the Climate Challenge and get tips from educators who participated in prior years, watch a previously recorded information session (Teacher Information Sessions: November 29, 2023 or November 30, 2023) or attend an upcoming in-person session on January 18, 2024 (Register) or January 19, 2024 (Register). The New Jersey Student Climate Challenge is administered by Sustainable Jersey and the Drumthwacket Foundation. It is made possible through the generous support of Atlantic City Electric.

In December 2023, the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU) opened the application windows for the third year of the Community Energy Plan Grant (CEPG) Program and the first year of the new Community Energy Plan Implementation (CEPI) Program.

The CEPG and CEPI programs empower local communities to create and implement community energy plans that align with the State’s Energy Master Plan. A total of nearly $8M is available, with $4.5M earmarked for the CEPG Program and $3.4M earmarked for the CEPI Program in FY24. Funds have been budgeted from the State’s Clean Energy Program and are supplemented by the Department of Energy’s Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant Program.

The CEPG program allows overburdened municipalities to be eligible for larger grants; while all towns are eligible for $10,000, those deemed overburdened are eligible for $25,000. In addition, in partnership with NJBPU, Sustainable Jersey provides enhanced technical assistance to CEPG and CEPI applicants, with a particular focus on overburdened municipalities, including preparation of applications and development of community energy plans. Sustainable Jersey created a Community Energy Plan Resources Guide to help municipalities engage in community energy planning.

For municipalities that would like to participate in either the CEPG or CEPI program, applications are available here. The application window will be open until February 23, 2024.