Sustainability in Action

The Mount Laurel Township Green Team transformed a large field into a monarch and pollinator meadow and added a 20 by 20-foot plot of native pollinator plants in the middle of the community garden. The plants attract native pollinators which in turn pollinate the community vegetable plots. “We’re creating a pollinator super highway through our township,” said Gina Cohl, chair of the Mount Laurel Green Team. “The garden attracts bees, butterflies and toads.” The project was supported by a $2,000 Sustainable Jersey grant funded by the PSEG Foundation. Volunteers installed native plants (butterfly weed, tickseed, bee balm, liatris, false blue indigo and common milkweed) to attract pollinators and worked with the New Jersey Tree Foundation to purchase and plant native trees to serve as hosts to pollinators. Mount Laurel Township is a certified Sustainable Jersey community. Visit the green team’s Facebook page for more information.

Municipal governments can play a significant role in reducing poor health outcomes and improving the quality of life of those living within the community. In an effort to protect the health and welfare of the public by ensuring its right to breathe clean air, Montgomery Township created and passed a smoke free public places ordinance (Ordinance 3-18) for township buildings and parks. In addition, the Montgomery Township Board of Health restricted the sale of electronic smoking devices by requiring businesses to obtain a license and by prohibit any employee under the age of 21 from being involved in the sales transactions of these products (Board of Health ordinance 3A). Outreach events, targeted at youth, have been useful to share the dangers of vaping. Montgomery Township is certified with Sustainable Jersey at the silver-level and the township received 15 certification points for completion of the Sustainable Jersey action: Tobacco Free Community. Communities approved for this action at 15 points receive a “Tobacco Free Community” designation from the New Jersey Prevention Network (NJPN) as part of the Tobacco Free for a Healthy New Jersey Initiative. Completion of this action also contributes to an application for the Sustainable Jersey Gold Star in Health.

Six student teams across southern New Jersey were honored for their New Jersey Student Climate Challenge action projects. Student team winners and their teacher mentors were recognized at a virtual awards ceremony hosted by the Drumthwacket Foundation with New Jersey First Lady Tammy Murphy. Team MM from Winslow Township High School and the Plastic Free AC Team from Sovereign Avenue School were first-place winners. “The NJ Climate Challenge was a wonderful opportunity for the Plastic Free AC student committee to identify a problem, conduct research, plan for ways to address this issue and then ultimately take action,” explained Sovereign Avenue School teacher Dione Tsoplakis. “The Climate Challenge motto, ‘Tell a story that will change the world’ was an inspiration to these amazing future leaders and we cannot wait to see how they will utilize the awarded grant money to further their actions.” To see the list of the six award recipients and their videos, visit: 2020/2021 NJ Student Climate Challenge Finalists. The New Jersey Student Climate Challenge is now open to New Jersey public schools serving students in grades six through twelve across the state. Climate Challenge details are available at bit.ly/NJStudentClimateChallenge. Student team entries are due April 1, 2022. 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 and Exelon.

In December 2021, the first meeting of the Sustainable Hunterdon Schools Hub, the first schools-focused hub, was held virtually. Franklin Township Elementary School presented their experience achieving Sustainable Jersey for Schools silver-certification and Digital Schools Star recognition. Frenchtown Elementary School, Reading-Fleming Intermediate School and the Readington Township Public Schools also participated. The schools-focused-hub grew out of the Hunterdon Sustainability Hub. The countywide Hunterdon Sustainability Hub, facilitated by goHunterdon, provides a local forum for information sharing among Hunterdon’s municipal and school green teams, including best practices, peer-to-peer support and collaboration. goHunterdon staff helps municipal and school green teams identify, implement and document required action items to secure Sustainable Jersey certification. Learn more about how your Hunterdon community or school may benefit from getting involved: goHunterdon. There are currently ten Sustainable Jersey Regional Hubs.

New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU) has created a Community Energy Plan Grant (CEPG) program for all New Jersey municipalities to develop a community energy plan to meet the goals of the state’s Energy Master Plan. New Jersey’s Energy Master Plan: Pathway to 2050 (EMP) established that community-level action is necessary to achieve the state’s goal of 100 percent clean energy by 2050. Community energy planning is the process by which communities collaboratively select and strategically implement emissions-reducing initiatives that fulfill the EMP goals. All New Jersey municipalities are eligible to apply for a grant. Municipalities that have been identified as overburdened municipalities are eligible to apply for a $25,000 grant. All other municipalities are eligible to apply for a $10,000 grant. Visit the CEPG page for the list of overburdened municipalities.  The application deadline is March 18, 2022. Review Sustainable Jersey’s  webinar Creating a Community Energy Plan: Resources and Technical Assistance for additional information: Slide Presentation; Webinar Recording. Completing a Community Energy Plan will help municipalities meet the requirements of the Sustainable Jersey Gold Star in Energy.