Tag: New Jersey Conservation Foundation
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Affordable farmland program takes root in Garden State
by Alison Mitchell, co-executive director for the New Jersey Conservation Foundation As organic growers and educators, Newark residents Akirah and Mancoba Hlatshwako are on a mission to provide healthy foods for their community, teach others how to grow their own food, and create green jobs. But when they looked for land to start their own…
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A new roadmap for protecting New Jersey’s public forests
By Tom Gilbert, Co-Executive Director, New Jersey Conservation Foundation New Jersey is the most densely populated and developed state, with an average of more than 1,200 residents per square mile. It’s the only state in which every county is deemed “urban” by the U.S. Census Bureau. Yet, 40% of this state we’re in – about…
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Outdoor recreation: Tell the state what you want!
By Jay Watson, Co-Executive Director, New Jersey Conservation Foundation Do you enjoy spending time outdoors at New Jersey’s parks, nature preserves, recreation areas, beaches and other open-air places? If so, how can your experience be improved? If you don’t get outside much, what can be done to make outdoor recreation more accessible and appealing? The…
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The State We’re In: ‘Climate-smart’ agriculture catching on with farmers
by Alison Mitchell, Co-Executive Director, New Jersey Conservation Foundation. When you think about farmers in the Garden State, you might picture them planting seeds, milking cows, raising poultry, harvesting crops, and delivering fresh, healthy foods to market. Without a doubt, farmers feed the world. As the old saying goes, “No farmers, no food.” Did you…
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State forest needs protection from rogue drivers
By Tom Gilbert, Co-Executive Director, New Jersey Conservation Foundation If you watch sports on television, including the Super Bowl, you’ve probably noticed the commercials for four-wheel-drive vehicles. With heart-pounding music playing, they show rugged vehicles climbing hills, splashing through streams and flinging mud from spinning tires. To some, it must look like fun. But what…
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Telling the truth about New Jersey’s slave history
By Jay Watson “New Jersey is the Garden State. We’re known for our blueberries, we’re known for our corn, we’re known for our peaches. But we’re not known for the slaves that were here tilling the soil, we’re not known for the whole history of slavery right here, and how slavery was the underpinning of…
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Sweet! South Jersey taps its maple syrup potential
by Alison Mitchell, Co-Executive Director, New Jersey Conservation Foundation New Jersey isn’t nearly as famous as Vermont for maple syrup, though native sugar maple trees grow in our state’s north and central counties and many small farms tap trees for syrup. South Jersey? Not so much. Sugar maples are extremely rare in the region, and…
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Harnessing the power of nature to help our climate
By Jay Watson From large forests to tree-lined city streets, from wooded wetlands to coastal salt marshes, green landscapes are some of humanity’s best allies in addressing threats posed by a warming climate. Trees, seagrasses and other plants act as the Earth’s lungs, pulling carbon dioxide from the air and emitting oxygen through the process…
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New Jersey needs law to control invasive species
By Tom Gilbert What happens in Vegas may stay in Vegas, but what happens in New Jersey yards and gardens often can’t be contained – especially when non-native plants are present. When species from other regions of the world are introduced, they can spread aggressively and create ecological havoc. “Invasive species” is the term used…
