Galloway Township Receives $1,000 Sustainability Grant

The attained by Galloway Township in 2010 continues to pay dividends.

The township’s status helped it to achieve a Sustainable Jersey Capacity-Building Grant, the township announced this week. Sustainable Jersey Capacity-Building Grants are $1,000 grants intended to assist community green teams, including the Go Green Galloway Taskforce for Sustainability, as they lead and coordinate the sustainability activities in their communities.

For the third year in a row, the Sustainable Jersey Small Grants Program is funded by Wal-Mart and is providing a total of $175,000 in grants to local communities. 

Wal-Mart's total contribution is now $595,000.

“Over the past few years, through Walmart’s sponsorship of the Sustainable Jersey Small Grants Program, municipalities across New Jersey have taken on the task of making their communities greener and more sustainable,” Wal-Mart Senior Manager of Public Affairs for the State of New Jersey Jennifer Hoehn said. “Wal-Mart is proud of the success of this program and we look forward to continuing to make a difference in the state through these grants.”

The path to the recognition was paved last year, when Galloway Township became the first Atlantic County town to be recognized with Silver Certification by Sustainable New Jersey. It joined West Windsor Township in Mercer County, Woodbridge Township in Middlesex County and Summit City in Union County as the only four communities in the state to achieve that honor.

“Galloway Township is proud to be one of the first towns to attain Silver Certification through the Sustainable Jersey Program,” Mayor Don Purdy said. “(Go Green Galloway) is doing great things. This $1,000 capacity-building  grant will help the Green Team to continue their work toward making Galloway one of New Jersey’s most sustainable towns.”

Currently, 351 towns across New Jersey’s 21 counties, or 62 percent of the state’s towns and cities, have registered to become Sustainable Jersey certified. Galloway applied and became certified in 2009, the year Sustainable Jersey was launched. Galloway was immediately recognized with Bronze Certification, and the following year, attained Silver Certification.

“The impact that these projects will make in New Jersey is incredible,” Sustainable Jersey Board of Trustees Chair Pam Mount said. “Funding green initiatives at the community level will have a ripple effect that will benefit us all.”

This year’s honor allows Go Green Galloway to highlight a number of things they are doing to help Galloway achieve greater sustainability, including:

• An Environmental Resource Inventory, to be adopted by the end of the year;
• Bicycle Master Plan Implementation and Outreach, including participation in an effort to bring a on Rt. 9 near the Seaview;
• An active reusable bag campaign, which has included numerous “Bag It” events outside local grocery stores;
• An environmental movie series in conjunction with the county library that has allowed for screenings of “Bag It! The Movie” and “Dirt! The Movie” at the Atlantic County Library System’s Galloway Branch;
• A , held in conjunction with the in July;
• A Green Business Recognition Program;
• A Greenmapping Project in conjunction with the ;
• A “Kids Go Green in Galloway” campaign that began in the fall;
• An ; and
• A Native Plants/Water Conservation campaign (a series of Wildlife Habitat workshops is planned for the spring of next year.

Go Green Galloway is also “very close to forming a non-profit division of the group,” the group stated.

“We are now in the process of developing by-laws,”  Go Green Galloway co-chair Barbara Fiedler said.

The grant will provide “seed money” for all the group’s various projects, and Fiedler provided information requested by Galloway Patch on a few of the aforementioned projects.

The Environmental Resource Inventory: 

“This is a planning document that we received a $10,000 grant for last year (through WalMart/Sustainable Jersey) to complete,” Fiedler said via email. “It will be a comprehensive look at all environmental resources in the Township and will be used as a reference in the site plan review process. It will help prioritize open space acquisition, save tax dollars by helping to prevent costly environmental problems, assist in the municipal land use planning process and provide an education resource for residents.”

The Green Business Recognition Program: 

According to Fiedler, this is “A committee from Go Green Galloway, along with Stockton students, that will work with local businesses to determine their level of commitment to green initiatives.  Those that score well on the checklist will receive recognition, through the new Galloway website, the Galloway GreenMap, and a sign or sticker for their business window.”

The Green Map Project: 

This is also being funded by Sustainable Jersey and the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, according to Fiedler. For additional information, see greenmap.org.

“We are part of a three-city group with Camden and Haddonfield that will, with the help of Stockton Students, each develop its own green map,” Fiedler said. “This map will be a great companion piece with our Environmental Resource Inventory. It will include green spaces and eco-tourism spots, CSAs, windmills and solar installations, green businesses, etc.  We will produce an interactive online map and, if funds allow, a printed map.”

Kids Go Green in Galloway: 

Retired Galloway teacher and Go Green Galloway team member Ro Goldberg is facilitating a pilot program through the district's after school program.  

“She is visiting each elementary school once a month with a program featuring many environmental topics including:  Waste and Recycling, Litter, Energy, Water conservation/storm water protection, soil/composting, habitat, bees, pedal power, and pollution,” Fiedler said. “The children and their families are asked to sign a pledge to participate and then they receive a wristband and all instruction and materials for the month.  The school website now has additional information on the program posted along with the pledge form.”

The Backyard Habitat Workshops: 

Planned for March, the workshops will include a session on native plants, a session on invasive plants, and bird and butterfly attractant plants and possibly a session on rain gardens, according to Fielder. 

“All native plant initiative programs will include water conservation information,” she said.

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Sustainable Jersey is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that that supports community efforts to reduce waste, cut greenhouse gas emissions, and improve environmental equity. It is completely voluntary, and each municipality decides if it wants to be certified and what it wants to do in order to realize the certification requirements.

New Jersey is the first state in the nation to feature a comprehensive sustainability program that links certification to strong state and private financial incentives.