2008 Grants

In the Year 2008, the Environmental Endowment for New Jersey awarded 20 grants totaling $223,888 to non-profit organizations to carry out a variety of environmental improvement projects in the northeast metropolitan area and in the Delaware River Basin and the Schuylkill Valley.   The Endowment Board voted to make the following grants in 2008:

1.       American Littoral Society ($10,000), Highlands, New Jersey: education and advocacy program to protect important coastal ecosystems and natural resources in Cumberland, Salem and Cape May Counties from degradation caused by bad land use decisions as this rural region faces increased pressure from developers.  (732-291-0055)

2.       Association of New Jersey Environmental Commissions ($12,000) Mendham, New Jersey:  to educate municipal officials about NJ wastewater, wetlands and stormwater regulations through a program of email alerts, workshops, articles, in-depth website information and advocacy with the NJDEP. (973-539-7543)

3.       Camden Greenways, Inc. ($12,000), Camden, New Jersey:  to provide a safe and accessible system of trails along Camden City’s principal river shorelines, to broaden local support and participation in the development of a continuous waterfront greenway, and to promote land stewardship by working with community organizations. (856-964-7336)

4.       Citizens United to Protect the Maurice River & Its Tributaries Inc. ($3,368), Millville, New Jersey:   to increase volunteer capacity by further developing their participation and/or knowledge requiring tools/equipment for training and implementing their volunteer functions.  Funds will be used for provisions to three components of current programming—education, outreach, and their Adopt-a-Swamp Pink program.  (856-305-3238)

5.       Clean Water Fund ($12,000) Belmar, New Jersey:  to implement and expand their successful locally-based Healthy Schools/Healthy Towns initiative.  Utilize 3 pollution prevention strategies—pesticide free zones, greener cleaning and idle free zones to better engage the public and local government in taking steps that reduce pollution and improve health within targeted watersheds.  (732-280-0370)

6.       Coalition for Peace and Justice ($12,000) Linwood, New Jersey:  for public education on the effects of the Salem/Hope Creek Nuclear Plants on the Delaware River and Estuary, and on the environment of Southern New Jersey as well as the health effects to citizens of that area. (609-601-8583)

7.       Delaware Riverkeeper Network ($12,000), Bristol, Pennsylvania:  to create a program of committed and growing volunteer monitors trained to identify when a pollution problem is occurring and to hit the ground running to help with documentation whenever a catastrophe, large or small, happens.  (215-369-1188)

8.       Eastern Environmental Law Center ($15,000) Newark, New Jersey:  to support their Healthy Watersheds Project which provides pro bono legal assistance to clients seeking to improve the health of their watersheds by demanding the remediation of hazardous waste, fighting to stop air pollution, and protecting land and other natural resources.  (973-353-5695)

9.       Edison Wetlands Association ($12,000), Edison, New Jersey:  for the Raritan River Project which strives to protect human health and the environment in the densely populated Lower Raritan Watershed by working with local communities to ensure the thorough and timely remediation and balanced redevelopment of hazardous waste sites. (732-287-5111)

10.    Fund for a Better Waterfront, Inc. ($10,000), Hoboken, New Jersey:   for their Planning Public Waterfronts project to secure the water’s edge at key undeveloped sites along the Hudson River for the public’s use and enjoyment for generations to come.  In Hoboken, they aim to connect the missing links in the proposed continuous waterfront park.  (201-217-0500)

11.    Future City Inc. (4,520), Elizabeth, New Jersey:  to educate and raise multilingual residents’ awareness for personal actions regarding clean water issues helping them make the connection between polluted water and their behaviors, environment and its impact on the quality of life. (908-659-0689)

12.    Green Delaware ($10,000) Port Penn, Delaware:  for legislative, technical and grassroots advocacy—special focus in 2008 includes cooling water intakes impacting the Delaware Estuary and supporting, with caution, implementation of the Bluewater Wind project off the Delaware coast. (302-834-3466)

13.    Mid-Atlantic Environmental Law Center ($12,000) Wilmington, Delaware:  to improve water quality throughout the region, the Center will work with environmental organizations to conduct a compliance sweep of major NPDES permits, review the adequacy of proposed NPDES permits for renewal, advocate for the improvement of proposed TMDLs, and directly  and indirectly oppose the Delaware Deepening. (302-477-2072)

14.    New Jersey Audubon Society ($12,000) Bernardsville, New Jersey.  continue their work toward the integration of habitat protection into the regulatory regime for land and water—specifically these efforts are targeted towards implementation of designated Category One waterways, Plan and Stormwater rules, promulgation of Critical Habitat Rules and expansion of designated Category One waterways.  (908-204-8998)

15.    Overpeck Preserve Inc. ($12,000), Leonia, New Jersey:  to continue to protect and defend the natural wildlife and environs of the Overpeck Preserve by offering environmental educational programs and recreational opportunities for the area and to expand the trail access to include a floating dock for paddlers and fishermen on Lake Overpeck. (201-446-2652)

16.    Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) ($12,000), Washington, DC:  to strengthen implementation and enforcement of site remediation, hazardous waste disposal, stormwater management and landfill closure laws and programs in New Jersey. (202-265-7337)

17.    Sierra Club-New Jersey Chapter ($12,000) Trenton, New Jersey:   for the Citizen Empowerment Campaign for Clean Water to  support citizens involvement in regulatory and local planning and zoning issues.   (609-656-7612)

18.    South Camden Citizens in Action ($15,000), Camden, New Jersey:  to continue their environmental justice campaign and capacity building in the Camden Waterfront South Neighborhood;  advocate for cleaner industries (there are 17 polluting industries in the neighborhood) and cleanup of the 2 superfund sites in the neighborhood. (856-910-8080)

19.    South Jersey Environmental Justice Alliance, Inc. ($12,000), Camden, New Jersey:  for environmental education and advocacy work focusing on creating a Healthy Schools Initiative/Model and site remediation reform as it relates to building new schools on contaminated sites in South Jersey towns.    (856-365-9038)

20.    Work Environment Council of New Jersey (WEC) ($12,000)  Trenton, New Jersey:  for continuation of an educational program on the Open Public Records Act and other right to know laws that help prevent pollution and workplace hazards; advocate for a new OPRA rule to ensure public access to environmental information and against attempts to weaken right to know protections. (609-695-7100)

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