Climate Action Plan For JC - Public Meeting Thurs Nov 7th, 6:30pm, At City Hall

Climate Action Plan For JC - Public Meeting Thurs Nov 7th, 6:30pm, At City Hall

Submitted by Deb Italiano Board President, Sustainable JC

Dear Friends,

SJC has been waiting a few years for this and we are really pleased that Kate Lawrence, Director of JC’s Office of Sustainability is leading the effort to develop a Climate Action Plan for Jersey City. She has been spearheading a lot of work behind the scenes and now it’s time for the public to come out and support this next step which is specifically designed for public input.

First, check out the new 2016 JC Greenhouse Gas Inventory Report which is well done and very accessible! Don’t be thrown off by the date, 2016 is the benchmark we will be using as we move forward to create goals for the future and measure our progress. You can find the report and catch up with where the City is at on this new Climate Action page on the JC Make It Green website. Will be great if you can join, but even if you can not, please make time to read the report - it’s a quick read and is an important update. The meeting will be held in Council Chambers - light refreshments will be served.

This meeting will focus on current greenhouse gas emissions and recommended actions our community can take to reduce them. Following a presentation, attendees will have the opportunity to provide feedback and offer additional ideas on the City’s climate action planning process. This is the first meeting in the City’s outreach effort which will lead to a codified Climate Action Plan this Spring 2020.

 Please come out to have your questions answered about the report and to offer your input toward the City’s Climate Action Plan.

SJC will also be taking on an action agenda in support of the City’s efforts for this planning process and as part of our organizational priorities for Jersey City - More Green Infrastructure, Reduced Waste Streams and Fewer Emissions. Look forward to working with more of you as we organize new campaign activities in coming months.

Hope to see you on Thurs Nov 7th !

Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Working Group (NESAWG) Conference Coming To Jersey City

 NESAWG Conference Coming To Jersey City - Nov 7 -9th !

Submitted by Tamia McCormick SJC Board Member

The Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Working Group (NESAWG) is the Region's Food and Farm Network and they are bringing their 26th Annual Conference to Jersey City! Their theme this year is ‘It Takes a Region’ and it will be a great experience for those seeking to network with food justice leaders from throughout this area as well as learn how to build a more sustainable food system within their neighborhood.

The event will take place Thu, Nov 7, 2019, 12:00 PM –Sat, Nov 9, 2019, 3:00 PM, downtown JC at New Jersey City University Business School, 200 Hudson St, Jersey City, NJ 07311.

Why should you come? NESAWG will be hosting numerous workshops that will provide you with the technical skills you need to make a positive change here in Jersey City. Workshops include:

Seed & Swap: saving/exchanging seeds and stories from throughout the region

Value Chain Mapping for the Food and Value Chain Sector: Map your own food chain

Newark Urban Food System Tour: Explore Newark’s urban gardens and farms

Agriculture Policy & Climate Change: how to coordinate strategies to move along climate change work in the agriculture and food systems sector

Anti-Oppression Training: Day-long training teaching concepts and practices to confront and prevent oppression

Furthermore, NESAWG is an organization that is committed to inclusion. They provided scholarships for underserved communities i.e. people of color, youth, LGBTQ, etc. to ensure all who would like to attend will be able to do so. In addition, they are also providing child care for parents that are interested in the program, but may not have a babysitter. 

This year, NESAWG is instituting an optional tiered pricing structure. They are doing this so they can continue to offer lower cost tickets to those who need it, while raising funds to support those lower cost tickets and their scholarship fund.

 Special Pricing Offer Ends Oct 25th - Additional Discounts Available Thereafter, Details Here.

REGISTRATION NOW OPEN! To purchase tickets, please click the following link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/nesawgs-26th-annual-it-takes-a-region-conference-tickets-64833139666

For further information, please reach out to NESAWG Executive Director, Tracy Lerman @ 845.501.0191, x 1 | tracy@nesawg.org | www.nesawg.org.

Special Invitation To Our Joint Fundraiser Luncheon On Sunday October 27, 12 – 3pm ~

Special Invitation To Our Joint Fundraiser Luncheon On Sunday October 27, 12 – 3pm ~

Submitted by Deb Italiano  Board President, Sustainable JC

Dear Friends,

We are excited to invite you and your guests to a special Celebration Fundraiser Luncheon that we have arranged to both toast the athletes from the inaugural JC Half Marathon in Lincoln Park we have organized that morning with our partner Citytri AND to give Sustainable JC and JCFamilies an opportunity to socialize with our constituents in a beautiful and relaxed setting, which we rarely have the chance to do.  Together we will feast on a banquet of delicious farm food and an array of beverages hosted by the amazing Whealth & Company - thank you David Trotta !

We have reserved the SKY LOUNGE at Journal Squared for our Fundraiser Luncheon and for those of you who have not visited before, you will certainly be taken with the views of this 54th floor penthouse venue.  More importantly we are counting on the engaging company of Jersey City’s great community to create the cool vibe we intend – please join us 😊

While Sustainable JC has always been mission driven, this year we incorporated as a non-profit company and we feel privileged to now be able to fully partner with other non-profits here working hard to make Jersey City a better place to live and work.  In our case, and you all know this, SJC is working hard to ensure a cleaner, greener and more climate resilient city.  And in JCFamilies case, they are working hard to create a citywide community where parents and families can strongly connect and thrive.   We love JCFamilies and we are so pleased to be collaborating with them on this day of fundraising – thank you Mamta Singh for all that you do !

Both of our organizations wish to thank you for all your support in the past and we do hope that will continue – yes, turning out as you have is very important and please keep coming to all of our events but we will sometimes also ask you for financial support and this is one of those times.   Runners can still register for the fundraiser JC Half Marathon here  and please RSVP with your Luncheon Reservation here – Tickets are $25 per person.  

This JC Half Marathon and Celebration Luncheon is intended to be an annual tradition – so help us kick it off with a bang !

Space is limited so please RSVP asap.

Thanks and hope to see you there !

To Donate To SJC Now Click Here !

ALERT - Invasive Insect Can Kill JC Trees, Please Be Aware !

Dear Tree Friends,

Please see the ALERT sent to us below by Jersey City’s new Forester Ed O’Malley. Please tune in !

See links below for photos to help you identify the Spotted Lanternfly which has been reported as moving thru NJ with some JC residents reporting sightings. Instructions below.

Jersey City residents have recently reported multiple confirmed sightings of the Spotted Lanternfly (Lycorma deliculata) or SLF. The SLF is an invasive insect native to Asia that was introduced into Pennsylvania and is spreading into New Jersey. SLF feeds and lays eggs on crops, fruit trees, and hardwood trees, and eventually colonizes and kills those affected plants and trees. It is imperative that Jersey City stays vigilant in reporting and removing the SLF from our community before it destroys our urban forest.  If you see the Spotted Lanternfly, take a photograph and report it immediately to The NJ Department of Agriculture at 1-833-223-2840 (BADBUG0) and the Jersey City RRC at 201-547-4900. If you see egg masses, scrape them off, double bag them and throw them away. You can also place the eggs into alcohol, bleach or hand sanitizer.  What else? Kill it! Squash it, smash it...just get rid of it. In the fall, these bugs will lay egg masses with 30-50 eggs each.

We have added this information to the City’s website and we currently working on adding it to the kiosks around the city. Please reach out with questions or concerns. If anyone has any ideas to further spread the word please share. 

Attached are links to both the NJ Department of Agriculture and Rutgers SLF pages.

https://www.nj.gov/agriculture/divisions/pi/prog/spottedlanternfly.html

https://njaes.rutgers.edu/spotted-lanternfly/

Best Regards, 

Edward O’Malley

Senior Forester - ISA Certified Arborist (NJ 1243A)

Department of Public Works

Division of Parks and Forestry

13-15 Linden Ave East

Jersey City, NJ 07305

201.547.4449

Upcoming Event This Tues Nite - Dig In to Dig Out: Managing Urban Soils to Tackle Climate Change

Perspective - Dig In to Dig Out: Managing Urban Soils to Tackle Climate Change

Submitted by Jassimran Oberoi

There has been a huge surge in awareness about the need to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions and climate change, even as we begin to move toward adaptation strategies.

If you’ve been following the discourse driven by the recent youth-led climate actions—driven ever so elegantly by our very own Greta Thunburg…go Greta !—then you are aware of the broad range of actions we can take to mitigate the impacts of climate change.

But, there is one set of solutions that can be found within the very ground we stand upon which is very accessible to influence…!  Soil, yes soil, is a wonderful way of capturing atmospheric carbon dioxide, a primary cause of global warming. And link average soil to compost, and you have a truly powerful strategy for carbon sequestration to help reverse dangerous trends.

The soils beneath our feet have the potential to serve as an important carbon sponge if they are healthy and contain organic matter - the more organic matter, the more they can soak up CO2 from the atmosphere and deposit it via microbes and photosynthesis into the ground as soil carbon compounds. This simple process can be aided by actions we take to optimize soil health all around us and will serve as an important and inexpensive bridge toward reducing greenhouse gas emissions. 

Composting not only helps to optimize capturing carbon in the soil but helps to eliminate the food waste stream going to landfills, which when mixed with other trash is responsible for releasing substantial amounts of methane (more dangerous than CO2), and also large amounts of CO2 into the atmosphere as it decomposes.  Food waste makes up approximately 30 - 40% of household “trash” - by diverting this waste stream from landfills we can avoid producing these dangerous greenhouse gases. If we then convert this food waste stream to compost and utilize it as a soil amendment to optimize the health of our soil, we will have truly begun to implement a very important strategy that will have a multiplier effect on behalf of taking action on climate change.

Come learn how individuals and organizations can implement practices that will maximize soil carbon storage, while building up healthy landscapes with better soil and water qualities,  reducing erosion and helping to better manage stormwater events.

Join us, on Tuesday, October 8th, from 7 PM to 9 PM, in the Jersey City Council Chambers, as we explore the many facets of this possibility.

REGISTER HERE