New Jersey Resources recently announced a new collaborative effort with Rutgers University and its School of Environmental and Biological Sciences to advance the University’s “Vibrant Communities” program.
NJR committed $50,000 from its Coastal Climate Initiative (CCI) to support the inaugural Vibrant Communities program’s sustainability and resiliency project.
The CCI supports projects and programs designed to improve the resilience of ecosystems and impacts from climate change, as well strengthen community engagement and environmental education.
The project’s focus will be the creation and implementation of a sustainable landscape master plan in the Manitou Park section of South Toms River Borough, a community identified as being overburdened.
Project work will include mapping out and designing resiliency and environmental improvements with implementation to follow. The project will also include an ongoing stewardship and management plan to maintain the improvement for the long-term benefit of the community.
“We believe stronger communities make us a stronger company,” Steve Westhoven, president and CEO of New Jersey Resources said. “Giving back and investing in the communities we serve is a core value of our company. Together with the state’s largest university, this project gives us an opportunity to support the residents of Manitou Park and make a difference in the community by improving resiliency, providing access to green spaces and reducing negative impacts on ecosystems and habitats.”
Centering on an affordable housing development built by Homes for All, an Ocean County-based affordable housing nonprofit, the project will engage graduate students from Rutgers University’s Landscape Architecture Program to develop a sustainable landscape master plan for the area – a first-of-its-kind for the program.
