Dec 27, 2018
Are
you concerned about the environment and want to learn how to make a difference?
Maybe you belong to a municipal environmental commission or green team, and you
want to do your best in caring for your community. You can do all this and more
as part of Rutgers Environmental Stewards Program!
Classes
will be offered at the Atlantic County Utilities Authority’s Environmental Park
located at 6700 Delilah Road in Egg Harbor Township. The 2019 course begins on
January 23 and meets every Wednesday from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. through June
2019.
The
Environmental Steward program is designed to explain and analyze the
environmental issues affecting New Jersey. Using science, teamwork and natural
resources, the Stewards will create plans to face the problems head-on. You
don’t have to be a scientist to be a Steward; all you need is passion for the
environment, learning and volunteering.
Registration, payment and program
details for individuals or municipalities are available at acua.com/stewards. The
program and materials fee for the course is $250.
Training
sessions are taught by experts from Rutgers University, and non-profit and
government organizations. To become a certified Rutgers Environmental Steward,
graduates of the classroom portion of the program must then complete a 60-hour
volunteer internship on any topic of their choice. Internships are unique and
intended to align with the interests of the individual, the needs of the
program, and the community.
Class
topics include climate change, soil health, renewable energy, waste management,
water resource protection, invasive species, wildlife management, habitat
conservation, environmental policy and more. Field trips to environmentally
significant sites are included as part of the program.
Examples
of volunteer projects include:
- Mapping
and eradicating invasive species in local parks
- Engaging
policy makers on reducing plastic waste
- Restoring
native dune vegetation in shore communities
- Building
green infrastructure, such as rain gardens or rain barrel
- Protecting
and creating habitat for threatened and endangered species
For more information on the program, please
contact Amy Menzel at amenzel@acua.com or call 609-272-6950. Go to www.acua.com/stewards or https://www.facebook.com/groups/RutgersEnvironmentalStewards/