New Jersey Murphy Administration Announces Winners of 25th Annual Governor’s Environmental Excellence Awards

SEATTLE (Waste Advantage): Commissioner of Environmental Protection Shawn M. LaTourette announced the winners of the 25th annual Governor’s Environmental Excellence Awards and honored the late Congressman Bill Pascrell’s legacy of environmental leadership by posthumously awarding him the prestigious Richard J. Sullivan Award. The awards were presented during a ceremony at the Historic Masonic Temple in Trenton.

“My DEP colleagues and I thank all of this year’s awardees for their commitment to protecting our environment,” Commissioner LaTourette said. “Their work showcases the spirit of innovation and passion for doing what’s right that has long made New Jersey an environmental leader. In that same spirit, we are humbled to honor the long career of Bill Pascrell, a true champion and fierce advocate for improving and protecting public health, safety, and the environment we all share because, simply put, he knew it was the right thing to do for the people of New Jersey.”

The Governor’s Environmental Excellence Awards are awarded annually to individuals and organizations that demonstrate commitment and leadership on a variety of environmental issues, including environmental justice, climate change, sustainability and education.

Named for New Jersey’s first DEP Commissioner, the Richard J. Sullivan Award honors the state’s pioneering environmental leaders. This year’s Sullivan Award was posthumously awarded to Congressman Bill Pascrell, who died at the age of 87 in August. Pascrell tirelessly fought for cleaner air and water, and quality parks and open spaces. He represented the 9^thCongressional District, which includes Bergen, Passaic and Hudson counties.

Pascrell’s impressive public service career includes his time as the mayor of Paterson, a state legislator and nearly three decades as a U.S. Representative. He championed environmental policies and projects such as securing the cleanup of legacy industrial pollution, delivering climate and flood resilience infrastructure, and guaranteeing federal protection of an iconic New Jersey landmark – the Great Falls of Paterson.

In addition to the Sullivan Award, the 2024 Governor’s Environmental Excellence Award winners for each category are:

James J. Florio Emerging Environmental Leader: Carolyn He  

Carolyn He, a senior at Morris Hills High School, leads A Sustainable Future – a program focused on sustainable paper consumption and reducing wasteful printing in schools. Since 2023, the program has helped more than 75 school districts and 200 students across the country reduce excessive printing. Additionally, A Sustainable Future has expanded to offer its services worldwide and hosted its first “Climate Convention” to engage students about environmental issues.

Climate: Metuchen Public Schools

The Climate Change Committee of Metuchen Public Schools has supported the integration of climate change education throughout the school district’s curriculum; ran a yearlong climate change awareness initiative for all district staff; championed Sustainable Jersey certification at Metuchen High School; supported environmental clubs; and collaborated with the Metuchen Shade Tree Commission to implement a Tree Ambassadors program.

Watershed Management and Water Resources: Clean Ocean Action

Clean Ocean Action organizes the Rally for Two Rivers annually to protect waterways. Utilizing community science efforts involving canine scent tracking and water quality monitoring, the program identifies likely upstream pollution sources and enables municipalities to implement targeted efforts to eliminate them. The collected data helps DEP evaluate shellfish growing areas and is used to improve local stormwater management measures.

Healthy Ecosystems and Habitats: Merrill Creek Reservoir

Merrill Creek Reservoir uses a Forest Stewardship Plan to manage wildlife habitat and implement conservation projects to improve forest habitat, manage native grassland, and create and enhance demonstration pollinator gardens. In addition, reservoir staff create underwater structures and conduct monitoring to support fish populations and are working with NJ Audubon to test a deer barrier system as an alternative to conventional deer exclusion fencing options.

Healthy Communities: Shereyl Snider

Shereyl Snider is a community organizer with East Trenton Collaborative and a community hub leader with Lead-Free NJ. Snider has worked to reduce illegal dumping, abandoned housing, traffic safety issues and environmental hazards, and led the “Get the Lead Out of Trenton” initiative in her neighborhood. In addition, Snider collaborated with researchers at Rutgers University and lead-impacted community members to plan and implement a project to test for lead contamination in East Trenton.

Environmental Justice: City Green

Through its Dig In! program – a collaboration with the Passaic County Board of County Commissioners – City Green is working to address the lack of green, natural spaces in urban neighborhoods and helped to create more than 75 community gardens in the county, particularly in overburdened communities. The program offers financial, technical and educational assistance in developing, building and supporting community gardens and neighborhood farms.

Environmental Education: Academy for Environmental Science, Morris County Vocational School District

Throughout their high school years, students at the Academy benefit from classes that link environmental concepts to a variety of subjects, including art, history and physics. The students also explore environmental issues through projects including work in the school’s garden, cleanups at Lake Hopatcong, and a food pantry’s food reclamation program. Additionally, senior students conducted a 10-month study of Mahlon Dickerson Reservation, setting up trail cameras to track species in the area so they could analyze its biodiversity and then shared their findings on social media.

Sustainability: Hikma Pharmaceuticals USA

Hikma Pharmaceuticals, a manufacturer of generic injectable medicines, furthered its commitment to sustainability by converting lights to LEDs throughout its facility, recycling tons of plastic waste into pellets and diverting waste from landfills, installing water bottle filling stations, installing Level 2 electric vehicle chargers, and preparing for the installation of solar panel equipped parking lot canopies.

Courtesy: www.wasteadvantagemag.com