Green Team

The Sustainable Jersey program includes nearly 400 Green Teams. Each Green Team represents a municipality in New Jersey that is registered with Sustainable Jersey. Green Teams provide the leadership to develop plans, implement programs and assist with educational opportunities that support the creation of a sustainable community.

All communities participating in the Sustainable Jersey program must establish a Green Team. The Mayor and City Council formally establish a Green Team and appoint members by resolution or ordinance. Green Teams differ from conservancy boards, environmental committees, and planning commissions because the focus is on completing actions required for Sustainable Jersey certification.

Green Team Members

Members of a Green Team are usually appointed from municipal staff and departments, elected officials, and volunteer members of community boards and commissions (Environmental Commission, Shade Tree, Economic Development, Health and Welfare Boards, Arts and Recreation, Planning and Zoning, Historic, Agricultural and Open Space, Senior Citizens). Communities also invite representatives from schools including educators, school board members, parent-teacher organizations, school staff, as well as students. Local businesses, chambers of commerce, academic institutions, civic organizations, faith-based groups, and community residents are also important partners in municipal sustainability efforts.

Join the Green Team

If you are interested in joining the Green Team, visit the participating communities page, The City of Beverly is registered with Sustainable Jersey. Select Beverly’s profile and you will see a phone number and the name of the Sustainable Jersey contact.

Call the town contact and tell them you would like to get involved with the Green Team. If your town is not yet registered with Sustainable Jersey, check with the office of the mayor or town council to inquire about forming a Green Team and registering with the program. If you are having trouble connecting with your Green Team or need more information, email us at info@sustainablejersey.com

The environmental team advising the Green Team is also involved in Clean Communities, The Farmers Market, and the Community Garden. You can help with these and other Green endeavors in Beverly when you join the team.

The Community Garden has plots available!

Community Garden Application CLICKHERE

BEVERLY COMMUNITY GARDEN

The Beverly Community Garden is looking for gardeners for the growing season.

Beverly City Organic Community Garden Rules

Contact: City of Beverly at 609-747-4084

Return Applications to City Hall

Located at the corner of Penn and Magnolia streets in Beverly City on the old baseball field. The plots are available to Burlington County residents as a one-year rental. Residents interested in renting a plot must abide by the rules set forth by the city of Beverly and the Community Garden. Renters who do not abide by these rules will be asked to relinquish their garden. The renters must sign and pay for the one-year agreement to rent their garden before any ground breaking may take place. Please read the following rules before you sign the contract and/or fill out the application.

Plots are rented per season, the location of your plot will be staked out and specified by the city coordinator. The plots are approximately 120 square feet and the cost is $20. The first name to appear on the Community Garden application signed at the time of rental is considered the “primary gardener”. All gardeners listed on the application are collectively and severally bound by the rules. Any new gardeners must be added to the application and may do so by contacting the City of Beverly. No more than 3 plots may be rented by any group and such will be based on availability on a first come first served basis. A waiting list will be maintained.
Organic gardens must be maintained by renter on a regular basis. No chemicals or pesticides may be used in the gardens except those deemed USDA organic. No GMO corn or GMO soy (or any other crop from GMO seed) may be grown in the organic garden.
The garden is open from day break until dark. The gardens are closed after dark and no one is permitted to be there.
Gardeners may keep tools in their gardens and may erect fences around their gardens.
Gardeners may not use any poisons or attempt to kill any squirrels, rabbits or any wildlife by any means or they will be asked to vacate the premises immediately.
If a gardener does not abide by these rules or is in anyway derelict and is asked to leave the garden, their payment will not be returned.
Any children under the age of 16 must be accompanied by an adult at all times.

Sample Application:

THE CITY OF BEVERLY COMMUNITY GARDEN AGREEMENT

Penn Street at the Riverfront (on the old baseball field)

Please fill out this information and return to:

Beverly City Hall

An adult must be present when kids under 16 are in the gardens.

Primary Gardener’s

Full Name:_________________________

Address:___________________________________________

E-Mail Address:_____________________________________

Phone:______________________________________________

Additional Gardener(s):________________________________

Continue names on back,

No one is allowed in gardens unless listed on form.

I am interested in my own plot (10X10) __

I would like something smaller _____

I would like something larger ______

I want to help in the volunteer children’s garden_____

$20 per year for 10X10 plot

BY SIGNING THIS APPLICATION, YOU, THE APPLICANT/ GARDENER, OR PARENT AGREE TO ABIDE BY AND BE BOUND BY THE BEVERLY COMMUNITY GARDENS SITE RULES AND TO INDEMNIFY, HOLD HARMLESS AND DEFEND THE CITY, ITS EMPLOYEES, ASSIGNS, LESSEES, CONTRACTORS AND AGENTS FROM ANY AND ALL CLAIMS, SUITS OR ACTIONS OF WHATEVER KIND, FOR ANY PERSONAL OR OTHER TYPE OF INJURY, PROPERTY DAMAGE, THEFT, AND/OR ANY OTHER LOSS OF ANY KIND INCLUDING ATTORNEY’S FEES AND EXPENSES INCURRED IN THE DEFENSE OF ANY SUCH SUIT OR ACTIONS THAT ARE BROUGHT AGAINS THE City, ITS EMPLOYEES, ASSIGNS, LESSESS, CONTRACTORS AND AGENTS, RESULTING FROM OR ARISING FROM ACTION OR ACTIVITIES ENGAGED IN BY APPLICANT/GARDENER, RELATING TO USE OF THE COMMUNITY GARDENS BY APPLICANT/GARDENER AND/OR HIS/HER FAMILY MEMBERS, FRIENDS AND/OR ASSIGNS.

Parent Sign:____________________________Date______________

By signing above the applicant understands and agrees that the Beverly City Community Garden is an organic garden, only organic methods of pest control and fertilization are allowed. No chemicals are allowed.

Sunset and Sunflower photos by Ramona Moreno

Make your yard and garden ‘Jersey-friendly’

Posted: Tuesday, April 12, 2016 6:00 am

By Michele S. Byers

Spring is here, and garden centers are filled with a mind-boggling array of flowers, shrubs and trees. You are already envisioning how great your yard and garden will look.

But before you choose your plants, do your homework to make sure they are Jersey-friendly.

You may not realize this, but many garden center plants have been introduced from other continents and can be extremely harmful to our state’s native plants.

These “alien invasives” not only thrive here, but also can spread aggressively. Eventually, they crowd out native plants needed by wildlife and pollinators, resulting in a poorer environment with less animal and plant diversity.

So what to plant in your yard and garden — and what to avoid?

According to the New Jersey Invasive Species Strike Team, many of the worst offenders have been landscaping staples for years: Chinese and Japanese wisteria, Japanese clematis, English ivy, Japanese honeysuckle, porcelainberry, Norway maple, Callery/Bradford pear, winged burning bush, wintercreeper, Japanese barberry, butterfly bush, Linden viburnum, Japanese meadowsweet and Chinese silvergrass. It’s best to avoid all of them.

What to plant instead for a beautiful yard and a healthy environment? A new program called Jersey-Friendly Yards makes it easy to decide. Its website, www.jerseyyards.org, is presented by the Barnegat Bay Partnership and has many helpful features, including an extensive plant database and an online tool, to help you design a landscape plan.

The plant database lists hundreds of trees, shrubs and flowers that are native to New Jersey, as well as plants that are not native but aren’t harmful because they don’t aggressively spread.

Here are some examples of beneficial plants: flowering dogwood, white fringetree, persimmon, American holly, spicebush, serviceberry, Eastern columbine, butterfly weed, purple coneflower, beebalm, cardinal flower, black-eyed Susan, Virginia bluebells and wild geranium.

The website’s “Interactive Yard” tool provides step-by-step instructions for making your property the healthiest possible environment. For instance, it provides advice on removing impervious surfaces, getting rid of invasive plants, adding beds around the house, harvesting rainwater, attracting pollinators, and starting a vegetable garden.

The Jersey-Friendly Yards program was developed by the Barnegat Bay Partnership with a grant from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.

The partnership, composed of more than 30 organizations and agencies, has been working for years to improve water quality in Barnegat Bay. The bay, like many rivers in New Jersey, is threatened by runoff water filled with fertilizers, sediment and trash.

A critical part of the organization’s efforts involves reducing “people pollution” carried from yards into waterways through stormwater runoff. Jersey-Friendly Yards is the latest of many initiatives designed to educate the public.

“In my mind, the future of conservation is going to be in our yards,” said Karen Walzer, of the Barnegat Bay Partnership. “If we start with our own yards, it will go a long way for conservation in New Jersey.”

This spring, make sure your yard and garden are Jersey-friendly. Visit the website and take advantage of all the great advice assembled there.

For more information about preserving the state’s land and natural resources, visit the New Jersey Conservation Foundation website, www.njconservation.org.

Michele S. Byers is executive director of the New Jersey Conservation Foundation. Email her at info@njconservation.org