Join us for an open work meeting on Thursday, June 25, at 7:00 pm in the Bloomfield Civic Center. We’ll be working on some of our Sustainable Jersey initiatives, particularly an Anti-Idling Campaign, the Project Porchlight CFL pledge and give-away, and discuss some community outreach activities, such as a film/discussion series. To RSVP, please go to www.Meetup.com/GreenerBloomfield. We hope to see you Thursday evening!
A clean up of the 3rd River and Memorial Field scheduled for Saturday, June 20, 11-1 p.m., has been CANCELED due to weather. The Open Space Trust Fund, Bloomfield Recycling Committee, Bloomfield Recreation, and Greener Bloomfield are sponsoring. Stay tuned for a reschedule date. It’s a great way to enjoy the outdoors and do something good for our park and river. Bags, gloves, and waders will be provided. Wear hats and sunscreen!
Join Community Green for the return of one their most popular events! Chef Trish is back with an all new menu of locally grown dishes paired with organic biodynamic wines for a fun, sophisticated, and educational evening to remember! Guests will meet the farmers who grew the food, then learn how to prepare these new dishes live, and will take home their own packet of the healthy, sustainable, vegan recipes demonstrated. For details and to RSVP, go to http://www.meetup.com/nj-green/calendar/10629766/.
By a 4 to 3 vote, Bloomfield’s town council voted down a contoversial proposal to reduce open space funding in the towns 2009 budget. (See EcoRealty.)
The Council chambers were filled with people, with about 20 people speaking against the proposal and in favor of retaining full funding for the Open Space Trust Fund. They mentioned the need for open space in a town that’s 96% developed for health, well-being, and environmental reasons, the legacy of leaving open space for future generations, and the need to respect the majority vote of the people by referendum.
Please come to the Bloomfield Township Council meeting on MONDAY, JUNE 15, at 7:30 p.m., to preserve funding for the Open Space Trust Fund! In 2003, Bloomfield voters passed a referendum by a better than 2-to-1 margin to collect 1 cent per $100 of property value to go toward the Open Space Trust Fund. This fund is used strictly to acquire and fix up open space for parks, recreation, and to preserve open space in our town that is 96% developed.
Some members of the Township Council are proposing an ordinance to reduce the Open Space Trust Fund collection by half for “just this year” due to the economic situation, which would save taxpayers an average of only $7 on their tax bill.
While they may have good intentions and we all could use some extra cash in tough times, we feel this sets a dangerous precedent, and we need a strong public turnout at the meeting with people speaking to support the current levels of Open Space funding will go a long way toward preserving the will of the voters, avoid setting a bad precedent, protecting our environment, and providing long-term financial benefits. It’s not worth the risks in changing the ordinance just to save $7. More »
Help restore the right of all children access to good food in school. Slow Food North Jersey invites you on Monday, June 8, 7:00-8:30pm to Frelinghuysen Arboretum, 53 E Hanover Road, Morristown, NJ, to hear guest speaker Tegan Hagey, Program Manager, THE FOOD TRUST, learn more about the Child Nutrition Act Reauthorization and how you can make a difference. Light, healthy, and local refreshments will be served. Please RSVP by June 6. More »
You can now follow Greener Bloomfield on Twitter @GreenBloomfield and Facebook!
In celebration of the new growing season in NJ, the Montclair Township Environmental Affairs office & Community Green are pleased to present an eye opening film about food and farming, THE FUTURE OF FOOD, on Wednesday, June 3, 7:00pm at the Montclair Public Library Main Branch! There is a revolution happening in the farm fields and on the dinner tables of America – a revolution that is transforming the very nature of the food we eat. Sign up to see it! More »
ABC News has a prime-time feature June 2 at 9pm: “‘Earth 2100′: the Final Century of Civilization?” Their tag line seems a little sensationalist, “Planet at Risk: Experts Warn Population Growth, Resource Depletion, Climate Change Could Bring Catastrophe in Next Century”. But at least one of the network is pointing out the stark challenges we’re facing. If you watch, please add your comments!
TIDY ALTERNATIVE A view of Church Street in Bloomfield, a place with tightly packed houses, a great commute, and lower prices than Montclair and Glen Ridge. (NY Times, May 22, 2009)
The May 22 New York Times Real Estate section features an article on Bloomfield as a town that is “charming in an old-fashioned kind of way” with “a great commute” and “lower prices” than its neighboring towns. They also mention Bloomfield’s Smart Growth Award from New Jersey Future. Read more at “Living In Bloomfield, N.J.: A Starter Spot for Suburbanites”.
Do you want to do something good for Bloomfield? We’re looking for volunteers to help Bloomfield achieve Sustainable Jersey certification. We need people interested in short-term tasks and people that want to take on coordination of an entire action that will earn points toward certification. We’ll provide a description of what needs to be done and documented. Here are some actions we’re targeting where we need help: More »
You like STUFF?
Want to know where STUFF comes from?
Where STUFF goes when it turns to trash?
And what it does along the way?
Join our regular Greener Bloomfield meeting on Thursday, May 28, 7pm at the Bloomfield Civic Center, 84 Broad Street, where we’ll have a screening of “The Story of Stuff”, a 20-minute, fast-paced, fact-filled look at the underside of our production and consumption patterns. It’ll teach you something, it’ll make you laugh, and it just may change the way you look at all the stuff in your life forever.
Agenda:
Everyone is welcome to join us. To RSVP, please go to www.meetup.com/GreenerBloomfield. Join Meetup.com if you haven’t already, and let us know if you’ll be able to attend. We hope to see you Thursday evening!
…and so did about 200 people to the Bloomfield Green Fest on Saturday, May 2, at Brookside Park. After a slightly soggy beginning, the sun brought more good cheer and more people, and some didn’t want to leave! Those who attended enjoyed finding out about the organizations and green businesses there. The kids had a great time building birdhouses, stools, and other kits, courtesy of Home Depot. About100 people pledged to change a lightbulb to a more energy-efficient one. Several learned how to compost at home. And we signed up several new members!
What did YOU like best about the Bloomfield Green Fest?
YES, we are having the Green Fest today! Celebrate and learn about sustainable living, working, and community at the Bloomfield Green Fest on Saturday, May 2, 2009, from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm at Brookside Park. This event continues Earth Day festivities locally.Education and fun for all! Admission to Green Fest is free. Delicious food and drink will be available. The Bloomfield Green Fest is co-sponsored by Greener Bloomfield and the Bloomfield Recycling Committee.
Exhibitors:
Please join us four our regular Greener Bloomfield meeting on Thursday, April 30, at 7:00 p.m., at the Bloomfield Civic Center at 84 Broad Street (downstairs). All are welcome. Please forward to others you know who may be interested. We meet on the last Thursday of each month. On the agenda for the meeting:
As always, you’ll have a chance to meet others who are interested in making Bloomfield greener. Plan to participate actively, and bring your thoughts and ideas. Refreshments will be provided.
Celebrate and learn about sustainable living, working, and community at the Bloomfield Green Fest on Saturday, May 2, 2009, from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm at Brookside Park. This event continues Earth Day festivities locally and focuses on energy conservation and respect for the environment.Education and fun for all! Admission to Green Fest is free. Delicious food and drink will be available. The Bloomfield Green Fest is co-sponsored by Greener Bloomfield and the Bloomfield Recycling Committee.
Exhibitors:
Tonight, on Earth Day, April 22 at 7:30 pm in the Bloomfield Civic Center, 84 Broad St., the Essex County Greens will present a forum, “Healthy Lifestyle = Healthy Earth”.
Speakers at the event will be:
For directions and further details, go to www.essexcountygreens.org, or call 973-338-5398.
Today is Earth Day! (We’re extending it through to our Bloomfield Green Fest on May 2 at Brookside Park.) Remember: reduce, reuse, recycle. Use your own reusable grocery bags. Ban plastic water bottles from your life - use a reusable bottle. Try to go meatless at least one day/week. Buy organic when you can. When you have to drive, drive gently. What changes are you making for a more sustainable and Earth-friendly lifestyle?
Join us for our monthly Greener Bloomfield meeting (the last Thursday of each month), on Thursday, March 26, at 7:00 pm at the Bloomfield Civic Center. We’ll discuss Bloomfield’s registration in the Sustainable Jersey certification program and begin strategizing how we’ll pursue the points for certification, and we’ll get an update on planning for our Earth Day Green Fest event on May 2. Everyone is welcome to join us. To RSVP, please go to www.meetup.com/GreenerBloomfield, join Meetup.com if you haven’t already (they have a great system for meeting notices, RSVPs, and connections to other groups and meetings you may be interested in), and let us know if you’ll be able to attend. We hope to see you Thursday evening!
A panel discussion on “Energy Efficiency, Green Building, and Green Purchasing” will be held Monday March 9th, 7:00-9:30 p.m., at the Cook Campus Center, Multipurpose Room A, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, 59 Biel Road, New Brunswick, NJ. Panelists will discuss internship/careers in energy, green buildings, and green purchasing, green building best practices, new energy efficiency technologies, the health benefits of green buildings, and more. Presented by Net Impact & Ecological Change Coalition. Students FREE; Net Impact members $7; Non members $10.
