Archive for September 2022

By Jay Watson, Co-Executive Director For four centuries, the Black community in New Jersey has been helping shape the state’s history, culture, arts, sciences, government, educational and religious institutions, and business and industry. For just as long, Black residents have been seeking equality, justice and an end to racism. From north to south, this state…

By Alison Mitchell, Co-Executive Director The year was 2011 and former Assemblywoman Maureen Ogden was worried about the future of open space in New Jersey. The nation was in an economic downturn, but she wanted New Jerseyans to understand the need to create a permanent, dedicated source of funding to preserve large swaths of the…

By Tom Gilbert, Co-Executive Director At nearly 125,000 acres, or 194 square miles, Wharton State Forest is by far the largest tract of land within New Jersey’s state park system. It’s bigger than Essex and Hudson counties put together, and attracts over 800,000 visitors a year! Located in the heart of the Pine Barrens, Wharton…

By Jay Watson, Co-Executive Director To the casual observer, the flight of monarch butterflies may seem as random as a puff of wind. In backyards and gardens, they flutter from flower to flower until the wind lifts them off again in a new direction. But these beautiful insects, with their stunning orange and black wing…