Environment
We see this page as a developing newsletter, where we document our Club's commitment to the increasingly urgent need to view everything we do individually and as a group through the lens of sustainability.
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Below you will find upcoming events, featured articles, this committee's mission,
News
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Not exactly news, but read Jacoba's fascinating article on trees on this page, below. She wrote it for the Brookdale Park Conservancy.
Events
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Nov. 13, 6:00 - 8:00pm. Groundbreaking for the Newark portion of the Greenway project is expected in 2025! Join the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and NJ Transit for an open house-style event to learn about project updates, see artistic images of the Greenway, share your thoughts and enjoy light refreshments. See details.
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Oct. 24, 30 and November 4, 12. at 6:30PM. Rutgers webinar series on environmental impacts from climate change. See flyer for details and click here to register.
This Week's Featured Post
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Want to fix up your lawn the environmentally safe way? Click here.
Other Interesting Articles
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National Wildlife Protection article: "Five Simple Ways to Create Habitat This Fall."
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​Article in The New York Times real estate section: "A Viable Alternative to Conventional Lawn? Cornell May Have Found One."
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Washington Post: "A couple was sick of mowing. Now their wildflowers are a local attraction."
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Op-Ed in The New York Times: "Turn the National Mall Into a Wildflower Meadow"
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Article in Environmental Journal:. "Anxiety and mood linked to bird diversity."
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Article in The Cornell Lab: "After The Fire: How A Sustainable Ranch Survived A Natural Wildfire"
Mission
This committee's mission centers on creating an Act of Restorative Kindness to our earth within our community. Members work to restore, improve and protect the quality of our environment with like minded community partners. This involves embracing new knowledge and science in the field of conservation and restoration as well as challenging current standards of beauty and landscape-care habits.
Resources
Brookdale Park Conservancy
Homegrown National Park
,Native Plant Society of NJ
Jersey-Friendly Yards
Rebecca McMackin newsletter
Montclair Bird Club
Northeast Earth Coalition
Committee Members
Chair: Deborah Hirsch
Committee: Kathy Bachmann, Andie Bertsche, Jacoba Coes, Karen DeLuca, Marie Donnelly, Susan Dumont, Karen Kadus, Anna Lee, Sydney Milliken, Sheila Curry Oakes, Imke Oster, Brigitte Padberg, Helene Peck, Maryellen Stadtlander, Wendy Stahl, Sonyia Woloshyn, Jane Wallace, Allyn Young, Sue Young ex officio Sarah J. Olson.
by Jacoba Coes
During the dog days of this sweltering summer, I escaped to Brookdale Park to walk my dog and discovered that it was significantly cooler walking in the park than around town. I figured the park climate had to do with the number of trees we are so lucky to have.
A little research taught me that trees have cool powers. We’ve all taken cover under a tree for the shade but trees do even more to affect temperatures. Trees “transpire”. They absorb rainwater through their roots and then release it as vapor via the pores on their leaves, cooling the air. Areas with trees can be up to 10 degrees cooler than city streets.
WHAT ELSE DID I DISCOVER IN MY RESEARCH?
Trees remove fossil fuel emissions from our atmosphere - a third of worldwide emissions every year, in fact. This is known as carbon sequestration.
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A roadside tree can reduce indoor pollution by 50 per cent. Particulates land on the leaves and are absorbed by the tree along with the air they take in during the process of photosynthesis.
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Trees can reduce home heating/cooling energy use by up to 25% according to the US Energy Department. In our region, strategically planting trees based upon the prevailing wind and the sun’s path can maximize the sun’s warming power in winter, provide cooling power in summer by shading, and help influence the impact of the wind.
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And one of the coolest things about trees - studies show that the mere presence of trees in an urban environment appears to have a correlation to reducing aggression and violence.
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For more tree awesomeness check out this comprehensive list from the Arbor Day Foundation
Newly inspired by how cool trees really are, I want to share a few ways we can help trees thrive.
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Help get more trees planted. Brookdale Park Conservancy plants trees every year to replace those we lost to storms and to create new areas of beauty. This year we will plant 50 trees - your donations directly fund this program.
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Advocate for more shade trees in your community. Zero in on the heat map to pinpoint opportunities.
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Take care of newly planted trees - review how to care for your baby tree. A key take away - watering slowly and longer will let the goodness sink into the ground. If there is a newly planted shade tree near you, help to water it.
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Support a healthy root system. This starts with exposing the root flare at the base of the trunk. It is part of the tree’s “lungs” and needs direct contact with the air to absorb oxygen. Burying the flare in soil or mulch suffocates the tree. Proper mulching is beneficial, but improper mulching is a tree killer.
This video of Roger Cook at This Old House teaches you all about mulching correctly. While you adjust your mulch, consider being a sustainable gardener and mulch with fallen leaves.
I hope these ideas take root and that you are inspired to help trees!
FAMILY ACTIVITIES
Volunteer at Brookdale Park. Learn about planting and caring for native plants, trees and our park. We have fun and are happy to work with volunteers of all ages, including for community service credit. Email info@brookdalepark.org to learn more.
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Back to main Environment section.