New Jersey THERE IS SO MUCH TO BE PROUD OF IN 2023 AND MORE TO LOOK FORWARD TO IN THE YEAR AHEAD
Celebrating 50 Years of Action, Thanks to You! Since the beginning, Trust for Public Land’s vision has been rooted in a singular belief that access to the outdoors is essential to people’s well-being. What started as a bold idea in a small San Francisco office 50 years ago has blossomed into a nationwide movement to ensure everyone, no matter where they live, has access to nature’s countless gifts—whether a National Park, a state forest, a riverfront park, or a community garden plot around the corner. At this special anniversary, we celebrate the incredible advocates who make our work possible and catalyze our continued efforts. With your support, we have preserved iconic landscapes that stand as a testament to the enduring impact of TPL’s work across the country, including a recent 202-acre project at Blueberry Acres in the Kirkwood-Cohansey Aquifer in Burlington County. Blueberry Acres is now a great place to bring family and friends together to foster a love for the outdoors, while uplifting the local economy and delivering critical, nature-based solutions in the face of climate change—in addition to a few pints of blueberries when they are in season. And this is only the beginning! It is an exciting time to be a part of the TPL community, as we look to new
opportunities to connect everyone to nature, uncover our histories, and bond with each other. In the early years, our work in New Jersey was limited to a handful of land protection deals and a single community garden project in Newark. Today, we have protected nearly 30,000 acres of New Jersey nature from Cape May to High Point and have developed or renovated 25 parks and playgrounds from Camden to Passaic. In addition, TPL has played a lead role in over 30 public conservation finance measures, raising nearly $5 billion for conservation in communities across the state. With your continued support, we will keep on protecting land and building parks, working to make New Jersey a healthier and more equitable place for everyone. Thank you! Scott Dvorak New Jersey State Director
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Cultivating Unity: Community Schoolyards and Gardens we established with our community schoolyards, and pair each of the schools with a local urban farming organization to provide new curricula and contribute to a stewardship plan.
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For 27 years, TPL has led more schoolyard renovations than any other organization in the nation through our Community Schoolyards™ initiative. Dilapidated schoolyards with few to no amenities are common to Newark’s historically underfunded wards, where communities of color have been concentrated in high-poverty neighborhoods. In partnership with the Newark Board of Education (NBOE), the City of Newark, and local schools, we are working to convert these underused recreation areas into vibrant green oases that improve education, promote good health, and nourish community connections.
Plans for building publicly accessible year-round community gardens at Louise A. Spencer Elementary School, Lincoln Elementary School, and Central High School are currently underway. The new gardens will feature planting beds and hydroponic labs—a dream come true for Lincoln Elementary School Principal Hillary Dow. She first observed the benefits of schoolyard gardens as Maple Avenue School’s Vice Principal in 2002, four years after TPL built its new playground. Principal Dow witnessed how the gardens serve as a canvas for interdisciplinary learning and teach sustainable practices such as composting and water conservation. Additionally, the gardens improve access to fresh, locally grown produce, and provide economic opportunities to urban farmers. Embracing these benefits, students and community members are increasingly engaged in the preservation of nature and the revitalization of their neighborhoods. With your support, we are working to expand community schoolyards and gardens to every school in the city. We cannot wait to see what we will accomplish together as we continue to build a greener, healthier, more equitable Newark.
Since forming a partnership with NBOE in 1996 to revitalize asphalt school grounds in Newark, we have completed eight schoolyard transformations in the city. By involving students, teachers, and residents in the design process, we ensure that their voices are heard and that our schoolyard designs honor their needs. Once a community schoolyard opens, TPL supports the school and surrounding community in activating and promoting regular use of their new outdoor space. In 2022, TPL established a pilot program to incorporate gardens into our Newark community schoolyards designs. We employ the same collaborative, participatory process
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A New Generation of Environmental Leaders barriers to accessing Newark’s Broadway Park—where TPL is revitalizing a two-acre green space—and proposed possible solutions. They met with local organizations and residents of Newark’s Upper Broadway neighborhood to understand the community’s needs and wishes for their future park. Today, the Green Team’s research is informing our park design by incorporating residents’ priority issues. such as food scarcity, waste management, and storm water runoff.
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MADISON BRADWELL
For 50 years, TPL has worked hand-in-hand with communities to protect the lands we all love and on which we depend. As we look to the next 50 years and beyond, our young environmental leaders will play a pivotal role in protecting millions of acres of land and connecting communities across New Jersey and the nation to the benefits and joys of the outdoors.
NextGen Launched in 2021, our NextGen training program is preparing a diverse cohort of budding land conservation professionals. Under the mentorship of TPL leaders, NextGen members are learning how to use TPL’s powerful mapping tools that catalogue data like trailheads, carbon capture, and community health to guide conservation efforts. And they are developing important community outreach skills to ensure that outdoor spaces reflect local needs and culture, enabling us to create more parks, trails, and natural areas for those who need them most.
Green Team Last year, as a host organization for the PSEG Institute for Sustainability Studies internship, TPL guided a Green Team of five undergraduate students through an environmental leadership skills program. Exploring sustainability concepts and community needs through on-the-ground research, the students identified potential 4 |
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We are thrilled to welcome Green Team participant and Montclair State University student Madison Bradwell to TPL as our new Community Schoolyards Fellow. We asked Madison about what she hopes to accomplish over the course of her fellowship. “As a TPL Community Schoolyard Fellow, I want to help make a difference in the community. In the future, I want to go to the schoolyard I helped create and see community events, kids playing, even people just chatting and taking in the fresh air. To be happy and to feel free is to be human, and where better to feel truly tranquil than outside in nature? Outdoor access has made such a difference in my life to the point where it is now part of my job. I know I can make a difference in the lives of others.”
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Into the Future: Funding and Action An Interview with Jeff Danter, TPL’s Field Programs Senior Vice President
If money were no object, what progress would you like to see achieved in the next 3–5 years? What challenges or roadblocks is TPL facing and how are they being addressed? The five-year Strategic Plan commits TPL to delivering results focused on community, equity, health, and climate action. Our vision for TPL is to deliver these results at scale, meaning that we greatly increase the quantity of results benefiting people across the country. This drives us to both increase the communities where we are working on the ground and to develop and implement scaling strategies to influence how others are working in parks and open space. In light of $1.5 billion dollars in government grants recently made available to increase equitable access to trees and green spaces in urban communities, and faced with potential private philanthropy reductions due to recessionary fears and high inflation, how is TPL securing
government funding for our work in New Jersey and beyond? Through the Inflation Reduction Act and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal, there is unprecedented federal funding available for our work. TPL is working on two major efforts to take advantage of this. First, we are seeking to acquire funds for our own projects, either as direct grant recipients or working with local governments to obtain federal funds for our projects. These efforts are paying off, as we were awarded more than $25 million for TPL projects in early 2023, with many more proposals still on the table. Second, we are working with federal agencies to influence how their funds are awarded to ensure that when funds do not come to TPL, they still support TPL’s values of community, equity, health, and climate action. How do our local efforts in New Jersey align with TPL’s goals and strategies? The work of TPL in the field is vitally important to our strategy and theory of change. Our field operations allow us to demonstrate our approach to achieving our mission, to test new innovative ideas, and that give us legitimacy when advocating for policies, standards, and investments that create the leverage to benefit more communities. Our experience completing more than 300 schoolyards makes TPL the thought-leader in using schools to deliver our strategic commitments. The work in New Jersey is particularly strong in parks, schoolyards, and, increasingly, trails—three of our Strategic Plan initiatives. I would point out that New Jersey is doing a great job with wholecommunity work, where we work with a town or city on an overall plan, and then implement on-the-ground projects that are part of that plan. This scalable approach to building healthy, livable communities elevates TPL’s impact in New Jersey and nationwide.
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Powerful Partnerships United Parks as One Supporting organizations that share our mission amplifies the impact of collaborative park stewardship. United Parks As One (UPAO)—a citywide alliance of neighborhood-based park, playground, and garden advocates— helps engage Newark residents at the grassroots level, inspiring collective action in support of greater public access to green spaces. Formed under TPL’s leadership in 2008, UPAO responds to community needs by coordinating advocacy efforts across the city. Over the last 15 years, they have influenced key initiatives in Newark focused on connecting people of color and low-income communities to the outdoors, from securing funding for park development and maintenance to organizing outdoor cleanup days and neighborhood health fairs. They lead workshops and outreach programs aimed at raising awareness about sustainable living issues such as urban gardening and waste reduction. They empower residents through a participatory park and garden design process, enabling them to play a direct role in creating safe, clean, accessible outdoor spaces. The reach and impact of their efforts continue to grow as they inspire a passion for innovative environmental stewardship among Newark’s residents and encourage
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individuals to come together and embrace the power of community-driven change. We were honored to recognize UPAO at our 50th Anniversary event in New York City on January 26, 2023, as we celebrated our shared legacy and future goals.
NJ SCORP TPL’s Land and People Lab uses evidence to increase the impact of our on-the-ground work and spark a national movement for parks and public land. We inform policies and practices, build partnerships, and share resources to expand the many benefits of nature and the outdoors. In 2022, TPL’s Lab worked with New Jersey’s Department of Environmental Protection and other leaders in outdoor recreation to create the 2023-2027 NJ State Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan (SCORP). They conducted an analysis of all publicly accessible open space in New Jersey to pinpoint areas of greatest need. Their research relied on community outreach, giving voice to residents who previously had little input on the state’s outdoor recreation expansion plans, policies, and funding.
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Today, SCORP is a publicly accessible blueprint for recreation, parks, and conservation priorities, empowering local communities to create, enhance, and preserve closeto-home parks across New Jersey.
Protecting our Lands Over the last 50 years, TPL has been committed to protecting New Jersey’s treasured lands for everyone to enjoy. Since our first project in 1975, where we protected the 285-acre Lake Ames in Rockaway Township, Morris County, our efforts have led to the protection of iconic landscapes such as the Great Swamp, the Wallkill River Watershed, and the Delaware River Watershed. As we build on our successes—such as protecting over 13,000 acres in the Highlands—we will continue collaborating with partners and residents to identify and protect the New Jersey open spaces that provide opportunities for recreation, safeguard drinking water, and bolster local economies. Since the publishing of The Century Plan for Barnegat Bay Watershed in 1995, our implementation of that vision and subsequent planning efforts have led to the protection of nearly 14,000 acres in the area. TPL’s work in the Bay Watershed has led to new opportunities that promote the long-term stewardship of the open spaces that nourish our communities. Barnegat Bay © SE TH SHERM AN
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As we look to the next 50 years and beyond, we will leverage these efforts—along with our impressive legacy of work in the Great Swamp, The Highlands region, and Newark— to focus on a new Passaic River initiative. By integrating our land protection, park and trails development, planning, and community engagement work, we will enhance outdoor recreation along the river, create jobs, and provide economic opportunities. Neighbors and visitors will be able to enjoy a safe, welcoming outdoor space where they can exercise, walk, play, and benefit from all the joys of nature.
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In New Jersey, Trust for Public Land has completed 20 park development* projects and 184 land protection projects (protecting 29,955 acres of land).
CONNECTICUT NEW YORK Untermeyer Lake
PS21 Emerson Golf Course
Sussex County
Passaic County
Dundee Island Park (phase 2)
Bowling Green Mountain
(phase 1 completed)
Rockaway River WMA Addition
Warren County
)
PATERSON
Morris County
Loyola Retreat
CLIFTON
Broadway Park
Bergen County
Luis Muñoz Marín School
)
Essex County
Vallevue
Harrison Waterfront (TPL-assisted)
NEWARK )
) )) ) Union County
Newark Riverfront Park
JERSEY CITY
Hudson County
)
Lafayette Street School
ELIZABETH
PENNSYLVANIA
Rider Farm
Hunterdon County
Louise A. Spencer School
EDISON
)
Somerset County
NEW BRUNSWICK
Central High School
Middlesex County
Lincoln School Carteret Park Fitness Zone®
Mercer County
Blueberry Acres
McDon Fen
Monmouth County
TRENTON
Feaster and Pittman Parks
Bear Swamp
Laurelton Woods
Mastery High School Ocean County TOMS RIVER
) CAMDEN
Breton Woods-Osbornville School
EA
N
Inland Road
Molina School
Pancoast Road Link
Burlington County
OC
Dominick Andujar Park
Reedy Creek XV
)
Coopers Poynt School
N
T
IC
Camden County
Silver Lake
T
L
A
Gloucester County
A
Salem County
Trust for Public Land
Cumberland County
)
Atlantic County
City with potential park development* project
)
Current park development* project Current land protection project Completed park development* project (2015-September 2023) Other completed park development* project
MARYLAND DELAWARE
Completed land protection project (2015-September 2023)
Cape May County
Other completed land protection project
State boundary County boundary Federal land Township or other public or protected land
0
New Jersey
5
10
Miles
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*Park development/restoration, Fitness Zone®, garden, playground, trail, or greenway project
CURRENT AND COMPLETED CREATE AND PROTECT PROJECTS
September 27, 2023. Copyright © Trust for Public Land. Trust for Public Land and Trust for Public Land logo are federally registered marks of Trust for Public Land. Information on this map is provided for purposes of discussion and visualization only. www.tpl.org
Completed project 82
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Maple Avenue School (closed)
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124
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439
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280
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81
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September 11, 2023. Copyright © Trust for Public Land. Trust for Public Land and Trust for Public Land logo are federally registered marks of Trust for Public Land. Information on this map is provided for purposes of discussion and visualization only. www.tpl.org
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V U Luis Muñoz Marin School
Broadway Park
17
V U
m n
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78
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Jesse Allen Park
Quitman Street School 95
§ ¦ ¨
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P assai c
m n mn n m
m n
m n
m n n m m n
Newark Liberty International Airport
m n n m
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PARKS FOR PEOPLE - CURRENT AND COMPLETED PROJECTS
Newark
Cemetery
Mildred Helms Park
Nat Turner Park
m n
William H. Brown Academy (closed)
Parks and open space
City boundary
Lincoln School
Central High School
West Side High School Rider Farm Greenhouse
Mt. Vernon School
Current project
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NJ
m Newark public school n
DE
PA
NY
10
r ve
V U
N
R
A
W E
Y A B
K
1
£ ¤
440
V U
0
0.5
185
V U 1
Miles
Louise A. Spencer School
Peace Park (closed)
Lafayette Street School
Newark Riverfront Park
±
139
V U
THANK YOU for helping improve the health, equity, and climate outcomes for communities in New Jersey and beyond. We could not do this without you.
NEW JERSEY ADVISORY BOARD Leonard Berkowitz, Helen & William Mazer Foundation Rose Cali, Philanthropist/ Activist Jerry Flach, Valley Bank Bill Leavens, Musconetcong Watershed Association Helen Mazarakis, Impact100 Essex Brian Quinn, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Carla Robinson, United Parks As One Katie Skibinski, Planned Parenthood Federation of America Ron Weston, Weston Architecture LLC
BOARD FELLOWS Kristen Brennan, New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Emma Lavin, PSEG Institute for Sustainability Studies
Scott Dvorak New Jersey State Director scott.dvorak@tpl.org 973.241.5259
Join us Help ensure everyone has access to the outdoors. Every park we create, schoolyard we transform, trail we extend, and landscape we protect is thanks to supporters like you. tpl.org/donate/nj
Valerie Lynch New Jersey Director of Philanthropy valerie.lynch@tpl.org 973.241.7421 60 Park Place Suite 901 Newark, NJ 07102
COV ER , TOP: © TPL STAFF AND ARTHUR PA X TON; © CHRIS BENNE T T; © JOHN R AE; L A RG E: © CHRIS BENNE T T; THIS PAG E: © RICHARD FREEDA