Connecting Everyone to the Outdoors in New Jersey!
With the many environmental and quality of life challenges facing our nation, people are eager for solutions. Good news: YOU are part of the solution. Together, we are doing more than dream of a healthier, equitable, more climate-resilient future. We are building it!
In New Jersey, we are working on land conservation projects in Barnegat Bay, a school forest project in Brick Township, several Community Schoolyards® projects, a new park, several schoolyard gardens in Newark, and phase 2 of Dundee Island Park in Passaic. These projects build community through our participatory design process, helping people connect around the open spaces in their neighborhood even before they are completed and open to the public.
We build parks in neighborhoods where people don’t currently have access to a great place to play, walk, or even simply sit and take a break from the stresses of
daily life. And all our projects help fortify communities against increasing climate challenges, incorporating stormwater management components that help communities handle increasingly frequent heavy rainfalls while minimizing the damage they cause. When we add trees to schoolyards, it helps to reduce heat around the school and its adjacent neighborhood.
In Newark, we are working with the community to identify barriers to park use and setting priorities to address those obstacles. We’re undertaking this effort because we know the solution isn’t simply to build new parks—the qualities that make great parks include safety for park users and a plan to ensure they remain well-maintained and inviting, with programming relevant for the community.
We are thrilled to welcome our new President and CEO Dr. Carrie Besnette Hauser. She brings a wealth of experience in public policy, philanthropy, the outdoor industry, and community engagement, making her an ideal leader for TPL’s next chapter. Most recently, she served as President and CEO of Colorado Mountain College. She has served on numerous boards including the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission, Great Outdoors Colorado, and American Rivers. Carrie’s leadership will be instrumental as we amplify our efforts to expand outdoor access through equity, health, climate, and community commitments.
As TPL looks to the future, we are committed to a world and a New Jersey where every person has the opportunity to connect to the outdoors. We sincerely appreciate your steadfast support of our work. Thank you for partnering with us on this journey.
Scott Dvorak New Jersey State Director
PHOTO BY LAURA BARISONZI
PARTNER PROFILE
Armstead G. Johnson, Executive Director, United Parks as One
United Parks as One (UPAO) was founded in 2011 through the collaboration of community leaders who saw a need for a community-led, collaborative effort that could help create, steward, and activate open spaces in Newark. UPAO is a leader in park stewardship, programming, and community engagement. In 2023, TPL recognized UPAO with a People’s Champion Award.
Armstead G. Johnson, who has 35 years of experience in the nonprofit sector, is UPAO’s new Executive Director. We asked him about his connection to parks, his thoughts on what makes a great park, and his vision for a strong partnership with TPL.
Armstead’s deep connection with parks forms a solid foundation for his current role. He recalls early memories of Newark parks that left him feeling joyous and excited, starting with a close-to-home Central Avenue park that welcomed him as he ran on the grass or kicked a ball around. Parks became a “hub of camaraderie”—places where kids could play games, share stories, and build long-lasting friendships. He remembers running the track and attending concerts at Branch Brook Park.
These experiences not only provided me with a sense of community and belonging, but also fostered a deep appreciation for the value of parks and open spaces in our lives.”
Armstead G. Johnson, UPAO Executive Director and TPL New Jersey Advisory Board member
UPAO’s new leader shared an array of ideas for great parks that align with TPL’s commitments to health, equity, and climate, with community at the center. Among them were opportunities for physical activity, relaxation, and stress relief—all contributors to improved health and well-being—as well as equitable access to parks, in terms of both inclusive design and proximity
to home. Community engagement was another key factor Armstead recognized—an approach that aligns squarely with TPL’s. He highlighted the need for programming that draws diverse interests and age groups and native plants and green infrastructure for their ability to manage stormwater and reduce flooding. Carefully selected art and monuments can honor neighborhood cultures and values, he added, and park designs will benefit from these beautiful features, which can enhance the park experience, entice visitors, and foster feelings of connection with the space. Both TPL and UPAO foreground these elements in their work.
He emphasizes a multifaceted approach to the partnership with TPL based on a shared vision and goals, with partners collaborating to identify and launch priority-driven projects. The exchange of knowledge and skills is key, applying to everything from fund acquisition strategies to thoughtfully planned training sessions. And partners create a powerful synergy when they join forces to advocate for park-related policies and funding. These are just a few of the powerful ideas that Armstead hopes to bring to our partnership.
GET INVOLVED.
Learn more about our friends at UPAO at unitedparksasone.org . Donate to TPL’s Newark Parks for People program at tpl.org/donate/nj.
PHOTO BY JOE EPSTEIN PHOTOGRAPHY
Schoolyard Refuge for the Whole Neighborhood
TPL’s national Community Schoolyards initiative is transforming run-down, asphalt schoolyards into vibrant, green spaces that improve the daily lives of students, educators, and the surrounding community. Nationwide, we have transformed more than 300 underutilized schoolyards into nature-rich parks designed to address climate, health, and educational inequities.
Data from TPL’s Land and People Lab and the school districts inform how we prioritize these projects. For example, the Lab’s ParkServe database shows that 377 PreK–grade 8 students at Lincoln Elementary School in Newark and nearly 9,000 people within a 10-minute walk will be served by the transformation of the schoolyard there.
Twenty-six students, grades 3–8, participated in a design program, sharing their vision for Lincoln Elementary’s new schoolyard. Their plans reflected relevant math and science lessons, including instruction about watersheds. Amenities they recommended include new trees, community-inspired art, a rain garden, and an outdoor classroom. Other schoolyard features include new play equipment, a track and field, a basketball court, gaming tables, and raised garden beds. Another 25 grade 7 and 8 students participated in science, technology,
engineering, arts, and math (STEAM) workshops centered around the transformed schoolyard.
Local leaders and partners supported this communitywide labor of love, including the school administration, Newark Board of Education (NBOE), City of Newark, Congregation Ahavas Shalom, Greater Newark Conservancy, and Urban Agriculture Cooperative. Partners will continue to work with us on programming for this inviting outdoor oasis.
In May, the state’s Department of Education announced grant awards that will support school districts in partnering with local organizations to create climate change learning units and community resilience projects. Potential projects include aquaponic gardens, rain gardens to ease flooding, restoration of native plants, and planting native dune grass. TPL can partner with schools as they implement the grants, contributing our Community Schoolyards expertise and practical recommendations for planning, partnering, and making optimal use of funds.
LEFT: Lincoln Elementary School’s Community Schoolyard. PHOTO BY ARC DOCUMENT SOLUTIONS; RIGHT: Amani Garden and Outdoor Classroom. PHOTO BY ALEXA HOYER; OPPOSITE PAGE: Newark Grows School Garden Tour. PHOTO BY PATRICK EVANS
Next-Level Schoolyards and Urban Agriculture
Too many New Jersey residents live in food deserts. Our Community Schoolyard Gardens program helps address this challenge, supporting a systems change food network in Newark Public Schools. In addition to helping students connect with nature, the program offers culturally relevant STEAM lessons—including nutrition and food lessons—and explores careers in urban agriculture. We are partnering with Newark Board of Education (NBOE), the City’s Nourishing Newark program, kitchenware retailer OXO, and local urban agriculturalists to address food insecurity.
We began at three pilot sites. TPL and partners renovated and reformed an on-site trailer into a hydroponic lab at Lincoln Elementary School. Central High School now has hydroponic towers along with traditional garden beds. At the Louise A. Spencer School, students built, and now maintain, raised garden beds and a hydroponic greenhouse.
In June, we hosted our first Newark Grows School Garden Tour with Greater Newark Conservancy and Coalition for Healthy Food in Newark Schools. Students and teachers shared their gardens, from small urban plots to more elaborate greenhouse setups. Attendees viewed composting stations and rainwater harvesting systems— environmental education in action! The tour showcased
the transformative impact of hands-on learning experiences and community partnerships.
Our donors and partners have been such an essential catalyst for the schoolyard gardens. For example, grant funding from OXO has enabled improved food access, with each garden yielding harvests for sharing; nutrition and cooking classes; compensation for urban growers working with schools; and proof of concept that has encouraged NBOE’s support of more garden projects. Going forward, funds will support urban agriculture training at three Newark High Schools, the inclusion of harvests in community-supported agriculture boxes, and the establishment of a food co-op.
TPL is also working with Newark’s Rabbit Hole Farm to safeguard its property and designate funds for permanent ownership and sanitation facilities. This will support expanded year-round programming for 8,900 Newark residents living within a 10-minute walk.
The farm has undergone a miraculous, community-led transformation over the last decade, from an abandoned lot to a dynamic, volunteer-led urban sanctuary. It offers enrichment to a multigenerational community through artistic and cultural programming, not to mention sharing a mouth-watering harvest—peaches, paw paws, cherries, hazelnuts, melons, squashes, collards, and herbs.
This year, TPL was a finalist in a competitive process for a $100,000 grant from Impact100 Essex, a women’s philanthropic giving circle. We re-granted the $10,000 runner-up grant we received to Rabbit Hole Farm. We continue our work to raise funds in support of this much-needed presence in Newark.
Donate today to grow our Community Schoolyards, schoolyard gardens, and urban agriculture efforts in New Jersey to strengthen communities, improve health and education outcomes, and build nature-based climate solutions.
Land Protection, from Coast to Highlands
Without active work to ensure land protection, treasured New Jersey landscapes are at risk for development and degradation. In New Jersey, we have protected nearly 30,000 accessible acres, drawing on TPL’s vast experience in protecting 4 million acres of land nationwide. Strong partnerships are crucial to our success. They help us identify and pursue new land protection opportunities.
Barnegat Bay
The Barnegat Bay watershed houses a myriad of plant and animal species and is critical to the aquifer that replenishes the bay and supplies most of the region’s drinking water. Thus far, we have protected more than 14,000 acres in the Barnegat Bay watershed.
This year, we reaffirmed our commitment to the bay through our partnership with Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge (NWR). The NWR protects more than 48,000 acres of New Jersey’s coastal habitats. It spans 50 miles of the coast’s back bays, beginning at Barnegat Bay. Rapid, high-density development and population growth are degrading this delicate habitat and compromising water quality. With the NWR, we identified important properties for protection and reached out to landowners regarding conservation options.
We studied the region’s most vulnerable sites, identifying community-centered solutions that can reduce the impact of flooding, storm surge, sea level rise, and other climate risks. With landowners, government officials, business leaders, and regional nonprofits, we have prioritized the most threatened natural resources in the Barnegat Bay region for protection.
We are in the process of purchasing several properties of open and wooded uplands and wetlands across the watershed. We anticipate transferring ownership to our partners, including the Ocean County Natural Lands Trust and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), pending achievement of fundraising objectives.
Conveying land to the public domain will help safeguard the bay’s water quality.
Highlands Region
The Highlands encompass nearly one million acres of wildlife-rich forests and waterways. Here we have facilitated the addition of former farmlands to Kittatinny Valley State Park and the expansion of the Rockaway River Wildlife Management Area, a favorite hunting and fishing spot.
We were recently awarded a contract to assist the New Jersey Highlands Council in developing a new Open Space and Recreation plan for this region. The plan will help the Council identify and prioritize lands for permanent protection and propose strategies for maximizing available resources. It will support work with local, state, and federal partners.
Our Land and People Lab will enrich this collaboration by providing detailed data. Our partnership with TWENTYTWENTY public affairs will help strengthen public engagement and inclusion of key stakeholders while navigating the governmental, regulatory, and political landscapes that affect land protection efforts in the region.
Donate today to support vital land protection efforts in New Jersey, such as the work in the Barnegat Bay Watershed.
Barnegat Bay. PHOTO BY TPL STAFF AND ARTHUR PAXTON
COMPASSION AND COMMITMENT
Jim
and Jill Gibson
With extraordinary compassion and a deep commitment to protecting the natural environment, Jim and Jill Gibson have been part of TPL’s family of donors for nearly three decades. An industrial engineer by profession, Jim is the former president and owner of Gibson Tube, which was started by his father in 1962. Jim took over the company in 1982 and sold it in 2000. Upon his retirement, Jim and Jill began focusing more time on their philanthropic pursuits and managing the family farm in Basking Ridge where they stay busy raising chickens, goats, and pigs.
Through the Gibson Family Foundation, Jim and Jill have supported Raritan Valley Community College, The Audubon Society, Somerset Hills YMCA, and The Nature Conservancy. Since their first donation of $1,000 to TPL in 1996, the Gibsons have generously supported our work, providing funding for Community Schoolyards,
Newark Parks, the 10-Minute Walk Campaign, and TPL’s Equitable Community Fund. Jim served on TPL’s New Jersey Advisory Board from 2011–21. Today, Jim volunteers at Somerset County Food Pantry three days a week.
“I really enjoy volunteering. It gives me so much joy and a great sense of pride when I see the impact of our efforts,” says Jim. “I feel the same way about our philanthropy. We hope that, in some small way, we can be part of a change that positively impacts a life or inspires others to get involved.”
“The Gibsons’ generosity has been nothing short of transformational for our programs, and their support directly benefits the communities we serve,” says TPL’s New Jersey State Director Scott Dvorak. “We are beyond grateful for their steadfast commitment to our mission.”
Jill and Jim Gibson (left) with TPL’s New Jersey State Director Scott Dvorak and New Jersey’s Commissioner of Environmental Protection Shawn M. LaTourette (far right). PHOTO BY CHRYSTOFER DAVIS
NEW JERSEY ADVISORY BOARD
Chair:
Jerry Flach , Valley Bank
Leonard Berkowitz , Helen & William Mazer Foundation
Rose Cali, Activist
Armstead Johnson , United Parks As One
John Lavery, Fulton Bank
Bill Leavens , Musconetcong Watershed Association
Helen Mazarakis , Impact100 Essex
Brian Quinn , Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
Katie Skibinski, Innovation and Sustainability Leader
Ron Weston , Weston Architecture LLC
Board Fellow:
Emma Nunez Perez , Montclair State University
