Greening New Jersey, one tree at a time.
Check out our exciting spring planting projects happening in Camden, NJ in this Comcast Newsmakers feature!
Trees for Trails is a project made possible by the William Penn Foundation. Fruit tree projects in Camden are made possible by Campbell Soup Foundation and So Delicious. Rain to Roots is a project sponsored by the Environmental Leadership Program.
NEW JERSEY TREE RECOVERY CAMPAIGN – Coordinated by the NJ Community Forestry Program
Free tree saplings for municipal officials! Superstorm Sandy left our communities with many dead and damaged trees. Through the NJ Tree Recovery Campaign, you can help your community residents replant those missing trees. Sign your town up for the NJ Tree Recovery Campaign and you will receive up to 2,000 seedlings to distribute to residents for free.
The NJ State Community Forestry Program has free tree saplings for municipalities! Click here for all the information and the application.
Photo: Mia Roberts harvests pears at Cooper Sprouts Garden in 2014!
Attention, Camden* gardeners: Whether you grow food in a community garden or in your backyard, you could be eligible for a FREE fruit tree (or trees) in the spring of 2015!
Trees are free of charge to Camden residents in exchange for your commitment to water and care for the tree(s). They provide fresh, healthy food. The NJ Tree Foundation will teach you to care for and harvest your fruit trees.
Don’t delay! Fruit trees are first come, first served and our supply is limited. Please complete the Fruit Tree Application (on page two) and return it via postal mail, email, or fax to:
Jessica Franzini, Program Director
Phone: (856) 287-4488
Fax: (856) 422-2601
PO Box 1221, Camden, NJ 08105
jfranzini.njtf@gmail.com
*A limited number of trees are also available for Pennsauken and Gloucester City residents.
Camden and Newark are now a shade greener, thanks to our fall planting events in both cities! With our local partners and hundreds of outstanding volunteers, we muscled big 10-15′ trees into the ground every week from late September to mid November. Check out what we accomplished this fall:
Camden Urban Airshed Reforestation Program
230 new trees
357 volunteers
9 planting events
5,400 trees total since 2002
Newark Renaissance Trees Program
65 new trees
118 volunteers
4 planting events
2,034 trees total since 2006
With tree canopy coverage estimated at 5.2% (Camden) and 7.8% (Newark), we know there’s still plenty of tree planting work left to do. Please consider using the Jersey Give Back Guide to donate to the NJ Tree Foundation to help plant trees in NJ’s most urban communities, where the need is the greatest.
Have you heard of The Circuit, an extraordinary trail network connecting Pennsylvania and New Jersey? When complete, it will provide pedestrian and bicycle access from the Appalachian Trail to the Atlantic Ocean! If you live in Camden, chances are that parts of The Circuit touch your community. From North Camden’s Erie Street to Cramer Hill’s Harrison Avenue to the soon-to-be-opened Gateway Park along Admiral Wilson Boulevard, there are pieces of The Circuit throughout Camden, and this network of trails is known locally as the Camden Greenway.
The NJ Tree Foundation is proud to kick off our Trees for Trails project with the support of the William Penn Foundation! This exciting project will plant 75 trees and 300 perennials in Camden along the on-street interim trail network connecting green spaces and existing trails. We’ll also host two exciting trail awareness events (more info coming soon!) and release an Opportunity Analysis of Gateway Park, exploring ways to best manage and enhance the park’s forest.
Want to experience The Circuit yourself?
Visit Connect the Circuit‘s website and plan a trip today!
Moorestown Rec. Field
Bridgeboro and Westfield Roads
Friday, September 19th
9am-12pm
Tools and refreshments provided.
Volunteers welcome!
For more information, please click on the flier to the right or contact Jessica Franzini at jfranzini.njtf@gmail.com or
(856) 287-4488.
This project is made possible with support from IKEA.
The NJ Tree Foundation is excited to announce our Camden TreeKeepers Workshop dates! These trainings are made possible with support from NJ American Water. Space is limited so please RSVP. Download the flier here.
On June 12th, the NJ Tree Foundation and 32 Camden residents gathered at Bridge of Peace Church for the first-ever Fruit Tree Farmer workshop held in the City of Camden! At this session, made possible by the Campbell Soup Foundation, farmers learned how to properly hand-thin, stake, prune, harvest, and prevent problems with their fruit trees. In addition, Fruit Tree Farmers mingled, shared stories from their gardens, and went home with lots of amazing give-aways, tools, and educational materials.
With support from the Campbell Soup Foundation, we will have planted 50 fruit trees in Camden in 2013-2014. Species planted have included serviceberries, peaches, apples, pears, plums, nectarines, figs, persimmons, and crabapples. Thank you to the Camden City Garden Club for connecting us to incredible farmers and to MAFCO and United Water Camden for donating mulch and offloading services at fruit tree plantings.
On Thursday May 29th, the NJ Tree Foundation had its first planting through an exciting partnership with the New Jersey Devils and PwC US. This new initiative, Pucks for Parks, will plant two mature trees in a New Jersey park or green space for every Devils win! Representatives from the New Jersey Devils, PwC, Essex County, Presby Iris Memorial Gardens and the NJ Tree Foundation planted 30 trees at the Presby Memorial Iris Gardens in Upper Montclair, NJ to kick off the multi-year program.
Here are a couple photos from this great event. Check out more on our Facebook Page!
This spring, our own staff, along with some of our closest colleagues in the environmental field, received humbling recognition for our efforts to green NJ! It’s with pleasure that we share the following award announcements:
Lisa Simms, NJTF Executive Director
Received: the Gold Leaf Award
From: the International Society of Arborculture – NJ Chapter
Jessica Franzini, NJTF Program Director
Received: the Environmental Quality Award
From: the United State Environmental Protection Agency – Region 2
Lori Braunstein, NJTF Board Member
Received: Environmental Advocate of the Year
From: National Organization of Women Business Owners
Camden SMART Team, Waterfront South Rain Gardens
Received: the Award for Excellence in Sustainability
From: the American Planning Association
Guy Dietrich, MAFCO Worldwide Corporation
Received: the Environmental Hero Award
From: the Camden SMART Team and Mayor Dana L. Redd
Sheila Roberts, Camden Resident
Received: the Environmental Hero Award
From: the Camden SMART Team and Mayor Dana L. Redd
Congratulations to the above award recipients! Your hard work and dedication is an inspiration to all of us.