Greening New Jersey, one tree at a time.
Plainfield, NJ (March 20, 2018) – TD Bank, America’s Most Convenient Bank®, and the Arbor Day Foundation today announced that the NJ Tree Foundation will receive a $20,000 grant from TD Green Streets to support innovative urban greening and tree-planting projects in low- to moderate-income areas of the Plainfield, NJ community.
What a year at the NJ Tree Foundation! Here are highlights from our 2017 accomplishments, including the planting of 3,664 trees thanks to the help of over 1,300 volunteers. Thank you for being a part of our success! We are looking forward to partnering with you in 2018. If you love these photos and want to contribute to our success in 2018, please donate. Happy New Year, tree family! Read more
Calling all Camden Fruit Tree Farmers!On Wednesday, November 8th, the NJ Tree Foundation and the Philadelphia Orchard Project (POP) will host a free workshop on organic pest management for urban fruit tree orchards. This is a great way to meet fellow urban fruit tree farmers and learn how to organically treat for pests and diseases.
Robyn Mello from POP will give a lecture on common diseases and pests that can be found in this area on fruit trees. Robyn has been the Orchard Director for POP since 2014. She has extensive knowledge of urban agriculture and environmental justice issues. We are excited to have her present and share her knowledge!
This workshop is FREE for Camden residents-recent fruit tree recipients are strongly encouraged to attend! Refreshments will be provided and attendees are encouraged to bring a dish from home, potluck style. This workshop is made possible by the Campbell’s Soup Foundation.
When: Wednesday, November 8th, from 6-8pm
Where: Riletta L. Cream library-852 Ferry Ave, Camden
To RSVP, please call Meredith at 856-287-4488 or email mbrown@njtreefoundation.org.
September 9th, 2017 – Camden, NJ – On Saturday September 9th, 22 Camden residents attended a fruit tree workshop and giveaway hosted by the NJ Tree Foundation. At this event, made possible with a grant from the Campbell Soup Foundation, residents learned how to plant the trees and grow their own fruit organically before leaving with one or more free fruit trees and a care package.
“Our fruit tree giveaway was a great success,” explained NJ Tree Foundation Program Coordinator Meredith Brown. “We provided 68 fruit trees to residents with backyard gardens and residents running community gardens. The fruit trees are creating new food access points for residents and bringing affordable, fresh, organic fruit right to their neighborhoods. Fruit trees are trickier to care for when compared to common garden plants like tomatoes, so the educational workshop component of this event was key,” Brown continued.
The workshop and giveaway were hosted at the Camden County Municipal Utilities Authority, who kindly provided a meeting room free of charge. After the workshop, the residents received a tour of the Center for Environmental Transformation’s fruit tree orchard on Ferry Avenue in Camden.
Residents were thrilled with their new fruit trees. Many have already been planted throughout the community, including the peach tree at the Center For Family Services PowerCorps headquarters on Morgan Blvd, as shown in the picture provided by PowerCorps. PowerCorps youth, who are Camden residents, picked locations for the fruit trees and planted them together.
Throughout the week, the NJ Tree Foundation will provide an additional 57 fruit trees to community and backyard gardeners in Camden, for a total of 125 new fruit trees throughout the city.
“We look forward to giving out the rest of the trees,” Brown said. “It is very exciting for the residents to be able to grow their own fruit. We know the trees will be well-cared for, and the residents should enjoy a great harvest next year!”
If you would like to support the NJ Tree Foundation’s fruit tree projects, please make a donation at njtreefoundation.org/donate.
Attention, Camden residents! The NJ Tree Foundation is offering FREE fruit trees to any interested residents in Camden! We are currently offering peaches, pears, plums, and apples (species may change depending on availability of the plants). In order to receive a tree, fill out an application and return to Meredith no later than August 15th. You can email your application to mbrown@njtreefoundation.org, or mail to PO Box 1221, Camden, NJ 08105. You can also call to submit your application at 856-287-4488. After your application is confirmed, you will need to attend a one-hour workshop on Saturday, September 9th. More information about the workshop will be made available closer to September. Hope to see you there!
Fruit Tree Revised Application 2017 (pdf)
April 7, 2017 – Newark, NJ – The NJ Tree Foundation kicks off its volunteer-led tree planting season today, Friday April 7th, with an event in Newark that will plant 39 trees at the Oliver Street School. Volunteers from the school and community will come together to plant seedless sweetgum, tree lilac, and hedge maple trees to beautify the school. Read more
The New Jersey Tree Foundation and Public Service Electric & Gas are offering a FREE seminar on Planting the Right Tree in the Right Place, the Right Way on Friday, November 4th at PSE&G, 4000 Hadley Road, South Plainfield, NJ. Please RSVP by Thursday, October 27th, 2016 to Lisa Simms LSimms@NJTreeFoundation.org
Topics include:
Who should attend? Mayors, Freeholders, DPW Supervisors, Environmental & Shade Tree Commissioners, County Officials and any other interested parties. Space is limited. First come first served.
Date: Friday, November 4, 2016
Time: Registration begins at 8:15 am. Program starts promptly at 9:00 am and runs until 12:30 pm.
Place: PSE&G, 4000 Hadley Road, Room 100, South Plainfield, NJ.
A continental breakfast will be served.
This seminar is worth 3 Continuing Education Units for towns with a 5-year Community Forestry Management Plan.
Right Tree Right Place is approved by the ISA for 3 (three) Arborist certification renewal credits.
Please RSVP by Thursday, October 27th to LSimms@njtreefoundation.org
If you would like send a representative(s), please include their names and contact information (email address).
NJ Tree Foundation Senior Program Director Jessica Franzini spoke with Jill Horner of Comcast Newsmakers on June 22, 2016. They talked about why we plant trees in urban communities, our milestone of planting 6,000 trees in Camden, our green infrastructure work, and more. Enjoy the video.
June 6, 2016 – Camden, NJ – On June 6, 2016 the NJ Tree Foundation received a three-year, $60,000 grant from the MKM Foundation to plant trees in the City of Camden. This generous donation will be paid in $20,000 per year increments in June of 2016, 2017, and 2018. This funding will be used to beautify neighborhoods throughout the city. The MKM Foundation grant will support the NJ Tree Foundation’s Urban Airshed Reforestation Program, which works with Camden residents, schools, and community organizations to implement community-based tree-planting events.
“This grant is very exciting for us, as it allows us to plant trees anywhere in Camden where there is a need,” explains NJ Tree Foundation Senior Program Director Jessica Franzini, “I have a waiting list of high-impact projects. Some of them have been on the waiting list for over a year and will now be implemented with the MKM Foundation funding.”
The NJ Tree Foundation’s Urban Airshed Reforestation Program has planted trees in Camden since 2002. So far, 6,076 trees have been planted. The MKM Foundation grant of $60,000 will allow many more Camden residents to receive trees over the next three years, increasing quality of life and contributing to a more livable city.
Pictured top left: New trees planted in 2016 line N. 36th Street in East Camden, taken by The Darling Light Photography
May 23, 2016 – Newark, New Jersey – This spring, the NJ Tree Foundation’s Renaissance Trees Program is hitting a milestone: ten years of planting trees in Newark. The Program began in 2006 to reforest New Jersey’s brick city. The NJ Tree Foundation celebrated the ten year anniversary of the Newark Renaissance Trees Program, and Newark’s 350th anniversary, by planting 16 trees and 350 edible plants at the Garden of Hope on Saturday May 21st.
“We have great partners that helped us celebrate our 10 year anniversary,” explains Elena López, Program Director for the NJ Tree Foundation. “Prudential brought about 20 employee volunteers and donated 350 edible plants. Newark SAS and other partners will take care of the trees long term.”
The NJ Tree Foundation’s Renaissance Trees Program has planted more than 2,400 trees in Newark to date and removed more than 20,300 square feet of concrete to plant those trees. Saturday’s planting included removing 176 square feet of concrete. Removing concrete and planting trees improves watershed health and reduces the stormwater burden on Newark’s combined sewer system. It is estimated that the new tree pits alone will allow 8,250 gallons of stormwater to filter naturally on an annual basis rather than become polluted runoff.
“Trees are a great solution to many urban environmental problems,” López notes, “They reduce stormwater runoff, clean the air, shade homes to reduce cooling bills, and bring beauty to neighborhoods. Two of the trees planted at the Garden of Hope are fruit trees, which have the added benefit of creating new, local sources for fresh and affordable produce.”
Newark residents and visitors are now able to enjoy the 16 new trees planted to celebrate the Renaissance Trees Program’s 10 year anniversary, and very soon the community gardeners at the Garden of Hope will harvest the bounty of the 350 edible plants that went in the ground. The shade and fruit trees are expected to live for decades, benefiting people today and future generations as part of the Newark 350 Gives legacy.
