WEST CAPE MAY — Sustainable Jersey representatives announced Nov. 3 that the Borough of West Cape May has met the rigorous requirements to achieve Sustainable Jersey certification. The Borough of West Cape May is one of 74 towns that have attained certification in 2016 and will be honored at the Sustainable Jersey Awards Luncheon on Tues., Nov. 15 in Atlantic City with a Borough representative accepting the award.
Mayor Kaithern commented, “I would like to thank Dr. Thomas Bocket for his dedication to assisting the Borough in obtaining this designation. The Borough continues to strive towards sustainability and additional grant funding opportunities.”
To become Sustainable Jersey certified, the Borough of West Cape May submitted documentation to show it had completed a balance of the required sustainability actions, meeting a minimum of 150 action points. In addition to reaching 150 points, each certified community had to create a green team and select at least 2 out of 11 priority action options. The Borough of West Cape May did 2of the 11 priority actions by completing a sustainable land use pledge and a prescription drug safety and disposal. Overall, 17 sustainability actions in 8 categories were approved for a total of 175 action points.
“Sustainable Jersey is incredibly proud of the 74 New Jersey towns that achieved certification this year,” said Donna Drewes, co-director of Sustainable Jersey. “The 198 Sustainable Jersey certified towns demonstrate leadership and are a testament to how much we can accomplish toward the long-term goal of a sustainable New Jersey.”
Certified towns excelled in areas such as improving energy efficiency and health and wellness, reducing waste, sustaining local economies, protecting natural resources and advancing the arts. “Collectively the 440 participating Sustainable Jersey towns are a powerful force in New Jersey,” said Randall Solomon, co-director of Sustainable Jersey.
West Cape May, formerly known as Eldredge, is one of the four jurisdictions that comprise Cape Island in Cape May County and was incorporated as a Borough in late 1884. The Borough was home to Mayflower descendants, former slaves, riverboat pilots and whalers. The Borough’s history goes back to the time of the Lenape Indians and several buildings date to the Colonial period. The area has a rich agricultural history which continues to be celebrated each year with a summer farmers’ market, and strawberry and lima bean festivals. It was once known as the “Lima Bean Capital East of the Rockies.” The Borough has reported ties to the Underground Railroad and has been home to numerous African Americans. From 1881 to 1931, the Hastings Goldbeating Company was located in the Borough employing women to pound one-inch strips of gold into gossamer-thin sheets used for decorative arts. Women still did the “booking” of gold leaf sheets until 1961.
About Sustainable Jersey:
Sustainable Jersey is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that provides tools, training and financial incentives to support communities as they pursue sustainability programs. Currently, 78 percent or 440 of New Jersey’s 565 municipalities are participating in the municipal certification program and 218 school districts and 538 schools are participating in the Sustainable Jersey for Schools certification program.
Sustainable Jersey’s partners include the New Jersey State League of Municipalities, Sustainability Institute at The College of New Jersey, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities Clean Energy Program. Program underwriters include the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, New Jersey Board of Public Utilities Clean Energy Program and the Surdna Foundation. The 2016 Sustainable Jersey Small Grants program for municipalities is funded by PSEG Foundation and the Gardinier Environmental Fund. South Jersey Gas and New Jersey Natural Gas are Platinum Sponsors. NJM Insurance Group is a Gold Sponsor, Bayshore Recycling is a Silver Sponsor and our Bronze Sponsors are Investors Bank, Covanta, Energy Solve, JCP&L, GovPilot Direct Energy Solar and SolarCity. The Sustainability Summit venue sponsors are Good Energy and Verizon.
Website: www.SustainableJersey.com; www.SustainableJerseySchools.com
Twitter: www.twitter.com/SJ_Program; www.twitter.com/SJ_Schools
Facebook: www.facebook.com/SustainableJersey
Instagram: https://instagram.com/sustainable_jersey/
Linked In: www.linkedin.com/company/sustainable-jersey
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