NEWS from the
TOWNSHIP OF IRVINGTON

"It is the goal of this administration to investigate and implement any initiative that will improve life in Irvington, and to do so with all due care, commitment and concern."
MAYOR WAYNE SMITH

Irvington’s environmental enhancement efforts were recognized by the NJ Clean Communities Council (NJCCC) during its annual spring conference and awards ceremony held on May 23-24, 2007 at Liberty State Park in Jersey City. Awards were presented to Mayor Wayne Smith and to Union Avenue Middle, Grove Street Elementary Chancellor Avenue Elementary schools for partnering with the municipality in its comprehensive environmental initiative.

The highlights of Irvington’s program include the creation of the Clean Team in partnership with the Urban Enterprise Zone; Keep Irvington Beautiful (KIB), in affiliation with Keep America Beautiful (KAB); Earth Day/Arbor Day; a partnership with the NJ Tree Foundation, which has provided grants for the township’s budding forestral program; and the annual gateway cleanup in collaboration with the NJCCC, which was launched in 2004 and enlisted the Irvington Public Schools last year. “It just made sense to partner with the school district,” according to Mayor Wayne Smith, who at the conference, served as moderator for a 3-mayor panel discussion on “A Clean and Green New Jersey” in his role as president of the 24-member NJ Urban Mayors’ Association. “Education is key to any successful effort, and that generally begins with the children,” he added.

Having instilled a sense of community pride and responsibility in the youngsters, the cleanups evolved into a pilot environmental educational curriculum at Grove Street School for the 20 fifth graders enrolled in Project Vision. Instituted last year at the school, Project Vision is an initiative of the state attorney general’s office that seeks to redirect at-risk youth toward positive activities through character building and community leadership.

The coursework—which has been integrated into the established earth sciences program—is based on the KIB curriculum, in tandem with guidelines from the NJCCC. The topics include: “Good Habits Parts I and II (litter prevention), “How we Manage Garbage,” “Understanding Waste Management” and “Plastic by the Numbers (recycling/composting). The fieldwork component includes trips to the Essex County Environmental Center, museums and the aforementioned community cleanups.

Plans are underway to expand the pilot program to the middle schools, in a partnership with Project Learning Tree, a 31-year-old environmental education program administered by the American Forest Foundation that targets youth from preschool through grade 12.

In February 2007, PTL provided in-service training to school district administrators and staff on fusing forestral coursework with existing earth science classes.

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