Since 2005, hundreds of volunteers have made the commitment to protecting New Jersey’s environment by participating in the Rutgers Environmental Stewards Program. Offered by Rutgers Cooperative Extension, the program introduces volunteers to the science underlying key environmental issues in the Garden State so they can tackle problems and offer solutions in their own communities. This year, participants can enroll in a program in one of five New Jersey counties: Atlantic, Mercer, Union, Passaic and Somerset. Participants do not have to be county residents to participate in the program, which costs $260 for the 20 weeks of training.
Stewards start out in weekly classes, dealing with topics that include climate change, solid waste and recycling, soil health, energy conservation, water resource protection, invasive species management, land use policy, wildlife ecology, protecting pollinators and native vs invasive species, among others. Optional field trips to environmentally significant sites around the state are included as part of the program. Leading researchers from Rutgers are joined by government and non-profit representatives to share their knowledge with the stewards.
In order to become certified, graduates must complete a 60-hour volunteer internship of their choosing. Internships are unique and align the passion of the individual with the needs of the program and those of the local community. Previous steward internships have included monitoring shorebird populations, composting restaurant food waste, community single use plastic ordinances, mapping and eradicating invasive species in local parks, restoring native dune vegetation in shore communities, and creating rain gardens.
The classes, field trips and internship do not replace a science degree. However, the program presents stewards with real-world environmental problems and introduces a network of experts and organizations that can help stewards as they wrestle with solving problems in their local communities. For more information and to register for 2020 classes, please visit their website, envirostewards.rutgers.edu.
NOFA-NJ conference coming Feb. 1
On Saturday, February 1, the Northeast Organic Farming Association of NJ (NOFA-NJ) will host its 30th Annual Winter Conference.
The conference will take place at the Rutgers Douglass Student Center in New Brunswick. NOFA-NJ is offering a lineup of nationally and internationally recognized speakers who will share their insights and experience. In addition, “Business Tracks” will once again be offered to help growers focus on getting the most from their investments of time and money — the five tracks include business, crops, gardening, livestock, and health and policy.
Notable presenters this year include Dr. Bob Quinn, Dr. Liz Carlisle and Dr. Dave C. Johnson.
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A native of Big Sandy, Montana, Quinn was raised on a conventional family farm started by his grandfather in 1920. Quinn got his BS in Botany and Masters’ in Plant Pathology from Montana State University and his Ph.D. in plant biochemistry from the University of California.
In 1986, Quinn’s company, Montana Flour & Grains, introduced the natural foods industry to an ancient Egyptian wheat, called Khorasan (similar to durum wheat). This grain was marketed under his own brand name, KAMUT, (the ancient Egyptian word for wheat). Through the trademark, Quinn has been able to preserve an ancient grain and guarantee it is not genetically modified or altered. KAMUT Brand Khorasan wheat is grown under strict production guidelines and is only grown organically.
Quinn is the 2007 recipient of the Montana Organic Association Lifetime of Service Award. The Organic Trade Association awarded Quinn the 2010 Organic Leadership Award for his contributions in the “Growing Organic Agriculture” category. In 2013, he received the Rodale Institute’s Organic Pioneer Award.
Author and organic farming educator Carlisle is a lecturer in the School of Earth, Energy, and Environmental Sciences at Stanford University, where she teaches courses on food and agriculture, sustainability transition and environmental communication.
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She is the author of two books: Lentil Underground and Grain by Grain, coauthored with fellow Montana farmer Dr. Bob Quinn. Carlisle insists in her book, Lentil Underground, that there is much to be learned from these tiny legumes.
Research in New Mexico by molecular biologist Johnson is adding “biofuel” to arguments that better soil can be a big part of the solution to global climate change. Johnson’s work in carbon sequestration offers up real answers to dealing with the carbon dioxide-related problems that seem to be causing global warming. Based at the Leyendecker Plant Science Center at the University of New Mexico, Johnson’s work with compost and composting revolves around management approaches that produce higher soil fungal community populations.
Johnson and others are working on methods to grow these fungal populations into existing soils, as it is just not practical to apply layers of heavy compost to the large acreages that many farmers and agricultural producers manage. Instead, the Institute of Sustainable Agricultural Research is trying to implement this change by growing fungal populations into soils.
Full conference program details, including concurrent tracks and workshops along with registration information, are available online at nofanj.org/winter-conference/.
Nicholas Polanin is associate professor, agricultural agent II, Rutgers New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station Cooperative Extension of Somerset County. Email him at polanin@njaes.rutgers.edu.
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