| 10 Cities & Second Cities Initiatives
"The creation of a thousand forests
is in one acorn."
-Ralph Waldo Emerson
The 10 Cities Initiative
has been successfully completed! Thank you to all of our
dedicated partners, volunteers, and sponsors for making this initiative
a true community forestry success! Through diligent work with
certified tree professionals, each of our partnering communities have
established a 5-year Community Forestry Management Plan to increase
their the maintenance, safety, and priority of their community
forest. These communities are:
- City of Garfield
- Gloucester City
- City of Hackensack
- Jersey City
- Borough of Keansburg (Pending state approval June 2007)
- Township of Neptune
- City of Passaic (Pending state approval June 2007)
- City of Plainfield
Through this partnership, the NJ Tree Foundation has worked with 2,041 volunteers and municipal employees, dedicating more than 8,155
hours, to plant 592 trees, attend educational workshops, actively
participate in municipal shade tree commissions/committees, and enhance
the quality of life through community participation. Through the
initiative, the NJ Tree Foundation coordinated with WILD Jersey to
provide hands-on, forestry education programs to 956 children throughout the partnering cities. The 10 Cities
Initiative grant is a community forestry success and has exceeded the
dollar-to-dollar match, totaling $192,190.30 worth of time and donations.
Click here to view the 10 Cities Initiative Photo Album
10 Cities Initiative Program Information:
The New Jersey Tree Foundation, in partnership with the New Jersey Forest Service, Community Forestry Program,
has created a new initiative designed to establish community forestry
programs in some of NJ's most tree challenged urban communities. With
over a million acres of New Jersey classified as urban tree areas, the
proper management of the urban and community tree resource is vital to
the environmental and economic well being of the nation's most densley
populated state.
The 10 Cities Initiative utilizes funds awarded by the United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service
exclusively to engage inner city communities that meet the USDA Forest
Service^s criteria for inner city funding based on the definition of a
"usually older and more densely populated residential section of a
city, which has more than 1000 persons per square mile in which low
income minority groups predominate." New Jersey^s inner cities need the
support and guidance fundamental to addressing and managing their
natural resource issues.
The following is a short list of objectives for the 10 Cities Initiative partnering communities:
-
Establishment of a tree commission or tree body
-
Development of a 5-year Community Forestry Management Plan (CFMP)
-
Coordination of a tree (planting) event with local partners and community involvement
-
Participation
by the cities in CORE training offered by NJ Forest Service Community
Forestry Program staff and other related workshops to obtain continuing
education credits
-
Collection of baseline data including tree assessments, census information and other relevant statistics as identified
-
Development of a report highlighting the initiative for distribution
Second Cities Initiative:
The Second Cities Initiative has been successfully completed!
The NJ Tree Foundation thanks all of the volunteers, sponsors, and
municipalities for their participation and dedication to enhancing the
environment and quality of life through trees!
Our participating communities are:
-
City of Atlantic City
-
City of East Orange
-
Township of Irvington
-
City of Newark
-
Town of Phillipsburg
-
Borough of Seaside Heights
-
Union County
The Second Cities Initiative has been successful in working with 1,525 volunteers, dedicating nearly 4,496 hours of their time to plant 276 trees,
attend informational tree workshops, and participate in municipal shade
tree commissions/committees. Through local sponsorship and
community participation, the Second Cities Initiative has surpassed the dollar-to-dollar match, totaling $90,779.09 worth of donations and volunteer time. Through WILD Jersey, 566 school children were provided a hands-on, forestry learning program.
Several municipalities are in the final stages of completing their
5-year Community Forestry Management Plan with a certified tree
professional. The following plans have been approved by the NJ
Community Forestry Council:
- Township of Irvington
- Town of Phillipsburg
East Orange, Newark, Seaside Heights, and Union County are pending final approval.
Click here to view the Second Cities Initiative Photo Album!
Second Cities Initiative Program Information:
The Second Cities Initiative reestablishes
urban and community forestry programs in some of NJ’s underserved
communities. This Initiative will grant funding to eligible communities
with instruction and assistance in writing and implementing a five year
Community Forestry Management Plan, while simultaneously beautifying
urban neighborhoods with shade trees, and providing the necessary
training to create strong urban forestry programs in these cities. The
USDA Forest Service has provided funding to the NJ Tree Foundation for
the Second Cities Initiative.
The Second Cities Initiative expands on the NJ Tree Foundation’s 10 Cities Initiative
to include New Jersey’s secondary cities, cities that are urban in
nature, have smaller populations and some financial limitations.
Nonetheless, these cities face the same challenges as NJ’s larger urban
centers, such as low tree cover, aged and hazardous trees, high
population densities, and the lack of funds to support natural resource
management efforts. The secondary cities will be chosen based on
criteria such as low tree cover, high population density, low per
capita income, and the absence of a Community Forestry Management Plan.
In
an effort to clean and green our inner city communities municipal
support, action, and interest is vital to the success of this project,
as is the support and involvement of local business, organizations,
schools, churches and the citizenry at large. Ultimately, this project
will help municipalities maintain, protect, and manage their tree
resource for the economic, ecologic, and social benefit of their
communities.
For further information please contact Shannon Buckley, Outreach Coordinator, at 732-873-3051 or at njtf_sbuckley@yahoo.com.
American Forests
The National Arbor Day Foundation
"Each
generation takes the earth as trustees. We ought to bequeath to
posterity as many forests and orchards as we have exhausted and
consumed."
~ J. Sterling Morton, Founder of Arbor Day
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