My Journey from Rutgers Environmental Steward to Boat Steward – Ann Cucchiara RES 2019 Cert 2020 It was back in 2019 that I decided to enroll in the Rutgers Environmental Steward Program being offered at my favorite outdoor playground – Duke Farms. As a recently retired schoolteacher, I wanted to learn more about the negative, […]
The spring “Earth Day, Every Day” webinar series, produced by Rutgers Cooperative Extension, concluded on June 3. This popular series focused on the role that natural elements (air, earth, fire, water, spirit, and wildlife) play in natural resource management and what the public can do to help. The series included newsworthy topics, including offshore wind development, black […]
Nancy chose to complete her certification project by improving biodiversity at the Environmental Education Center (EEC) in Somerset County. She began by inventorying invasive Callery pear trees and initiated their removal and replacement with native species.
BLD causes rapid decline and mortality of American beech (Fagus grandifolia) and European beech (F. sylvatica); mortality can occur between 2 to 10 years depending on size. BLD is caused by an invasive nematode Litylenchus crenatae subsp. mccannii, a microscopic roundworm that cannot be seen with the naked eye.
Per- and polyflouroalkyl substances (PFAS) have been in the news recently due to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalizing regulations for public drinking water systems. Health impacts of PFAS are also being reported after years of in-depth research. But what are PFAS? PFAS refers to a broad class of thousands of manufactured chemicals […]
Middlesex Borough Environmental Commission By Clare Levourne, RES Class of 2017, Certified 2019 After attending the Rutgers Environmental Steward (RES) program in 2017, I was inspired to create a Middlesex Borough Green Team as my project. Unfortunately, there was little interest, so I created a Monarch Waystation Garden at the public library instead. While tending […]
Jetbead, Rhodotypos scandens Jetbead is an invasive spring flowering, deciduous shrub. It is available as an ornamental and spreads into understory forests and roadsides. Its attractive white flower starts blooming in April making it easy to identify this time of year. Jetbead can grow in both full sun and shade. Due to its tolerance of […]
New Jersey was predominantly forested for thousands of years until widespread clearcutting made way for agriculture and later, sprawling development. Currently, NJ has 40% forest cover from urban city shade trees to public parks, suburban canopies, small woodlots, and large preserves. About half of our current day forests are on public lands. The rest is […]
“It’s a bird.” “It’s a plane.” “No, it’s a glider!” “What’s a glider?!?” “An underwater robot!” Observing the ocean is inherently difficult whether it is close to shore or hundreds of miles from land. The ocean is so vast and it can cost more than $75,000 per day for an oceanographic vessel with a scientific […]
In December 2023, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released their National Rivers and Streams Assessment (NRSA) report. This report presents the results of the 2018-2019 survey of rivers and streams in the 48 contiguous United States (Figure 1). It provides information on the extent of stream miles that support healthy biological communities and recreation […]
