WALL, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--New Jersey Resources (NYSE: NJR), the parent company of New Jersey Natural Gas (NJNG), today marked Earth Day 2023 by announcing a $50,000 donation to the Natural Resource Education Foundation of New Jersey (NREF), a 501(c)3 non-profit dedicated to maintaining and enhancing The Lighthouse Center and its mission as a community environmental education and research facility.
The gift, made through NJR’s Coastal Climate Initiative (CCI), will support NREF as it expands its programs and operations to include hands-on coastal ecosystem enhancement, preservation and research.
“At The Lighthouse Center, the Natural Resource Education Foundation is making a difference to protect and enhance New Jersey’s precious coastal ecosystem, while educating future generations on the importance of these environmental treasures,” said Steve Westhoven, President and CEO of New Jersey Resources. “This work aligns with the mission of NJR’s Coastal Climate Initiative, and we are happy to provide this $50,000 donation to support the Center in protecting these habitats and making an impact against climate change.”
The NREF serves as the steward of The Lighthouse Center property which is owned by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP). Originally established as a camp for the blind, The Lighthouse Center site was rescued from development in 2000 and donated to the NJDEP, which in turn leases the property to the NREF, which provides educational programs for children and adults, as well as volunteer opportunities.
Located on 200 acres of diverse coastal habitat in Waretown, Ocean County, The Lighthouse Center is home to classrooms, dormitories and research facilities that are used to host educational camps and conferences, as well as natural laboratories for research at the property’s coastal mud flats, saltmarshes and living shoreline that hug the Barnegat Bay.
NREF is expanding its existing education operations to include more direct restoration, preservation, and research work at The Lighthouse Center, building upon its May 2022 installation of wave attenuation devices, the first in New Jersey. This work is expected to include:
- Invasive species management
- Planting native vegetation
- Shoreline stabilization
- Beach and shoreline enhancement
- Enhancing transition between the coastal and developed areas
- Monitoring novel restoration methods
- Research to support and inform future coastal wetland restoration efforts statewide
In addition, NJR has selected The Lighthouse Center as the site for its 2023 NJR You Days – an annual, large-scale mobilization of NJR employees providing volunteer work to benefit nonprofits in local communities in its service territory. Over the course of two days in June, 200 employees from across NJR will provide over 1,000 hours of hands-on work to help restore, refurbish and enhance the resiliency of the Center’s buildings and facilities – many of which date back to the 1950s – as well as the trails, grounds, and other outdoor nature habitats on the Center’s property.
“This generous $50,000 donation and large-scale commitment of employee time is a tremendous show of support for our work that will have a significant positive impact at The Lighthouse Center,” said Nancy Eriksen, Chairman of the Natural Resources Education Foundation of New Jersey’s Board of Directors. “We are thankful to NJR and its employees for their commitment to the community and to the environment.”
The support builds on NJR’s growing environmental stewardship efforts through its CCI program. Launched in 2021, CCI is a comprehensive approach to delivering on NJR’s mission to advance environmental restoration, preservation and stewardship opportunities in the communities and areas in which it operates.
Recently, NJR expanded the scope and strategy of CCI with a pledge to spend up to $2 million over five years in support of projects and programs aimed at improving climate change resiliency and ecosystem services, community engagement and education. The CCI program works across the following pillars:
- Customer-based Donation Program – providing a dollar-for-dollar match to one-time or on-bill donations from NJNG customers to the CCI. This funding program supports The Nature Conservancy of New Jersey and its leading efforts on coastal wetland restoration and ecosystem enhancement within New Jersey’s coastal communities.
- Direct Project Investment - financial support for projects that enhance coastal resiliency and ecosystem services, including but not limited to wave attenuation, shoreline stabilization, water quality improvement, habitat improvement, and carbon sequestration.
- Volunteerism – providing NJR employees, retirees and their families opportunities to participate in meaningful environment improvement projects that align with CCI’s mission of improving coastal habitats, community resiliency and nature-based solutions that protect against effects of climate change.
About New Jersey Resources
New Jersey Resources (NYSE: NJR) is a Fortune 1000 company that, through its subsidiaries, provides safe and reliable natural gas and clean energy services, including transportation, distribution, asset management and home services. NJR is composed of five primary businesses:
- New Jersey Natural Gas, NJR’s principal subsidiary, operates and maintains over 7,700 miles of natural gas transportation and distribution infrastructure to serve more 570,000 customers in New Jersey’s Monmouth, Ocean and parts of Morris, Middlesex, Sussex and Burlington counties.
- Clean Energy Ventures invests in, owns and operates solar projects with a total capacity of more than 430 megawatts, providing residential and commercial customers with low-carbon solutions.
- Energy Services manages a diversified portfolio of natural gas transportation and storage assets and provides physical natural gas services and customized energy solutions to its customers across North America.
- Storage and Transportation serves customers from local distributors and producers to electric generators and wholesale marketers through its ownership of Leaf River Energy Center and the Adelphia Gateway Pipeline, as well as our 50% equity ownership in the Steckman Ridge natural gas storage facility.
- Home Services provides service contracts as well as heating, central air conditioning, water heaters, standby generators, solar and other indoor and outdoor comfort products to residential homes throughout New Jersey.
NJR and its nearly 1,300 employees are committed to helping customers save energy and money by promoting conservation and encouraging efficiency through Conserve to Preserve® and initiatives such as The SAVEGREEN Project® and The Sunlight Advantage®.
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