Jersey City Announces Year of Sustainable Neighborhoods; Highlights Collaboration with Jersey City Public Schools on Sustainability STEAM Challenge

JERSEY CITY – Mayor Steven M. Fulop announces 2019 as the Year of Sustainable Neighborhoods for Jersey City.  This year, we will include events and programming designed to increase awareness, identify where sustainability can be implemented within the City’s many neighborhoods, and connect residents to community initiatives that foster sustainability on a local scale. The Office of Sustainability will also be attending community meetings and hosting events.  Our goal is to get feedback from residents about what sustainable neighborhoods mean to them, and to share information about ongoing local initiatives and opportunities.

The featured initiative of the Year of Sustainable Neighborhoods is a collaboration between the Jersey City Public Schools Curriculum and Instruction Department and the Jersey City Office of Sustainability on a Sustainable STEAM Challenge with Problem-based learning (PBL) that uses Science and Visual Arts to address environmental challenges. This citywide initiative is being offered to all students grades K-12. Student teams in Grades 3-12 are challenged to identify and present solutions to sustainability-related issues they identified in their own neighborhoods. Students will pitch their solutions to a panel of city officials and local stakeholders at City Hall on May 3rd, 2019 for an opportunity to be awarded funding to implement their projects. More information on the Sustainable STEAM Challenge can be found at https://sustainablestemjc.org. The younger K-2 classrooms are also participating in the challenge by learning about the issues related to single-use plastic bags and designing their own reusable bags to use.  Twelve semifinalist designs will be voted on by the public from March 13-20 at http://www.sciencejcps.com.

Other projects for the Year of Sustainable Neighborhoods include a themed art show at City Hall in May in collaboration with the Office of Cultural Affairs, educational presentations on the upcoming bag ban and bag give-away events, and community meetings to gain feedback from residents about sustainability needs and goals in their neighborhoods.

“This is a great opportunity to inspire students and motivate them to identify solutions to challenges in their own neighborhoods,” said Mayor Fulop.  “It is important for the future of our environment that residents, both young and old, can work together and find new ways to improve the sustainability of their local communities.”

The Year of Sustainability effort is led by the City’s Office of Sustainability, which is dedicated to finding ways to improve the sustainability of the City’s operations, raise public awareness of sustainable practices and issues relevant to Jersey City, and implementing sustainable policies.

The Year of Sustainable Neighborhoods is building on the success of the City’s 2018 Year of Energy and 2017 Year of Water campaigns. Last year’s Year of Energy campaign included outreach on the benefits of energy efficiency and alternative energies, as well as the initiation of a number of energy projects such as the installation of electric vehicle charging stations, efficiency improvements to the City fleet, the installation of solar panels on the municipal building on Linden Avenue, and a partnership with Montclair State University’s PSEG Institute of Sustainable Studies on a comprehensive greenhouse gas emissions inventory.

If you would like to find out more about the Year of Sustainable Neighborhoods and the Office of Sustainability, please visit www.makeitgreen.org.

All media inquiries should be directed to makeitgreen@jcnj.org.