Many local environmental events are happening in the next months to promote the protection and future of the environment.
On April 12th, The Raritan Headwaters Association hosted the 35th Annual Raritan Headwaters River Cleanup Over 1,000 people will be volunteering their time in sites across New Jersey to pick up trash from their local waterways. By doing this, volunteers are directly making a significant impact on the water supplies to Somerset, Hunterdon, and Morris counties which connect to the ocean. Just last year, attendees collected a total of eleven tons of garbage, bettering the conditions of drinking water and the Raritan River wildlife overall. Claire Taylor ‘25, President of the BHS Green Team, first found out and volunteered at this event her sophomore year and since then has been involved with Raritan Headwaters. “A lot of younger people don’t realize how little things affect our waterways and how much we can do to protect them,” she says. For this and many other reasons, she encourages her fellow peers to volunteer with Raritan Headwaters Association.
On May 10th at the Bernardsville Train Station, the Bernardsville Borough Green Team and Environmental Commission will be hosting the second annual Bernardsville Green Fair. This event consists of sustainable projects like textile recycling, environmentally friendly kids’ crafts, electric lawn equipment, tree sapling and bulb giveaways, local trail maps, and learning from NJ Audubon Society and Raritan Headwaters Association. Styrofoam recycling will be happening every Saturday 9am to 2:30pm until December at the Bernardsville Pill Hill Dump. There is also a local cleanup sponsored by the Bernardsville Green Team at Kiwanis Park on May 3rd.
When asked about different ways that high schoolers can protect and preserve the environment around Bernardsville, Kathy Redling, a member of the Bernardsville Green Team, talks about the importance of “learning, asking questions, and offering help to those already involved.” She also encourages the population to limit littering, clean off storm basins, plant native plants to feed insects and stay away from pesticides or non-organic fertilizers. Kathy is excited about the second annual Green Fair after last year’s success and “hopes to see it going for years.”
As a way to get teenagers to be more engaged with environmental preservation, clubs such as Green Team, Garden Club, and Marine Biology Club have been rising in popularity for the past years. Clara Hunziker ‘27, a member of the BHS Green tTeam, says that “it is a very hands-on club with fun projects and people.”While it is extremely promising that students are getting more involved with these types of clubs, it is essential that this keeps moving forward and that the youth keeps making the environment a priority and doing as much as they can to protect it.
Recycling, where all kinds of electronic devices will be collected, including computers, TVs, radios, cell phones, and radios. By bringing these types of devices to the green fair, people can ensure their sustainable disposal. In addition, the Green Team is providing a tree seedling giveaway as well as kids activities and booths that will teach attendees about all the ways they can keep Bernardsville green.
