As the Ewing Green Team Celebrates a Great Year

by Lisa K. Feldman

The Green Team had a great 2015, and wants to celebrate all the accomplishments and successful events of the year. One of the major facets of sustainability is building a sense of community; one that welcomes people from all walks of life. And what better way is there to celebrate but with an invitation welcoming any and all to join us at our Holiday Open House.

A few highlights of 2015 include Ewing’s very first bike tour, the Ewing Fall Spin, with over 50 people, the Fall Festival of Fun featuring the popular ‘Trunk or Treat’ with over 175 children participating, the 2^nd Annual Scarecrow Contest with 13 entries and cash prizes of $100, $50 and $25, and the opportunity to make-your-own life-size scarecrow to take home, and seasonal refreshments. The Green Team’s Beautify Ewing campaign worked with the Township to design beautiful and sustainable landscaping to welcome visitors for the two entrances for the Municipal Building on Jake Garzio Drive. At this year’s Night Out event, we got to speak with a lot of our Ewing neighbors as we work to map out all the individual neighborhoods in the Township to help gain the sense of community. We started the mapping of safe routes for schools to help keep our children secure. We sponsored several Environmental Insights programs learning about Invasive Species and demystifying Nuclear Energy. We worked with the other Green Teams in Mercer County to host the Living Local Expo which welcomed over a thousand visitors. There is so much more, but this gives some ideas of what we are doing.

A lot of people in Ewing don’t even know that there is a Ewing Green Team. And there is a lot of confusion and concern about what is ‘green’ and ‘sustainable’. But it is basically raising awareness of the many issues such as recycling, transportation, pollution, local food and economic opportunities that are related to sustainability. And we see our mission as getting people to work together to improve the quality of life for present and future generations through education, cooperation, and action. And being part of this effort has been very rewarding.

Our meetings are the 4^th Wednesday of each month at the Ewing Community Center at 7:00 pm and are open to the public. However, meetings are not always a good way to meet our group; we are taking care of business and it can be a bit dry. We hope you can stop by for our Holiday Open House and get to meet our members and learn first-hand how each and every one of us can make a difference.

Date: Wednesday, December 9
Time: 7 – 8:30 p.m.
Location: Ewing Senior and Community Center

Happy Holidays from the Ewing Green Team!