Scarecrows are coming… be on the lookout!

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Coming to Ewing this fall will be a horde of crazy and creepy, festive and fun creatures appearing or leering or maybe just cute and curious throughout our town! The Ewing Green Team, Ewing Arts Commission and Art Has No Boundaries are joining together with the Ewing Recreation Department to help Ewing families, groups, and workers celebrate the Halloween season as they track down these fantastic creatures for a chance to win ca$h.

Businesses, schools, organizations and civic groups will be creating and hosting these mysterious visitors.  All Ewing businesses and organizations are welcome to participate.  Register online at ewinggreenteam.org/scarecrow-scavenger-hunt-reg/.

The All-Around Town Scarecrow Scavenger Hunt begins on Monday, September 28th and ends on Wednesday, October 23rd, giving you plenty of time to hunt them all down.  Follow the cagey clues to track them down and if you’re good and find them all, you will earn a chance to win $200. Just remember you may have to be really brave and get up close, but don’t be scared; we don’t think they bite!  Vote for your favorite and the People’s Choice business or organization will win a $100 donation to a charity of their choice.  Contest rules and ballots with fun and challenging clues are available here.   Paper ballots can also be picked up at the Ewing Community and Senior Center (ESCC) at 999 Lower Ferry Road or Hollowbrook Community Center at 320 Hollowbrook Drive. The winner will be announced on October 26th during the Ewing Recreation Department’s Annual Trunk-or-Treat festivities. For further details please go to ewinggreenteam.org/menu/scarecrow-2019.

For the 6th year we also look forward to our Annual Scarecrow Contest when a horde of Scarecrows created by local residents, groups or schools, shows up the ESCC preparatory to the Trunk or Treat event on Saturday, October 26th and judgement by our Treaters and visitors.  These Scarecrows must be made of at least 80% recycled materials. They will be on display at the Community Center and highlight the incredible juxtaposition of artistic creativity and recycling smarts by our participants.  Following judgement, the People’s Choice will be awarded $200 and the runner up $100.   To learn more and to register, go to www.ewinggreenteam.org/scarecrow-contest.

Ewing’s Fall Festival includes the Trunk or Treat event, as well as kids’ crafts and refreshments.  We’re very excited to announce that this year we are adding music and storytelling with Ewing’s very own talented entertainers Tim and Jennifer Hoh!  Tim, of Tim Hoh’s Music for Kids will provide the music and Jennifer will add her own very special storytelling to our day.  This event runs from 1-4:00 pm at the ESCC.

Projected Schedule

  • 1 – 2 pm Arts and Crafts
  • 2 – 3 pm – Music and storytelling by Tim and Jennifer Hoh
  • 3:30 pm – Trunk or Treat will begin and voting for your favorite ‘People’s Choice’ Scarecrow
  • 4 pm (appr.) – Winners announced from the Scavenger Hunt and Scarecrow Contest at the conclusion of the Trunk or Treat

Winners of the All-Around Town Scarecrow Scavenger Hunt and Annual Scarecrow Contest will be announced at approximately 4:00 pm following the conclusion of the treating and voting.  The People’s Choice for the businesses hosting the Scarecrows will also be announced. Scarecrows will remain on display at the Community Center until the following weekend for the Community to visit and enjoy.

“The Ewing Green Team is excited to partner with the Ewing Recreation Department, the Ewing Arts Commission and Art Has No Boundaries for a bigger and better Scarecrow Event this fall.  More than ever, we look forward to bringing the Ewing community together to celebrate the season while on the Scarecrow Trail and bringing a festive fall excitement to our community,” said Green Team Scarecrow Chair Lisa Feldman.   So whether you follow our Scarecrow Trail, build your own scarecrow for our contest, or both, we hope all Ewing residents, groups and workers will join the fun!

Registration Is Now Open for the 5th Annual Bike Tour of Ewing

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Mayor Bert Steinmann, the Ewing Green Team and the Ewing Recreation Department invite you to enjoy a fun and healthy start to your 2019 Community Fest experience  by joining your friends and neighbors in the 5th Annual Ewing Fall Spin bike tour. Our annual bike ride will be held this year on Saturday, September 21st from 8:15 am to 11:00 am. The ride will start and end at Campus Town at The College of New Jersey. All proceeds from this year’s Fall Spin will be donated to HomeFront.

Individuals or teams, ages 18 years and older are encouraged to register early as there is a maximum number of 50 riders allowed. “We would love participants to sign up as individuals or come as a team of friends, family members or co-workers,” says EGT Member and Bike Ride Coordinator, Garry Keel. The Fall Spin registration fee is $20 prior to September 14th and $25 thereafter. All persons registering by September 14th will receive a T-shirt. Day-of-event registration will begin at 7:45 am.

The bike ride will be a 12.3-mile, police escorted leisurely pace tour through Ewing Township with 3 rest stops approximately 3 miles apart.  Details about this year’s ride route, as well as selected highlights along the way, will be available shortly

Don’t forget to head over to Ewing’s Community Fest when you have completed your ride, where you can meet your neighbors and enjoy one of the Township’s biggest community celebrations.

For more information on the Ewing Fall Spin, including registration options, please visit https://ewinggreenteam.org/ewingfallspin, email ewinggreenteam@gmail.com or call Garry M. Keel at 609-902-8722.

Come Through Our Garden Gates at the 5th Annual Garden Tour

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The Ewing Green Team, the West Trenton Garden Club and local Girl Scout Troop #70138 are excited to invite you to our 2019 Through the Garden Gate Tour of Ewing and its environs! This year we will showcase a number of new gardens and highlight improvements to some of the gardens from prior years. Most of our gardens follow sustainable landscaping practices, and a few are even National Wildlife Federation or North American Butterfly Association certified, others are “working” butterfly gardens and we are showcasing a gorgeous stone garden on the canal on Saturday.  We think that there is something for everyone to enjoy at the height of the gardening season!

Our tour  is being held to promote civic pride, beautification, sustainability, and youth development. It is our belief that showcasing some of Ewing’s noteworthy gardens is a great way to help us engage more people in beautifying our town. A beautiful town elicits pride among its residents and helps to build community.  It all begins with one garden at a time.

Event Details

The 2019 Through the Garden Gate Tour will be a self-guided ticketed event, featuring gardens throughout Ewing, with a couple of stand-out gardens from neighboring towns. The tour date is set for Saturday and Sunday, June 22nd and 23rd. Gardens will be open from 10 am – 5 pm (Saturday) and noon – 4pm (Sunday).

Start out at the Ewing Senior and Community Center. Be sure to check out the Green Team and Environmental Commission’s new pollinator garden in the building’s central courtyard.  This is the garden’s second season and it features some of the requirements necessary to support wildlife in the garden; pollinator friendly native plants, a water source; cover and food.

Purchase your ticket and receive a pamphlet containing the name of each garden, its location, as well as a brief description, and a map. There are 17 gardens to tour this year. From the public gardens such as the  Kitchen Garden at the Benjamin Temple House, to first offerings of a couple of newer gardens, to the long established gardens that are ever still constantly changing, we think that we have a lot to offer. We hope that you will ask lots of questions while you tour as many as you can.

Be sure to check out the back of our Tour booklet.  Bowman’s Hill Wildflower Preserve in New Hope, PA is generously offering a certificate for (1) one free native plant for each coupon returned to the Preserve by October 31, 2019.  Their certificate value is up to $7.  If you haven’t yet discovered the advantages of native plants, we encourage all tour participants to take advantage of this offer and learn how they can not only beautify your gardens, but add wildlife value!

New this year will be a tie in with Ewing’s Arts Community as local artists will be on site at selected gardens where, inspired by the splendor of the season, they will set up their easels and paint “en plein air.”

Look for additional information on this page as we firm up participants and details of the day. We hope to see you at the gardens!

Event Summary

Dates: Saturday and Sunday, June 22 and 23
Time: 10 am to 5 pm (Saturday) and noon – 4 pm (Sunday)
Locations: Noteworthy gardens in Ewing and its environs
Startup: Out front of the Ewing Senior and Community Center, 999 Lower Ferry Rd, Ewing (rain location – front lobby)
Cost: $10

The map of the gardens on this year’s tour will be published shortly. We think that you’ll be excited to see some of the great gardens in town. We hope to see you there!

Surface Technology, Inc. and HomeFront NJ Join Ranks of Recognized Green Businesses in Ewing

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The Ewing Green Team, in conjunction with Ewing Township, is proud to announce the 2nd Class of the Ewing Green Business Recognition Program, welcoming HomeFront NJ and Surface Technology, Inc. to its ranks.

The Ewing Green Business Recognition Program was started to both recognize and promote the hard work that local businesses have been doing to keep Ewing sustainable and environmentally-friendly, and also to incentivize local businesses considering becoming ‘green’ by demonstrating the positive results and reaction to sustainable practices.

“HomeFront NJ, an organization that serves the most vulnerable members of our community, has long embodied an ethos for selflessness and care for the community at large,” Mayor Bert Steinmann said, speaking on one of the honorees. “Their work towards making their campus sustainable is extremely impressive, but not surprising as it reflects a compassion — and willingness to do the work — that we have come to expect from this wonderful organization.”

HomeFront NJ thoroughly embraces environmental sustainability in their daily management practices. Their installation of a roof-top solar system lowered their energy costs by up to 40%. New LED lighting in all parking lot light fixtures yields additional savings. Installation of energy efficient lighting and other upgrades in their garages using the Direct Install program funding was another recent undertaking. (Ask us how you too can save up to 70% on your small business energy upgrades…) HomeFront models strong business recycling practices, donating unwanted furniture, other supplies, and scrap materials to keep them out of our landfills, or using a waste exchange program. Even their Break Room is not too small to merit their attention. By using permanent tableware and refillable condiment containers, little things do add up and make a difference.

Surface Technology Inc also joined the newest class of official Green Businesses in Ewing, now totaling eight in all. “Surface Technology is a family-owned company with a strong, demonstrable commitment to the environment and keeping Ewing green,” Joanne Mullowney, Chair of the Ewing Green Team said. “As a company that manufactures special coatings for metal processing equipment, their ability to release zero discharge from their processes is nothing short of astonishing. Although they have worked towards a sustainable Ewing for years with no need for recognition, we are proud to shine a spotlight on the work they have done to make our town a better place.”

STI models a twofold approach to environmental sustainability through both facility operations and its manufacturing process, paying meticulous attention to detail in every aspect of its operations. The production facility is solar powered and has the capacity of saving over 2300 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions daily. In 2008 they retrofit their entire facility with energy saving light fixtures. Their manufacturing process offers important environmental benefits as opposed to alternate coating technologies. Their coatings use no chrome, eliminating the environmental problems associated with chrome plating. Their patented diamond coating used on metal machinery ultimately makes the equipment last longer and use less energy. Their thoughtful attention to day-to-day tasks in many of the aspects of sustainability embraces environmental best practices.

“The Ewing Green Business Recognition Program’s Third Class has already begun accepting applicants,” said program coordinator, Evan Crumiller.   Those interested should contact him at evancrumiller@gmail.com or by checking out our Green Business Recognition program information at ewinggreenteam.org/greenbusiness/.

BEE a Part of the Million Pollinator Gardens Challenge!

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Photo by Mary CorriganDid you know that June is National Pollinator Month? In celebration of the many contributions that are made by our pollinators, the Million Pollinator Garden Challenge was initiated by the National Wildlife Federation to recognize and encourage the planting of pollinator gardens. Wild About Ewing, a joint program of Ewing’s Green Team and Environmental Commission, asks all Ewing gardeners to “Bee” Part of the Million Pollinator Garden Challenge and answer this call to action. Help preserve the health of bees, butterflies, birds, bats and other pollinators and create wildlife friendly gardens and landscapes.

To answer the challenge and BEEcome a part of the solution, just follow these three simple steps.

Plant something for pollinators

  • Plant NATIVE plants that provide nectar and pollen sources
  • Provide a water source
  • Situate gardens in sunny areas with wind breaks
  • Create large “pollinator targets” of native or non-invasive plants
  • Establish continuous bloom throughout the growing season
  • Eliminate or minimize the impact of pesticides.

If you have followed these simple principles in your garden then, take the next step and

Register Your Garden at MillionPollinatorGardens.org

Register your Garden to BEE Counted. BEE sure to add a photo of your garden or landscape to the S.H.A.R.E map. Anyone and any size garden can join in the campaign to reach one million sites for pollinators!

Don’t forget the next step because we need to encourage every property owner to help sustain pollinators and all wildlife on their properties.

Spread the Word and get others to join in!

Keep the Challenge Growing! Invite others to your garden and talk to everyone about the importance of pollinators and how you can help.

Certify Your Garden

To learn more and join with us, we encourage Ewing gardeners to follow the steps listed above to create a wildlife friendly garden and then certify your garden or yard in the National Wildlife Federation’s Garden for Wildlife program. Learn more about Ewing’s Community Wildlife Habitat project at ewingwildlifegardens.com and BEEcome a part of the solution!