In celebration of the United States’ 250th birthday, the Ewing Green Team and Environmental Commission have joined forces with the Mayor and Council, local businesses, and residents, to promote an audacious and worthy goal – planting 250 new trees in Ewing!
Our ask: Give America the best birthday gift ever. Plant a tree!
We can’t do it alone. We need your help! To help us achieve our shared dream of a more beautiful, healthy, and environmentally friendly Ewing, we ask that you take a simple but important step: Plant one tree!
There are many reasons to plant a tree: trees purify the air, mitigate the effects of climate change, and prevent stormwater runoff while increasing the value of your property and beautifying your neighborhood for generations to come. In fact, studies have even shown that trees enhance your mental and physical health.
DID YOU KNOW that Ewing’s tree canopy cover is low compared to the average statewide in New Jersey? (27.4% vs. 40%)
OUR GOAL: to inspire 250+ Ewing residents, businesses, and organizations to plant or pledge to plant at least 250 trees in town. This can be on your own property or by donating to plant a tree in one of Ewing’s parks and public lands.
It will soon be peak Fall planting time and we encourage you to let us know of your tree planting plans by taking ourPLEDGE TO PLANTa tree in your yard for our 250 Tree Initiative! We urge you to join with us and make your new tree one of the official 250 Trees for America’s 250th! Just click the link to fill out our quick, simple form and become a part of our movement to plant 250 trees in Ewing.
Sign the pledgeand then let us know when you have planted your tree(s). We will provide the encouragement and the know-how: from choosing your tree, planting it, and taking care of it.
We need your help! Help us meet our goal of planting at least 250 trees before the end of 2026. Ewing businesses: look for ways that you can participate in our 250 Trees for America’s 250th Campaign coming soon. For more information email us at ewinggreenteam@gmail.com.
Additional Resources
Check out Ewing Township’s Caring for Your Trees webpage at ewingnj.org/caring-for-your-trees for detailed information. The page covers a wide variety of tree topics including regular maintenance, pruning (say no to tree topping), mulching tips (no volcanoes!), choosing your tree, and much more.
Calling all our Ewing Friends and Neighbors: Let’s work together to show the Shabakunk Creek some much needed TLC on Saturday, April 12th 9-11 am. Pre-registration required.
Cleanup days are a good time for Ewing residents to get out into the environment and experience nature while working to protect our important natural resources. Volunteers walk along specific stream segments and pick up trash and litter. This event, run by Mayor Bert Steinman and the Ewing Green Team in partnership with The Watershed Institute has been run in a number of Ewing locations over the years resulting in the removal of over 9200 pounds of trash during this event alone.
Additionally, over the past decade, The Watershed Institute’s annual cleanups have coordinated the hard work of over 9,300 enthusiastic volunteers who have removed more than 160,000 pounds of trash from our local area communities.
The Ewing event this year will concentrate cleanup efforts at the Shabakunk Creek at the Hollowbrook Community Center and its environs, at 320 Hollowbrook Drive, Ewing.
Pre-registration is required!
This is a rain or shine event. Long pants, gloves, and closed-toed shoesare highly recommended. Please don’t forget to bring the gloves and your reusable water bottle!This is an in-person program. Masks are optional. A parent or legal guardian is required to attend with all children. To attend this event, you must agree to the terms of the waiver included during registration.
Thank You Giveaways!
Trees NOT Tees! The Watershed will continue to offer cleanup volunteers a complimentary tree sapling to say thank you for helping keep our waterways clean! They will not be offering stream cleanup t-shirts as we typically do to reduce our environmental impact and conserve limited natural resources. One cotton t-shirt takes 650 gallons of water to produce while a single oak tree can host 532 species of caterpillars, 147 species of birds, 120 species of mammals, and 60 species of reptiles and amphibians. In addition, one mature white oak can absorb over 2000 gallons stormwater per year which can reduce stormwater runoff pollution, flooding, and recharge groundwater.
Sponsors
The following generous sponsors make these cleanups possible. PSE&G, Colgate-Palmolive, American Rivers, and New Jersey Clean Communities have provided funding, volunteers, and supplies.
Event Summary
Event: Stream Cleanupat the West Branch of the Shabakunk Creek. Date: Saturday, April 12th Time: 9 – 11 am Location: Hollowbrook Community Center, 320 Hollowbrook Drive, Ewing. Cost: a couple of hours of your time Pre-registration required: Click Here
As the old year ends and the new one begins, we frequently resolve to begin anew, to do something better and be better. To kick off 2025, the Ewing Green Team and some of our supporters share some of the personal resolutions to which we have committed for the coming year. We believe these answer a question that we commonly receive: “What can one person do to make a difference?” We share them with you as examples of simple and realistic sustainable resolutions you can implement in your daily life. What would you add to the list?
These green resolutions are part of our collective commitment to embodying the principles and actions necessary to help us face issues such as climate change, environmental pollution, the biodiversity crisis, and much more. They range from the very personal to resolutions that can easily be adopted on a wider scale. We thank you for all that you do and invite you to join us to help build a better world for future generations to come.
Best wishes for a Happy & GREEN 2025!
The Ewing Green Team
Ruth Chin
“Eradicate this spring’s garlic mustard in a 20’x30′ patch along the canal by March 31.“
Kathy Barringer
“I resolve to skip the stuff when I order takeout. I will decline plastic utensils, napkins and condiment packs. My family has also resolved to discontinue use of plastic water bottles in 2025.”
Heidi Furman
“I’ve been asked by our West Trenton Garden Club to “green” our Hospitality Committee’s practices for our monthly meetings. I resolve to do this by helping to educate our members in matters of sustainability. We’ve already primed members to remember to bring their personal reusable flask to meetings.”
Devin Spence
“I will become a more conscious consumer, knowing where products are coming from, the impact they have and questioning if I really need it.”
Daniel Bowen
“My New Year’s resolution is to choose to take my bike instead of the car to the grocery store more often this year.”
Joanne Mullowney
“As a gardener who gardens for wildlife, I resolve to step up my efforts to garden sustainably. This includes removing more non-native plants from my property and replacing them with natives, particularly keystone species that provide the greatest support for wildlife relative to their biomass. I also plan on adding a couple of new native trees to my landscape and removing more lawn to provide additional soft landings under my trees for wildlife… Whatever I can do to provide habitat and support for disappearing wildlife is on my to-do list.
Evan Crumiller
“I am going to try going the first week of January without using a single piece of reusable plastic! Depending on the results I hope to continue from there, at the very least cutting way down.”
Jennifer Keyes-Maloney
Jenn has shared that she plans to become more sustainable in 2025 with the following resolutions:
“Limit clothing purchases generally, and only purchase items that do not require dry cleaning
Bundle online purchases to avoid shipping impact
Share plants with others, and recycle plant containers
Commit to reusable containers for water and coffee.”
Aaron Watson
“We should strongly encourage everyone to enjoy nature, become stewards of the outdoors and to strive for deeper engagement in the environmental sector.”
Lisa Feldman
“I resolve to become a more mindful consumer, particularly of the food that I buy. I have gotten in a bad habit of unrealistic food purchases and end up throwing a lot of food away, salad bags that go bad, fruit that I don’t eat. Prepared meals that I think will be appealing but never seems to eat? I hate that it’s ending up in the waste, it’s costly and wasteful. I hope that I can be a better planner.”
Caroline Steward
“I hope to work on a butterfly garden. I plan to reduce my lawn size by converting it into a more bird and butterfly friendly space.”
Karen Sare
“I resolve to attend more environmental webinars and also research ways Ewing can make more of an impact regarding clean communities.”
Alexis Freiling
Has a number of goals to she wants to work on. “I plan to focus on buying fruit and vegetables that are in season. This helps reduce the reliance on greenhouses to keep fruit/vegetables stocked year-round. I also pledge to remember to bring Tupperware from home when eating out at restaurants, so I can pack up my leftovers without relying on the restaurant to-go containers. And finally, I want to create a wildlife pond in my garden, plant more native plants and replace some of my non-native plants with native alternatives in my garden.”
Mark Wetherbee
“I resolve to compost food waste and provide nature support to my landscape.”
Garry M. Keel
“Please take the time to recycle the proper items. If you are not sure what is recyclable and what is regular garbage, check with Mercer County Recycling. We all have a duty to do what we can to make our world as clean and as green as possible”
Thank you to all our members for their wonderful suggestions!
We add one final suggestion. We don’t know what the future holds for us in the coming year, but the roles of the states, local governments and environmental organizations will be more critical than ever in continuing efforts to protect and clean up our environment. So, resolve to join with us in our work, you are more than welcome. Come to a meeting and help us influence others to make needed positive changes for a better tomorrow for our town, our state, our country and our world.
Recycling Update!
#5s now accepted in 2025!
The Mercer County Improvement Authority (MCIA) which manages most of the curbside recycling in Mercer County, will now be accepting #5 plastics in your curbside recycling containers in 2025.
This includes items like yogurt containers, condiment containers (think ketchup bottles), amber colored medicine bottles, plastic beverage caps, and to-go containers. See Recycle Your #5s in 2025! If you are uncertain, be sure to check for the #5 in the little triangle on the bottom of the container. As a reminder, all items must be empty, clean, and dry and should not have contained any toxic or hazardous substances.
Report Road Salt Spillage
During winter ice and snow events applying road salt helps to lower the melting point of ice, allowing sidewalks, parking lots, driveways, and roadways to stay free of ice buildup. But there is a downside. Salts are also soluble. As we put it down, it dissolves into snow melt and stormwater runoff. This works its way into our storm drains that empty into our streams and rivers. As a result, the US Geological Society reports that waterway chloride levels have doubled over the past 50 years.
A Few Road Salt Facts
Salt doesn’t “go away” and is not removed by traditional water treatment plants.
Fish and plants don’t like salty water, it is toxic to freshwater animals. It is also toxic to plant life, and the soil as it builds up.
Humans don’t like it either. Our drinking water gets salty when chloride concentrations are over 250 mg/L.
Salt harms our infrastructure, corroding metal and concrete resulting in damage to our roads, bridges, and personal vehicles as well.
How You Can Help
Reduce salt use: shovel right after it snows and then salt sparingly if needed.
Remove excess salt after the salt has done it’s work.
Consider environmentally friendly alternatives such as cheese brine, beet juice and sand.
Help the Ewing Green Team in monitoring the impacts of road salt by participating in the annual New Jersey Salt Watch.
Report road salt spills on Ewing Township roads using our reporting form here. This will help the Public Works Department to remove the excess as required by NJ statute and keep our community safe.
Township Sustainability Reminder for EV Owners
If you have an electric vehicle or are considering purchasing one, Ewing Township has made recharging your vehicle more convenient with four charging stations now online at Ewing municipal locations! One ChargePoint dual port level two charger is located at the Hollowbrook Community Center (in front of the pool), and two ChargePoint dual port level two chargers are located at the Municipal Building – one in the front lot on the lower level, and the other is in the rear lot on the upper level. There is a Livingston Energy Charger by BTC dual port level two charging station at the Station 30 Fire Company at 1666 Pennington Rd. in the parking lot in the rear of the building.
Electric vehicle owners are encouraged to use these charging stations while they conduct business at the municipal building, enjoy the pool or a program at the Community Center, or visit the Construction Office to apply for a permit, or whether they’ve simply found Ewing in an EV map while on the go.
Happy New Year!
May your 2025 be filled with joy and success and may we all come together to work for a healthier, greener Ewing!
Just over a week ago on a cold and damp Saturday morning on April 13th, the Green Team, Environmental Commission, and The Watershed Institute partnered to perform a cleanup of the Shabakunk Creek at Ewing’s Hollowbrook Community Center and its environs. This event was a part of a Stream Cleanup held every spring where volunteers from local municipalities come together to remove trash and debris from our local waterways to protect and preserve essential wildlife habitat, safeguard our water quality, help control flooding, and engage the citizenry in the beautification and care of our local environment.
This marks The Watershed’s 18th annual cleanup in local watersheds and the 5th in which Ewing participated. Over the past decade, 8,700 enthusiastic volunteers have removed more than 152,000 pounds of trash from our communities.
Our haul this year totaled 1855 pounds of trash, removed by the 56 volunteers who braved the cold and drizzle. The most commonly found items included cardboard, glass bottles, and plastics. Special finds this year were air conditioner parts, a rusty bike, deer stand, lots of concrete (construction) waste, a mailbox, trash cans, a car bumper, bike crossing road sign, seed spreader, seat cushion, half of a ninja blender, a traffic cone, and chicken wire fence.
Ewing had the most pounds of trash collected for that first weekend of cleanups and we ranked 2nd in the number of volunteers who braved the cold and rain. We thank everyone who so generously gave of their time at this event: local students, scout groups, corporate groups, families and, of course, our friends at The Watershed for organizing this once again and including us in this critical effort in watershed protection.
About The Watershed Institute
The Watershed Institute is a non-profit organization committed to keeping water clean, safe, and healthy. They wok to protect and restore Central New Jersey water and natural environment through conservation, advocacy, science, and education.
During winter ice and snow events applying road salt helps to lower the melting point of ice, allowing sidewalks, parking lots, driveways, and roadways to stay free of ice buildup. But there is a downside. Salts are also soluble. As we put it down, it dissolves into snow melt and stormwater runoff. This works its way into our storm drains that empty into our streams and rivers. As a result, the US Geological Society reports that waterway chloride levels have doubled over the past 50 years.
Sustainable Ewing Green Team 
