news – Sustainable Ewing Green Team

Mayor Bert Steinmann, the Ewing Green Team and the Ewing Community Affairs Department are pleased to announce the 10^th Annual Ewing Fall Spin bike tour, to be held on Saturday, September 21, 2024, starting at 8:15am. The event will start and end at Campus Town at The College of New Jersey. All proceeds from this year’s event will be donated to the Trenton Area Soup Kitchen (T.A.S.K.).

Individuals or teams, ages 16 years and older are encouraged to register early. “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 Tour Chairperson, Garry Keel. The Fall Spin registration fee is $15 for students ages 16 and older, $20 for adults (individuals 18 years or older) and $40 for a Family Plan (3 or more individuals living in the same household 16 years and older). All persons registering by September 14th will receive a T-shirt. Register through communitypass.net or call the recreation office at 609-883-1776 x 6202 for assistance. Day-of-event registration will begin at 7:45am.

Participants will enjoy a leisurely paced, 12-mile ride throughout Ewing Township neighborhoods. The tour will be escorted by Ewing Police, and rest stops and free bike inspections will be available.

The Ewing Green Team (www.ewinggreenteam.org) was established in 2009 by municipal resolution under the auspices of the Ewing Environmental Commission, and is part of the statewide Sustainable Jersey effort (www.sustainablejersey.com). The Ewing Green Team envisions a township that incorporates sustainability into the actions and decision-making processes of community members and municipal offices to create and maintain sustainable ways of living; builds strong and diverse economic opportunities; and cultivates a community that welcomes people from all walks of life.

Just over a week ago on a cold and damp Saturday morning on April 13^th, 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 5^th 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 2^nd 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.