Working toward becoming a sustainable community is hard work.
As a community, Cherry Hill has come a long way since a group of residents approached the township in 2007 to come up with a plan to make the community more sustainable.
Sustainable Jersey, a certification program for municipalities that want to go green, formed in 2009. Lori Braunstein, executive director of Sustainable Cherry Hill, said the township became part of Sustainable Jersey’s pilot group before the program was introduced statewide the following year.
“People out there were actually doing it,” Braunstein said. “We quickly realized we wanted to be a part of it.”
The township was first certified by Sustainable Jersey at the bronze level when the program first debuted in Nov. 2009.
And in keeping with the sustainable momentum that was beginning to impact the community, Sustainable Cherry Hill, with the help of the township, was looking to take sustainability to the next level.
Last week, township officials and members of Sustainable Cherry Hill accepted an award for achieving silver-level certification at the New Jersey League of Municipalities conference.
Cherry Hill joins an elite group of seven other towns in the state that boast Sustainable Jersey’s highest recognition. In total, 96 municipalities across the state have Sustainable Jersey certification.
“I’m proud of what we’ve accomplished in the last three years, thanks in no small part to the cooperation of our township employees and citizens like those in Sustainable Cherry Hill, and I look forward to seeing continued progress as we move into the future,” said Mayor Bernie Platt.
To be certified at the bronze level, Cherry Hill needed to establish a Green Team, collect 150 points by taking steps to make the community greener and implement two of Sustainable Jersey’s seven priority actions, which required collaboration between the township and Sustainable Cherry Hill.
After being certified early on in the program’s history, the next step for Cherry Hill was to work toward achieving the silver status. To reach this next designation, 350 points were needed.
Braunstein said the team focused on outreach and education in schools and around town, which helped to bolster the number of points toward silver certification.
Sustainable Cherry Hill also held monthly meetings and discussions to introduce residents to more sustainable practices. The township also received points for hosting an environmentally friendly earth fair earlier this year, which included food waste composting, solar panels on stage, recycling, e-recycling and a shredding event.
“We wanted to educate people while not contributing to the problem,” Braunstein said.
The township also needed to document that it had completed three of the seven priority actions Sustainable Jersey requires for silver certification, which included the completion of an energy audit for municipal facilities, a green fleet inventory and a municipal carbon footprint calculation.
Braunstein said she is proud of the work that Sustainable Cherry Hill and the township have done together, but said that the work in making the community greener is far from over.
“Nobody thinks that we’re there yet. But we have taken serious action to move our community forward. We’re really motivated to do this,” Braunstein said.
Sustainable Jersey approved six municipalities at the silver level in this latest round of certifications. Two towns received the designation last year. Pam Mount, chairwoman of the Sustainable Jersey Board of Trustees, said reaching the silver level is no easy task.
“It’s quite an accomplishment to become Sustainable Jersey certified, especially at the silver level,” Mount said. “The 2011 certified towns have joined a first-rate group of municipalities that are leading the way with impressive sustainability initiatives in New Jersey while providing a model for towns across the United States.”
With the new higher designation, Braunstein said she is optimistic about Cherry Hill’s future sustainability efforts and the potential for grant funding or additional monetary aid.
“We’re really looked at favorably because we’ve already done so much. It shows us as leaders and provides greater opportunities moving forward,” she said.
Up next for Sustainable Cherry Hill is to plan a larger group meeting this spring to engage more residents from the community and talk about how to move forward. The group is also working with the school district to engage more with students, parents and teacher on how to make schools more sustainable.
