Save the Environment of Moorestown (STEM) was notified on May 24 that its application for a New Jersey Audubon Watershed Restoration & Community Empowerment Program grant was successful.
The $40,000 grant will pay for a complete geomorphic and ecological assessment of Swede Run and its associated wetlands to identify future opportunities for targeting habitat restoration at the site and its associated wetlands, according to STEM’s Facebook page.
The funding is classified as a planning grant, with the goal of identifying habitat restoration projects that will add on to what’s already been accomplished at Swede Run. Once the projects are prioritized, STEM will pursue additional funding opportunities for the actual habitat restoration and it will partner with New Jersey Audubon throughout the term of the grant.
Different township organizations have supported STEM in its pursuit of the grant, including township council, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Moorestown Environmental Advisory Committee, the Sustainable Moorestown Green Team, Moorestown’s Department of Parks and Recreation its Open Space Advisory Committee.
“This grant is what they call a planning grant, and it’s not funding to do restoration work, it’s funding to help smaller community groups – like STEM – build capacity and develop plans to go after bigger funding, and they’ll (New Jersey Audubon) act as the mentor,” explained STEM President Mark Pensiero.
“It’s really a way to bring these grant opportunities down to a lower level …” he added. “What we decided to go after is funding to help us study and get more information about Swede Run, which is the waterway that travels adjacent to and through Swede Run Fields, the preserved property.”
STEM partnered with the township and the Fish and Wildlife Service through its Partners for Wildlife Program to convert the 75-acre fallow farm field at Swede Run Fields into a native grass and pollinator field. Planting of the field occurred in the fall of 2021 and spring 2022. The project is ongoing, with planning currently underway for wetlands enhancement on the site, according to STEM’s website.
A field sparrow at Swede Run Fields. A $40,000 grant will pay for a complete geomorphic and ecological assessment of the site and its associated wetlands to identify future opportunities for habitat restoration.
“There’s still work to be done,” Pensiero said. “The (U.S.) Fish and Wildlife has submitted applications to do wetlands restoration, so we’re going to do some restoration of vernal pools that are in that property .. This is a big deal for STEM. It’s really nice because it builds on work that we’ve previously done with (the) U.S. Fish and Wildlife, and they were very, very supportive of us going after this grant.”
The New Jersey Audubon Watershed Restoration & Community Empowerment Program invites nonprofit partners, local governments and tribal organizations to submit proposals for community-based conservation projects within the Delaware River Watershed, according to an article on New Jersey Audubon’s website.
The program is designed to support smaller organizations or those needing less than $75,000 to work on restoration and community-based projects in the watershed. New Jersey Audubon will also provide mentorship and capacity building of basin stakeholders to strengthen future applicants for the program to support larger-scale restoration initiatives either individually or with partners.
“We’re a small organization, but I think the success we had with the first project and the relationship we’ve built with (the) U.S. Fish and Wildlife really helped position us for the grant because we’ve shown we can do it,” Pensiero noted. “ … I’m so thrilled about what we’ve accomplished, and I just see (an) opportunity to just continue to make that place (Swede Run) better, not just for wildlife but for people as well.”
STEM was founded in 1972 as a grassroots organization with a mission to preserve, protect and enhance the natural environment of Moorestown for today and future generations. Its work to address local environmental issues such as water and air pollution, solid waste disposal and recycling also includes helping to preserve and protect the township’s open spaces.
“We’re at the start of something that could potentially be really, really cool,’ Pensiero enthused, “and I hope we can just build on what we’ve done in the past and just continue to make that place (Swede Run) better and a real showcase of what you can do, what can be done.”
