ENVIRONMENTAL BUSINESS
Groundwork Elizabeth Receives an Investment in City Sustainability
Compiled by John Joseph Parker Contributing Editor
Support from the Bezos Earth Fund , created by a commitment of $ 10 billion from Amazon Founder Jeff Bezos , will help Groundwork USA fight climate change and protect nature . For more than two decades , Groundwork USA-affiliated Trusts have worked with residents to transform neglected urban land and waterways into community assets that foster connection , health and resilience .
Groundwork USA is a network of affiliated non-profits , called Groundwork Trusts , working to improve the environment in cities across the nation .
Groundwork Elizabeth , the only New Jerseybased Groundwork Trust , was founded in 2003 to build a more sustainable and equitable community . Its programs include sustainable agriculture ; expanding and upkeeping the 2.5-mile Elizabeth River Trail ; highlighting green careers for young people in the community ; and working with local residents to implement brownfield transformation and land-reuse projects , transforming environmental liabilities into community assets .
Groundwork Elizabeth is also launching a Climate Safe Elizabeth Task Force to bring the community together to learn about the effects of climate change , specifically flooding and heat islands . More than 75 employees from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection volunteered for the city ’ s 2021 Earth Day Event , building 130 raised beds , doing slight vegetation control and other garden landscaping projects at the Groundwork Elizabeth MicroFarm .
The new MicroFarm at the Elmora Branch Library is another important project , as it serves as an educational resource , providing service-based learning opportunities for the surrounding community .
In December 2021 , the Bezos Earth Fund announced the award of a $ 6 million grant to the Groundwork network . Funding from this initiative will accelerate efforts to address the effects of the climate crisis through ambitious nature-based , community-driven resilience projects that engage residents in the process of building safer and healthier neighborhoods .
Jonathan Phillips , executive director of the Elizabeth-based Groundwork Trust , is looking forward to working with Groundwork USA to identify initiatives that can help address climate-concerns in New Jersey ’ s fourth-largest city .
“ As an example of the urgency of climate crisis , this past October , our community was inundated with flooding from Hurricane Ida , exacerbated by man-made factors ,” says Phillips . “ People lost their lives . We are eager to put programming in place that can help mitigate these threats from happening again in the future .”
Launched in 2020 , the Bezos Earth Fund is a financial commitment to fund scientists , activists , NGOs , and private-sector entities that are taking critical action to combat the climate crisis , preserve and protect the natural world and support climate justice . With support from the Bezos Earth Fund , Groundwork USA will work with individual Trusts to tackle environmental restoration projects that provide tangible climate resilience benefits to residents of climate-vulnerable neighborhoods .
Bezos Earth Fund benefactor Jeff Bezos
Stephen Burrington , executive director for Groundwork USA , is looking forward to the impact this funding will have on programming in Trust communities , “ The harm caused by the climate crisis is growing exponentially in communities across the Groundwork network . With support from the Bezos Earth Fund , Groundwork Trusts will leverage their deep personal knowledge of the challenges faced by residents in frontline communities to accelerate their response to the climate crisis with the level of urgency demanded of us at this moment .”
Photo : Amazon . com
Groundwork USA team in Paterson , New Jersey 32 COMMERCE www . commercemagnj . com
Photo : Groundwork USA
Groundwork Elizabeth MicroFarm
Photo : Groundwork USA