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Moorestown Earns Bronze Certification With Sustainable Jersey

Moorestown was one of 59 municipalities statewide certified this year, including five more in Burlington County.

Moorestown has been recognized for its commitment to the environment.

It is among 59 towns that achieved Sustainable Jersey certification this year, Sustainable Jersey representatives announced Tuesday morning.

Moorestown achieved Bronze Certification, meaning it has implemented significant first steps in a number of categories en route to becoming a fully sustainable town, according to sustainablejersey.com.

Towns must show they have reached at least 150 points to be recognized at this level. To reach Silver Certification, a town must reach at least 350 points.

Find out what's happening in Moorestownwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Each community must also establish a “Green Team” and select two of the seven priority actions to reach Bronze Certification.

Priority actions include energy audits for municipal buildings, a municipal carbon footprint, a sustainable land use pledge, a natural resource inventory, a water conservation ordinance, a fleet inventory, and/or Energy Star Portfolio Manager.

Find out what's happening in Moorestownwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

David Hess, vice chair of the Sustainable Moorestown steering committee, said the group was able to achieve certification thanks to a large group of dedicated individuals.

"In Moorestown, we're very blessed with a community volunteer base," he said.

Hess explained that certification will "open up a lot more doors for grants," as well as give the group leverage to raise awareness of its mission, which focuses on promoting "the social equity, economic vitality, and environmental quality of Moorestown."

Hess said the group has already been successful in securing a grant from PSE&G to pay for 80 percent of the cost of improved lighting at the Church Street Recreation Center, a second grant that paid for updating the township's Environmental Resource Inventory (incorporated into the master plan), and has received approval for a third for environmentally friendly enhancements to the new town hall.

Of the 399 communities that participate in Sustainable Jersey, 137 are now certified.

"We are so proud of the significant increase in the number of towns that applied and achieved Sustainable Jersey certification so far this year,” said Donna Drewes, who co-directs the organization with Randall Solomon. “Since 2009, when Sustainable Jersey was publicly launched, we have worked with public and private partners to develop local best practices for over 100 sustainability actions, committed over $1.5 million in small grants to 183 community projects in 21 counties, and watched as nearly 400 municipalities pledged to join our movement.”

Six Burlington County towns were certified this year, including Maple Shade, Southampton, Burlington Township, Mount Holly and Bordentown. Bordentown received Silver Certification.

Mayors from all 59 towns will accept their award at the Sustainable Jersey Annual Awards Luncheon at the New Jersey League of Municipalities’ Conference on Nov. 19.


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