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Post a commentNew Jersey students help shine some light on environmental advocacy
Students across the state of New Jersey are sharing bright ideas for sustainable energy through a compact florescent light bulb distribution project led by Project Porchlight.
The statewide distribution is supported financially by New Jersey’s Clean Energy program and the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities.
Project Porchlight is a campaign started by One Change, a nonprofit based in Canada dedicated to protecting the environment and educating the public on ways to do so.
The name Project Porchlight is to call attention to the organization’s goal to promote the use of energy-efficient light bulbs in light fixtures that burn the most hours.
According to Project Porchlight’s southern New Jersey regional manager Townsend Wentz, CFL bulbs use 75 percent less energy and can last up to seven years.
The effort does not promote a particular brand of CFL bulb or store, he said.
According to Project Porchlight communications coordinator Charisse Tyus, the bulbs contain a small amount of mercury but are safe, have been on the market for over 20 years, and should be recycled at stores such as Home Depot and IKEA. A complete listing of recycling locations is available on the organization’s Web site.
A CFL distribution program was held in Vermont and a Project Porchlight program is currently being held in Washington state. So far in New Jersey, about 225,000 light bulbs were distributed and the organization has a goal to distribute over 700,000 by the end of November.
College students from Rutgers State University’s Newark, New Brunswick and Camden campuses and students from Drew University, Montclair State University, William Patterson University and Richard Stockton College participated in the effort. Rutgers Camden students handed out light bulbs on three different occasions in August, September and October to students and their parents on move-in days and during college tours. So far, about 500 light bulbs have been distributed by Rutgers Camden students.
New Jersey Public Interest Research Group (PIRG) Campus organizer for Camden Rutgers Jasmine Rivera worked with Rutgers students to hand out the bulbs and CFL information on campus this fall. She was happy to work with and share the information about environmental sustainability with college students.
New Jersey PIRG works on a state, federal and community level to promote information and legislation on issues such as global warming, hunger and homelessness, and affordable higher education.
“Historically, students have always been in the forefront of movements that have [an] impact on the country. It’s important to have students with us on this, because they are the future generation,” Rivera said.
Through the Project Porchlight initiative, students educated the community about using CFL light bulbs, renewable energy and weatherizing their homes.
“If we all pitch in, little things like this can make a big impact,” Rivera said.
Wentz said Project Porchlight is attempting to shine a light on communities throughout the state by gathering volunteers from municipal offices, civic associations, environmental committees, youth groups, scout groups, churches, gardening clubs and schools.
Project Porchlight has a small group of full-time professionals that speak with homeowners in local communities and offer the CFL bulbs but citizen-volunteers are needed.
“The effort began as a way to spread energy conservation from neighbor to neighbor and enable individuals to make simple changes that would help all of us conserve energy and help the environment as a result,” Wentz said.
The organization decided to involve students because of their interest in the green movement.
“Students are enthusiastic and will carry the concepts for the rest of their lives,” Wentz said.
In addition to working with college students, Project Porchlight allowed high school students to serve as stationary volunteers at a local Moorestown environmental festival held by STEM. STEM stands for Saving The Environment of Moorestown (STEM).
The open space festival, titled “STEM Steps Out,” was held Oct. 11 at Strawbridge Lake in Moorestown and allowed local Moorestown High School students to pass out Project Porchlight bulbs to the community and deliver the message of energy conservation.
Project Porchlight’s volunteer outreach coordinator Suzy Sherbine said the organization is currently making efforts to expand its reach in Burlington County. “Any time we have high school kids taking initiatives to man tables at an environmental event really says a lot about the environment that exists in schools and the support from the kids themselves. It takes confidence and invested interest and time,” Sherbine said.
Vice president of STEM Kathy Carswell involves the Moorestown High School Environmental Club members on the STEM’s board each year and decided involving high school students in the effort would be an educational experience.
The students were trained by Project Porchlight to hand out and talk about the bulbs, and they tried to gather more volunteers for the effort.
Moorestown High School environmental club president and Project Porchlight volunteer Maddie Alpert, 16, volunteered at the STEM Steps Out event.
The high school junior was happy to interact with the community about a cause she believes in.
“I felt like I was making a difference. Usually in the club we do things within school, but when we were giving out the bulbs, we were giving them out to people in the town. We were able to tell people how they can help the environment by changing to CFL bulbs,” she said.
Alpert, who is concerned about global warming, was happy to see that people were interested in what she and other environmental club members had to say.
In the future the Moorestown High School Environmental Club in planning to distribute more bulbs within the Moorestown area with the help of adult Project Porchlight volunteers.
For more information, visit the Web site at www.projectporchlight.org.
The statewide distribution is supported financially by New Jersey’s Clean Energy program and the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities.
Project Porchlight is a campaign started by One Change, a nonprofit based in Canada dedicated to protecting the environment and educating the public on ways to do so.
The name Project Porchlight is to call attention to the organization’s goal to promote the use of energy-efficient light bulbs in light fixtures that burn the most hours.
According to Project Porchlight’s southern New Jersey regional manager Townsend Wentz, CFL bulbs use 75 percent less energy and can last up to seven years.
The effort does not promote a particular brand of CFL bulb or store, he said.
According to Project Porchlight communications coordinator Charisse Tyus, the bulbs contain a small amount of mercury but are safe, have been on the market for over 20 years, and should be recycled at stores such as Home Depot and IKEA. A complete listing of recycling locations is available on the organization’s Web site.
A CFL distribution program was held in Vermont and a Project Porchlight program is currently being held in Washington state. So far in New Jersey, about 225,000 light bulbs were distributed and the organization has a goal to distribute over 700,000 by the end of November.
College students from Rutgers State University’s Newark, New Brunswick and Camden campuses and students from Drew University, Montclair State University, William Patterson University and Richard Stockton College participated in the effort. Rutgers Camden students handed out light bulbs on three different occasions in August, September and October to students and their parents on move-in days and during college tours. So far, about 500 light bulbs have been distributed by Rutgers Camden students.
New Jersey Public Interest Research Group (PIRG) Campus organizer for Camden Rutgers Jasmine Rivera worked with Rutgers students to hand out the bulbs and CFL information on campus this fall. She was happy to work with and share the information about environmental sustainability with college students.
New Jersey PIRG works on a state, federal and community level to promote information and legislation on issues such as global warming, hunger and homelessness, and affordable higher education.
“Historically, students have always been in the forefront of movements that have [an] impact on the country. It’s important to have students with us on this, because they are the future generation,” Rivera said.
Through the Project Porchlight initiative, students educated the community about using CFL light bulbs, renewable energy and weatherizing their homes.
“If we all pitch in, little things like this can make a big impact,” Rivera said.
Wentz said Project Porchlight is attempting to shine a light on communities throughout the state by gathering volunteers from municipal offices, civic associations, environmental committees, youth groups, scout groups, churches, gardening clubs and schools.
Project Porchlight has a small group of full-time professionals that speak with homeowners in local communities and offer the CFL bulbs but citizen-volunteers are needed.
“The effort began as a way to spread energy conservation from neighbor to neighbor and enable individuals to make simple changes that would help all of us conserve energy and help the environment as a result,” Wentz said.
The organization decided to involve students because of their interest in the green movement.
“Students are enthusiastic and will carry the concepts for the rest of their lives,” Wentz said.
In addition to working with college students, Project Porchlight allowed high school students to serve as stationary volunteers at a local Moorestown environmental festival held by STEM. STEM stands for Saving The Environment of Moorestown (STEM).
The open space festival, titled “STEM Steps Out,” was held Oct. 11 at Strawbridge Lake in Moorestown and allowed local Moorestown High School students to pass out Project Porchlight bulbs to the community and deliver the message of energy conservation.
Project Porchlight’s volunteer outreach coordinator Suzy Sherbine said the organization is currently making efforts to expand its reach in Burlington County. “Any time we have high school kids taking initiatives to man tables at an environmental event really says a lot about the environment that exists in schools and the support from the kids themselves. It takes confidence and invested interest and time,” Sherbine said.
Vice president of STEM Kathy Carswell involves the Moorestown High School Environmental Club members on the STEM’s board each year and decided involving high school students in the effort would be an educational experience.
The students were trained by Project Porchlight to hand out and talk about the bulbs, and they tried to gather more volunteers for the effort.
Moorestown High School environmental club president and Project Porchlight volunteer Maddie Alpert, 16, volunteered at the STEM Steps Out event.
The high school junior was happy to interact with the community about a cause she believes in.
“I felt like I was making a difference. Usually in the club we do things within school, but when we were giving out the bulbs, we were giving them out to people in the town. We were able to tell people how they can help the environment by changing to CFL bulbs,” she said.
Alpert, who is concerned about global warming, was happy to see that people were interested in what she and other environmental club members had to say.
In the future the Moorestown High School Environmental Club in planning to distribute more bulbs within the Moorestown area with the help of adult Project Porchlight volunteers.
For more information, visit the Web site at www.projectporchlight.org.
