Projects Funded
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Independence through Aquaponics
Katherine, Princeton High School, Princeton, NJ / $1,650 in March 2022
Our very first grantee set a high bar with this ambitious project to spread awareness of environmental and social justice issues related to inaccessibility of fresh food in urban areas – and the enormous potential of cityscapes to absorb carbon, grow food, and combat climate change.
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Beehive for Princeton High School
Catalina, PHS / $750 in January 2023 (and $500 in October 2022 for a related research project)
Catalina is the president of Princeton High School's Bee Club and a certified beekeeper with the South Jersey Beekeeper Association. She learned that in New Jersey, specifically, many hives have been lost due to Varroa mites.
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Pollinator Garden
Maggie, Gold Award Candidate, Allendale Girl Scouts / $1,490 in August 2023
This application stood out because Maggie collaborated closely with her town to make the project possible and – importantly – to maintain it once completed.
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NJ Tree Planting with Tree-Plenish
Alanya, aSouth Orange-Maplewood (SOMA) / $2,000 in April 2024
In conjunction with the student-run nonprofit Tree-Plenish, Alanya took the lead in organizing an event to plant 900 trees throughout her community.
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Reducing the Impact of Food Waste on the Environment
Zikang, West Windsor, NJ / $2,640 in Spring 2024
Zikang proved himself to be a leader and true entrepreneur as he initiated and then grew his idea by leaps and bounds.
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Sourland Conservancy Ecological Restoration Internship
Skillman, NJ / $7,500 in Spring-Fall 2024
Green Matters was quickly convinced that sponsoring an internship for this well-run and effective nonprofit dedicated to preserving the unique ecosystem that is The Sourlands was worthwhile. Pictured are Sam Guman and Danielle Deering at a planting event in Baldpate Mountain.
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Cultivating Biodiversity and Sustainable Gardening
Arnav, Hightstown, NJ / $1,500 in Summer 2024
After attending the inaugural NJ Climate Action Summit at The Watershed Institute in May 2024 and learning about Green Matters, Arnav got to work figuring out what kind of project he could do. Given his family’s love of gardening and being stewards of the soil, the idea of a Community Seed Library didn’t take long to emerge.
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Herrontown Woods Internship
Princeton, NJ / $5,000 in Summer 2024
Green Matters funded the Friends of Herrontown Woods’ (FOHW) first summer intern. Sandy is shown here potting plants to sell in FOHW’s expanding plant nursery.
Organizations/Events Sponsored
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Hopewell Valley Regional High School
$2,200 / April 16, 2023
Guided by their teacher and champion of environmental causes, Carolyn McGrath, students from Hopewell Valley Regional HS (Hopewell, NJ) took what they were studying about the environmental and human costs of Fast Fashion and brought it to a wider audience with help from Green Matters. We arranged for the rental of a local venue to screen the film The True Cost. Afterwards an expert in sustainability from NYC, Michelle Blair Gabriel, was on stage with the students to participate in a panel discussion of issues the film raised. Time for questions from the audience was included, all of which resulted in increased awareness of this damaging and long-term trend.
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Ripple Center’s Environmental Day for its 2022-23 Fellows
$3,500 / August 10, 2023
$2,500 / Spring 2024
The Ripple Center’s mission is “To empower young people to succeed as social entrepreneurs and conscientious organizational leaders.” In other words, give them tools and resources, as well as model for them how to achieve the triple bottom line: Run a successful venture (Profit) while having ethical employment practices (People) and using natural resources responsibly (Planet).
Green Matters made it possible for their cohort of Fellows to take an Eco-Cruise with the Hackensack Riverkeeper, get a tour of The Willow School in Peapack-Gladstone, and enjoy a panel discussion and dinner at Sustainable Haus Mercantile in Summit – all while learning from each other and veteran eco-entrepreneurs who are blazing a trail for others to follow
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ANJEE Fall Conference's Climate Change & Plastic Impacts Track
$5,000 / Fall 2023
$5,000 / Fall 2024
The Alliance for New Jersey Environmental Education (ANJEE) provides a networking forum for environmental educators. These dedicated individuals devote time, energy, and resources to advance environmental education in their local, state, and global communities.
Green Matters sponsored the Climate Change track at their Fall 2023 Conference and is proud to again sponsor it in 2024. This year’s event will be held at the New Jersey School of Conservation (njsoc.org) in Sandyston, NJ.