Monmouth Beach School District Taps EDF Climate Corps to Save Energy

Monmouth Beach – Monmouth Beach School District has been matched with an Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) Climate Corps Fellow who will provide expertise and support for evaluation, planning and implementation of projects that will help improve the energy performance of our facilities.

During the 2019-2020 school year, a Green Team was formed in the district that included staff members, administration, Board members and parents. The goals of the team included creating a safer and more environmentally conscientious setting for the staff and students of Monmouth Beach School. In order to do so, the team conducted a collaborative examination of the building and grounds to identify areas in need of more attention and to brainstorm possible ways to enhance the quality of daily life in the school community. After successfully making progress in the area of recycling, which included a grant being provided by the Sustainable Jersey Schools Program, the team realized that more progress was possible. In order to take the collective efforts to the next level, the team applied to receive input from a fellow who will hopefully provide direction and guidance for the district. The first area of focus for the team and their fellow will be energy usage and possible avenues for more practical and cost effective means.

This technical assistance program has been made possible through funding provided by New Jersey Natural Gas. “We are proud of our partnership with Sustainable Jersey – now in its 11th year – to help connect communities with the resources they need to make wise energy choices,” said Anne-Marie Peracchio, director of conservation and clean energy policy for New Jersey Natural Gas. “The host towns and schools will benefit greatly from this unique opportunity as the Climate Corps Fellows provide guidance and insight to help them address challenges and plan customized energy-efficiency solutions that help advance their sustainability goals.” Since 2015, Sustainable Jersey, with the support of New Jersey Natural Gas, has placed 15 EDF Fellows to assist a total of 21 schools/school districts and 19 municipalities.

Since the Climate Corps program’s inception in 2008, over 1,000 graduate students have been placed in more than 500 leading organizations spanning the U.S. and China. Together they have helped identify energy savings worth more than $1.6 billion, the equivalent of 2.3 million metric tons in carbon emissions.

The EDF Fellows will begin work in June 2020. To accommodate COVID-19 restrictions, the Fellows will work remotely. Sustainable Jersey provides guidance to the EDF Fellows to help them advise participating schools and municipalities about resources specific to New Jersey, as well as initiatives that earn points toward the Sustainable Jersey certification program. In particular, the EDF Fellows help the towns and school districts access the many incentives available through New Jersey’s Clean Energy Program and the New Jersey Natural Gas SAVEGREEN Project. In recent years the EDF Fellows have helped the host towns and school districts reduce their own energy usage and also promote the energy efficiency projects within their communities, including the SAVEGREEN Project’s zero-percent on-bill repayment programs that make energy efficiency more accessible for customers.

“Now more than ever, we need our municipal and school district leaders to emphasize and more importantly to showcase how solving climate change also builds a healthier, stronger economy and a more resilient future for all,” said Sustainable Jersey Executive Director Randall Solomon. “Over the course of the summer, EDF Fellows will get energy efficiency projects on the fast track to accomplishment – simultaneously lowering energy costs and environmental impact.”

Learn more about what the EDF Climate Corps Fellows have accomplished in previous years for New Jersey schools and municipalities: NJ EDF Climate Corps Project Reports. The municipalities and school districts that will be paired with an EDF Fellow funded by New Jersey Natural Gas are:
Atlantic Highlands Elementary School District

Bradley Beach Borough

Eatontown Borough

Freehold Borough

Henry Hudson Regional School (Highlands)

Little Silver Borough

Monmouth Beach School District

Mountain Lakes Borough

Long Beach Township

Monmouth Beach is a single school district located in northeast Monmouth County. The district services approximately 240 students across all grade levels from PK – 8 along with staff of roughly 50 educators inclusive of a Superintendent/Principal, Assistant Principal/Supervisor of Special Services and roughly 30 certified teachers and support staff as well.

About Sustainable Jersey

Sustainable Jersey is a non-profit that provides tools, training and financial incentives to support communities as they pursue sustainability programs. Currently, 81 percent or 455 of New Jersey’s 565 municipalities are participating in the municipal certification program and 352 school districts and 966 schools are participating in the Sustainable Jersey for Schools certification program.

About EDF Climate Corps

EDF created the Climate Corps program (https://business.edf.org/categories/climate-corps/) to help businesses overcome the barriers to sustainability. Since 2008, Climate Corps has recruited hundreds of highly-skilled, top graduate students and placed them within organizations as hands-on sustainability help. The program is a win-win-win, with the students gaining unparalleled professional experience, the organizations profiting from sustainability initiatives and furthering the EDF mission of solving the world’s greatest environmental problems.

About New Jersey Resources

New Jersey Resources (NYSE: NJR) is a Fortune 1000 company that, through its subsidiaries, provides safe and reliable natural gas and clean energy services, including transportation, distribution, asset management and home services. NJR is composed of five primary businesses:

New Jersey Natural Gas, NJR’s principal subsidiary, operates and maintains over 7,400 miles of natural gas transportation and distribution infrastructure to serve over half a million customers in New Jersey’s Monmouth, Ocean and parts of Morris, Middlesex and Burlington counties.

NJR Clean Energy Ventures invests in, owns and operates solar and onshore wind projects with a total capacity of more than 315 megawatts, providing residential and commercial customers with low-carbon solutions.

NJR Energy Services manages a diversified portfolio of natural gas transportation and storage assets and provides physical natural gas services and customized energy solutions to its customers across North America.

NJR Midstream serves customers from local distributors and producers to electric generators and wholesale marketers through its 50 percent equity ownership in the Steckman Ridge natural gas storage facility and its stake in Dominion Midstream Partners, L.P., as well as its 20 percent equity interest in the PennEast Pipeline Project.

NJR Home Services provides service contracts as well as heating, central air conditioning, water heaters, standby generators, solar and other indoor and outdoor comfort products to residential homes throughout New Jersey.

NJR and its more than 1,000 employees are committed to helping customers save energy and money by promoting conservation and encouraging efficiency through Conserve to Preserve® and initiatives such as The SAVEGREEN Project® and The Sunlight Advantage®.

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