East Brunswick’s Environmental Program Series Receives New Grant

EAST BRUNSWICK, NJ — The Friends of the East Brunswick Environmental Commission and the East Brunswick Public Library recently received a grant to expand the award-winning "Option Green" environmental program series.

They were selected as a grantee for the American Library Association’s Resilient Communities: Libraries Respond to Climate Change initiative.

The grant will provides funding for film screenings, community dialogues and related events based on local interest.

East Brunswick Public Library is one of twenty-five libraries to receive this award.

“The Library is very happy to have the Friends as a partner on this project,” said said Melissa Hozik, Adult Programming Librarian in a press statement. “Our partnership has allowed East Brunswick residents to discuss environmental issues that face our community.”

The East Brunswick Public Library began a partnership with the Friends of the East Brunswick Environmental Commission in 2017, to offer the “Option Green” program series.

They also received a 2017 Environmental Achievement Award from the Association of New Jersey Environmental Commissions for the lecture series.

Each year there are six events, ranging from lectures featuring environmentalists in various fields to documentary screenings with facilitated discussions. Since 2017, over 600 people have attended the programs.

There are several programs planned for next year, including a documentary discussion on “Decoding the Weather Machine” with New Jersey State Climatologist and Rutgers University professor David A. Robinson on January 13, a lecture on “Sustainable Agriculture Projects in Zimbabwe” with Stockton University professor Tait Chirenje, and the presentation “Disparate Environmental Impacts: Causes and Solutions to Environmental Injustice” with Maritza Jauregui, Assistant Professor of Sustainability at Stockton University on Thursday, March 11 at 7 p.m.

“The Library and the Friends of the East Brunswick Environmental Commission are excited to offer more programming on the topics of sustainability, climate change and environmental justice in 2021,” said Hozik.

“Climate change impacts all of us and having discussions about the science and how we as a society can make changes is more important now than ever,” she said.

The library will also hold a workshop on weather emergency preparedness to help community members stay safe after weather events such as Tropical Storm Isaias.

All programs will be held virtually on Zoom.

Additional information on the program series can be found online at ilove.ebpl.org/option-green.

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