Earth Day In Newark: Tree Planting, Awareness, Shredding, Litter

NEWARK, NJ — The following news release comes courtesy of the City of Newark. Find out how to post announcements or events to your local Patch site.

Mayor Ras Baraka recently announced that the City of Newark will observe Earth Day 2024 by partnering with other organizations to host four separate events to plant trees, promote sustainability awareness, shred paper, and remove litter.

“My administration and the entire city of Newark are committed to promoting sustainability,” said Mayor Baraka. “I am proud of the progress we’ve made, and how we seize Earth Day each year as an opportunity to raise awareness and address challenges in our neighborhoods. I thank our partners for supporting us in these four events as we continue our community dedication to thinking globally while acting locally.”

The four events planned are:

Friday, April 19: Newark Municipal employees will volunteer to plant up to 40 trees procured by the city from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The trees will be planted on the grounds of the Springfield branch of the Newark Public Library and the New Community Corporation playground on Hayes Street between 14th and 15th Avenue and on adjacent streets. In the event of inclement weather, the plantings will take place on Tuesday, April 23.

Monday, April 22: The City will join with The Urban Air Journal Outreach at Mulberry Commons in downtown Newark from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. to host “Cypher for the Sphere Volume II.” The event will offer both a panel and a hip-hop cypher discussion on environmental issues, music by legendary DJs Awesome 2, and performance art including rap, hip-hop dancing, and live painting. Information and promotional material will be provided at environmental agency and organization display booths.

Monday, April 22: The annual “Slam Dunk the Junk” program will see volunteers from various companies and organizations meet at the Department of Public Works’ Recycling facility at 62 Frelinghuysen Avenue at 8 a.m. There they will be issued supplies including rakes, brooms, shovels and trash bags and bussed to pre-selected sites for litter removal until noon. The New Jersey Clean Communities Council, Inc., is co-sponsoring the event. For more information, or to register your team, contact Brenda Anderson at the Division of Recycling, at (973) 733-6685 or e-mail AndersonB@ci.newark.nj.us. Deadline to pre-register is Monday, April 15.

Monday, April 22: Department of Public Works will hold a Paper Shredding Event from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., at their Recycling facility at 62 Frelinghuysen Avenue. Newark residents can destroy personal documents that could leave them vulnerable to identity theft, and recycle paper to protect the environment. This event is not open to businesses.

Since the establishment of Earth Day, the City of Newark has been observing the ecological milestone each year and supported urban farming economic initiatives, community agriculture, and farmers’ markets. The Baraka administration has initiated many environmental and sustainability programs and policies including NewarkGo, a program that reduces automobile traffic by providing residents and visitors with 2,000 affordable battery-powered scooters and bicycles throughout the City. It has attracted 75,000 individual riders and more than 1 million rides since its launching in 2021.

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