The project’s focus will be the creation and implementation of a sustainable landscape master plan in the Manitou Park section of South Toms River Borough, a community identified as being overburdened. Project work will include mapping out and designing resiliency and environmental improvements with implementation to follow. The project will also include an ongoing stewardship and management plan to maintain the improvement for the long-term benefit of the community.
"We believe stronger communities make us a stronger company,” said Steve Westhoven, President and CEO of New Jersey Resources. “Giving back and investing in the communities we serve is a core value of our company. Together with the state’s largest university, this project gives us an opportunity to support the residents of Manitou Park and make a difference in the community by improving resiliency, providing access to green spaces and reducing negative impacts on ecosystems and habitats.”
Centering on an affordable housing development built by Homes for All, an Ocean County-based affordable housing nonprofit, the project will engage graduate students from Rutgers University’s Landscape Architecture Program to develop a sustainable landscape master plan for the area – a first-of-its-kind for the program.
The efforts of the Vibrant Communities project at Manitou Park project will be:
- Enhancing community green spaces through the design and installation of sustainable landscaping and natural features in the area
- Improving stormwater management to improve resiliency to local flood risks and reduce pollution from run-off flowing to the Toms River – a tributary of the Barnegat Bay
- Promoting local environmental stewardship and engagement from community stakeholders and private sector partners (including NJR) for beautification and local improvement projects
- Providing graduate students with direct experience in community and regulatory engagement through the development and implementation of a project
“Rutgers’ Vibrant Communities program is a collaboration between our corporate partners, Rutgers graduate students and New Jersey communities,” said Professor Holly Nelson, Graduate Program Director of the Department of Landscape Architecture at Rutgers University. “The program reflects the Landscape Architecture Department’s commitment to graduate research and development and its mission to creatively steward the environment through collective action. Students contribute knowledge, innovation and creativity and receive real life experience. They apply disciplinary theory in practice and shape the environment through outreach and collaboration in diverse cultural, social and environmental communities. This project is a blueprint for promoting environmental stewardship, community enhancements and educational experiences in overburdened communities.”
Today’s announcement builds on NJR’s long history of philanthropic support – both financial and volunteerism – to local communities and nonprofits in the areas in which it operates. Since 2008, NJR has partnered with Homes for All and provided over $275,000 to create affordable housing opportunities in Ocean County. This support includes the ongoing or completed construction of 228 affordable homes in underserved communities – nearly 150 of which are located in Manitou Park. The community is also located adjacent to the New Jersey Audubon’s Hovnanian Sanctuary, which is another beneficiary of support through the CCI.
