Community Outreach through the Rutgers Veterans Environmental and

Technology Solutions Program

Amy Rowe, Ph.D.Jan Zientek

Rutgers Cooperative Extension

The situation

• Many waterways are impaired and deemed “unfishable.”

• Fishing bans are enacted in those rivers and streams.

• Fishermen often ignore the signage and fish anyway.

Credit : Dreamstime.com

Fish exchange concept

• A clean fish is provided after the turning in of a contaminated one

• Has been explored in several watersheds– San Francisco Bay – Lower Duwamish

• There have been no fish exchange trials in the United States.

Credit : Usresponserestoration.com

Newark fast facts

Credit : thisisnewark.wordpress.com

• Largest city in NJ with nearly than 282,000 residents

• Pop. density of 11,650/sq. mi.

• 28% of residents living below poverty line

• One murder-free month since 1966 (3/10)

The Lower Passaic River

Credit : NPR.com

• 1800s: Major center of Industrial Revolution

• Until 1970s, discharge of wastewaters was common

• Over 100 industrial facilities responsible for discharging contaminants

• These discharges and filling in of navigational channel led to a large inventory of contaminated sedimentSource : US EPA

The primary culprit

• Diamond Alkali Chemicals

• Manufactured Agent Orange – discharged manufacturing waste directly into Passaic

• Dioxin is primary by-product and main contaminant of concern

Credit : ttrade.mar.cx

Other contaminants of concern

• PCBs

• Mercury

• Pesticides

• Copper

• PAHs

• Lead

Credit : epa.gov

What’s happening today?

• Lower 17 miles of Passaic have been deemed an EPA Superfund site

• The EPA has given its record of decision on the cleanup and the solution is bank to bank dredging with capping and off-site disposal of the contaminated sediment

• Price tag = $1.38 billion

Credit : theobserver.com

In the meantime

• Fish exchange feasibility study

• Angler survey undertaken– People are fishing and consuming

their catch

• Out-of-river project to reduce human health risk during remediation of the river

Credit : AECOM

Another situation…

Military veteran unemployment

• 64% of returning veterans reported a difficult transition to civilian life after servicePrudential Financial, Inc., 2012

• 69% chose re-entering the workforce as the greatest challengePrudential Financial, Inc., 2012

• New Jersey has the 2nd highest overall unemployment rate for veterans in the nationJoint Economic Committee, 2014

www.msnbc.com

www.interviewquestions.com

Why is the transition so difficult?

• Lack of significant non-military work history and limited job search proficiency

• Translation of military skills into relevant civilian work experience is a struggle

• Employers wary of hiring vets

• Job sectors that vets tend to gravitate toward had been particularly impacted by the recession

US Congress Joint Economic Committee Chairman’s Staff, 2012, 2013

www.veteranstoday.com

Meeting needs

NEEDS of VETERANS• Training in a marketable field

• Hands-on experience

• Connections and support to succeed in finding employment or starting a business

NEEDS of COMMUNITIES• Become more sustainable

• Access to locally-grown produce

• Keep properties aesthetically-pleasing

+ =

Rutgers and the polluters

• Rutgers had been running a green job skills program for unemployed U.S. military veterans for workforce re-entry

• CPG saw an opportunity to combine the two projects

• Veterans would raise fish and distribute via the fish exchange while learning sustainable landscaping, urban agriculture, and greenhouse management as part of the training

Rutgers VETS

• Each class has 15 veterans

• Full time, Monday – Friday, 9 – 5

• Program is housed in Newark – a CSO community

• 1,000 hours of training

• Focus on:– Sustainable agriculture– Sustainable landscaping– Stormwater management– Entrepreneurship

Program participants

• 43 veterans have participated over 3 years– All are minorities; 34 men, 9 women– Many from Newark, all from Essex County

Program format

• In-class lectures provided by subject matter experts from Rutgers, industry, business fields

• Hands-on experience gained through work in the community and surrounding areas

• Networking opportunities at industry events

• Soil basics• Integrated pest

management• Organic landscaping• Intro to botany• Intro to entomology• Tree selection/care• Pests of trees/shrubs• Pruning• Weed identification• Plant pathology• Aquaponics• Greenhouse management

• Basics of stormwater• Rain gardens• Rainwater harvesting• Permeable pavement• Business plans• Marketing• Finances• Pricing• Supply chain• Venture planning• Management skills• Professionalism in the

workplace

Selected lecture topics

Fish exchange details

• The fish exchange was held once a week at a central location along the river in Lyndhurst near Nutley boat ramp (June – October). Exchanges were also offered at the VETS facility.

• Anglers exchanged contaminated fish caught from the Lower Passaic for tilapia in a pound-for-pound exchange

Fish exchange results

Metric TotalNumber of fish exchanged 157Pounds of fish exchanged 48Hours scouting the River 95

Type Number

Blue crab 2

Carp 3

Catfish 11

Eel 49

Perch 87

Whitefish 5

Total 157

VETS impact

• Community garden and greenhouse have provided 500 pounds of vegetables to a local food pantry (greens, herbs, tomatoes)

• 260 tilapia raised aquaponicallyfrom fingerlings in the greenhouse managed by the vets

• Seedlings grown by vets were distributed to local residents during community outreach events

Courtesy of Tony Bianchini

VETS impact

• Rain barrels are keeping 24,000 gallons of stormwaterper year out of Newark’s overburdened CSO system

• More than 100 trees have been planted around the City at Branch Brook Park, Brookdale Park, and at the United Way of Essex County

• A drip irrigation system at Presby Memorial Iris Gardens has lead to a 50% reduction in irrigation water use

• The rain garden at West Side Park will capture, treat, and infiltrate 28,000 gallons of runoff per year

VETS impact

Of the 12 graduates from the 2015 class:

• 3 veterans found full-time jobs landscaping

• 3 finished coursework at a community college

• 3 found work at the new aeroponics facility, AeroFarms

• 3 received advanced training in leadership roles

VETS impact

Working in the community:

• More than 400 people educated about the health risks of eating fish out of the Passaic

• Nearly 200 children taught about nutrition and basics of gardening

• More than 150 food bank recipients learned about growing food and how to make healthy smoothies from greens

• Veterans are an underserved audience and untapped resource

• Unemployed vets receive training in a marketable field with hands-on experience to re-enter the workforce

• Communities gain eager participants that grow food, educate the community, and “green” the surrounding areas

Conclusions

Acknowledgments

• Jan Zientek

• This work was funded by the Lower Passaic River Cooperating Parties Group.

Questions?

VETS Program Websitehttps://rutgersvets.org

VETS Program Facebook pagehttps://www.facebook.com/RutgersVETS

Amy RoweRutgers Cooperative Extension of Essex/Passaic Counties

908-235-1168rowe@njaes.rutgers.edu