By Allison Perrine
MONMOUTH COUNTY – Many organizations struggled in 2020 with closures and restrictions brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.
But Clean Ocean Action (COA), a local environmental organization founded to improve New Jersey and New York’s ocean water quality, found a way to make strides despite the adjustments – and it doesn’t appear to be slowing down. From new virtual programs, to victoriously blocking the Northeast Supply Enhancement project, a $1 billion initiative to extend a natural gas footprint throughout the northeast, COA made an impact in 2020.
“I think it’s important to look for silver linings from such a devastating year of program cancelations and the pandemic, challenging people in so many ways,” said Cindy Zipf, executive director of COA.
One achievement that COA advocated for was legislation that would prohibit single-use plastics statewide. Throughout 2019 and 2020, several Two River-area municipalities enacted their own ordinances banning single-use plastic products, but on Nov. 4, 2020, the governor signed the strongest single-use waste reduction law in the country. It bans all plastic bags and foam by 2022, and limits the use of single-use plastic straws.
“It’s like no other bill in the country,” said Zipf. “It is, not only from an environmental perspective, but from a public health perspective, …a very important bill because foam is not very healthy material to eat food from.”
When the bill was passed, Zipf noted that for over 35 years, thousands of COA’s Beach Sweep volunteers have collected over 7.2 million pieces of trash, mostly plastic, from the state’s beaches.
COA also continued its pursuit to educate the youth by rolling out several programs in 2020, some virtual, so children can better understand climate change and the environment around them. That includes the Student Environmental and Advocacy Leaders (SEAL) program for underserved high school students in Monmouth County, with funding from Impact 100 Jersey Coast.
But not long after COA secured the funding for the program, it had to revamp everything to make the program work virtually rather than hands-on. It is a voluntary program open to 11 different schools from underprivileged districts. There are currently 14 students enrolled and they attend SEAL sessions twice a month via Zoom, complete “action items” and have discussions, said Kristen Grazioso, education coordinator with COA.
COA also engaged 1,173 middle school students to become ocean stewards through its virtual programs, and also advocated for environmental education into K-12 core curriculum standards, which was later approved by the state.
“Kids are anxious about the condition of the environment, of the planet. They’re very worried about the future because they’ve heard all these dire predictions of the planet and are seeking proactive ways in which to help be part of the solution,” said Zipf. “The state of New Jersey is the first state in the country to require climate change education in a core part of the curriculum across the board; it’s not just a science class.”
And it didn’t stop there. According to Zipf, some of COA’s other accomplishments in 2020 included:
• Rallying for the waterways, which vastly improved water quality in the Navesink River with COA’s citizen monitoring program and community engagement, and establishing the “Two Rivers Water Quality Citizen Reporting Form” as a tool for river watchers to help protect the waterways.
• Creating a water quality lab at COA’s headquarters to track down “poo-llution.”
• Establishing an online ECO-guide to provide residents with eco-friendly things to do on the beach or outdoors, environmental tips and action campaigns.
• Celebrating 35 years of Beach Sweeps with the Ocean is Calling event, raising about $77,000, and awarding New Jersey’s First Lady Tammy Murphy with COA’s coveted Ocean Champion award for her leadership in climate change education.
• Rallying nearly 100 students who participated in civic action to support the state’s adoption of climate change education into K-12 core curriculum standards.
• Organizing over 4,000 citizens to participate in Fall Beach Sweeps who removed hundreds of thousands of littered items from 45 beaches, including PPE for the first time.
• Increasing awareness about offshore wind to help ensure ocean protection as large-scale industrial wind facilities are built onshore and offshore.
• Assisting in drafting the strongest balloon release bill in the nation which garnered 19,000 signatures.
• Achieving a 4-star rating from Charity Navigator for the sixth consecutive year – and 12 times over the last 12 years – with a score of 99.95 percent.
And according to Zipf, plans for the new year don’t seem to be slowing down. For example, COA hopes to improve both virtual and real-world learning to maximize educational programs for students, especially in the Two River area with the Watershed Mindfulness Tool Kit.
“It’s kind of an all-ages resource,” said Alison Jones, watershed protection coordinator with COA. The tool kit is available on COA’s website and helps connect people with their local watershed and shows how many things they do impacts it. That includes water quality, recycling, conservation and more. “The other fun thing about it, being virtual, we’re kind of always open to submissions and we’re expecting some of our partners to add to it as the year goes on,” said Jones.
“It’s a virtual tool kit to provide teachers with a number of really wonderful educational activities and programming to keep kids focused and engaged in environmental learning,” said Zipf. And COA is trying to include that Watershed Mindfulness Tool Kit for the Eco-Fest event in Rumson, planned this year for June 5 at Victory Park. It is done in collaboration with the Rumson Environmental Commission “to celebrate our most unique natural resource, the two rivers,” according to Rumson’s website.
“We bring (about) 25 different organizations, environmental commissions and educational organizations to Victory Park and they do these learning lessons,” said Zipf. “It’s an integrated program to engage everyone K-12 kids, adults…and also the businesses because as a community, it’s going to be all of us engaged in the solutions.”
COA also plans to campaign for the ban of balloon launches in the region and nationally, and to support national laws to reduce plastic waste. According to Zipf, assembly members Eric Houghtaling and Joann Downey (D-11) have introduced “a very strong” balloon release prohibition law.
“Balloons filled with helium and other lighter-than-air gases make for great fun at parties, but if they’re not disposed of properly, they can pose unnecessary risks to our environment,” said Houghtaling in a statement. “Many animals, both on land and in the ocean, are attracted to their bright colors and can mistake them for food, causing severe injury or death. Many more animals become entangled by balloon strings, and can become injured or strangled to death as a result. Folks at the Jersey Shore have enjoyed balloons at celebrations and other events for decades, but it’s important that we do so responsibly, without littering or damaging the world around us.”
According to their website, the bill is not targeted at children or others who accidentally release balloons, but “Houghtaling and Downey strongly encourage any person handling a balloon to be mindful of the harm it can do to the environment.” It is, however, intended to prevent “planned releases.”
Kari Martin, advocacy campaign manager with COA, said the organization has collected data over the years through its beach sweeps and has “seen the evidence” of the harm balloons do. They have been working on municipal ordinances towns can use and pass to address the sources of pollution such as not allowing group balloon releases during events. Several gender reveals and memorial events have also been recent sources of balloon pollution.
COA and other organizations recently convinced Newark not to release balloons at its Dec. 30 event that celebrated the lives lost due to COVID in the community. The city was going to release more than 750 balloons, Martin said, as part of the event.
“Clean Ocean Action is not anti-balloon; we’re anti-balloon litter,” she said.
“Because New Jersey does have a pretty proactive environmental ethos, we hope to get the bill passed in New Jersey and then hopefully other states will pass it because obviously, all the balloons aren’t coming from New Jersey. The balloons are coming from everywhere,” said Zipf.
She added that in 2021 COA also hopes to:
• Convince Congress to permanently protect the bays from fossil fuels and the Atlantic Ocean from oil and gas drilling.
• Ensure no new ocean dumpsites are established.
• Reduce sources of “poo-llution” with the inhouse independent lab to improve water quality in the watersheds of Two Rivers, Deal Lake and, launching this year, Barnegat Bay.
• Help guide towns to be better ocean stewards with the revamped Municipal Blue Star Program, ensuring all municipalities pass stronger stormwater improvement ordinances.
• Expand Beach Sweeps to include more sites and raise awareness about the new Single Use Waste Reduction law.
• And finally, when it is safe to gather again, go forward with the grand opening of its new headquarters.
Overall, Zipf said that while 2020 was challenging in many ways, it allowed COA to create a virtual programming approach that now allows anyone to participate in its programs from anywhere.
“It required us to modify our feet on the beach, hands in the sand programs,” she said. “I think those tools provide a path forward for building and enhancing programs for the long term. It’s not like we’re going to have to give up these virtual programs as we go back to the more real-world opportunities.”
The article originally appeared in the January 14 – 20, 2021 print edition of The Two River Times.
