Rutgers Cooperative Extension Faculty and Staff in the ANR Department work in diverse areas of Agriculture, Horticulture, and Natural Resources. The Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources serves the residents of New Jersey through the development and dissemination of research-based information. Our goal is to teach people new skills and information so they can make better informed decisions and changes in themselves, their businesses, and personal lives. Broadly defined, our programs assist commercial businesses, governmental agencies, and residents through personal or group requests for assistance, information and consultation on issues related to agriculture, the environment, and natural resources management. Trying to ID some flying insects? Here's a helpful article.

In celebration of the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, Rutgers Cooperative Extension announces its webinar series “Earth Day at Home”. This series will focus on steps everyone can take to protect the environment. Join us on Mondays at 6:30 p.m. to learn from experts at Rutgers Cooperative Extension. These live, interactive sessions will be 1 hour. To join you need either a computer, tablet, or smartphone with speakers. Every week we will cover small actions that together reduce negative impacts on the environment. Monday, May 11th join us for Home Vegetable Gardening for Food, Fun and Stress Management. We can all do our part to take actions that make our homes more sustainable, from environmentally friendly lawn care, to composting, to reducing plastic waste. These actions, more than ever, start at home.

The Incredible Edible Facebook "events" page posts an assortment of virtual learning opportunities for group members and page followers. Master gardeners, farmers, educators and online retailers are offering a variety of courses about starting and nurturing home vegetable gardens then, preserving or cooking your bounty. Join Gardening TV Online for the Victory Kitchen Series: Leafy Green Vegetables live webinar at noon today to enter the new world of leafy green vegetables and how to include these nutrient-packed veggies into a healthy eating plan. On Tuesday, June 30th and Thursday, July 1st enjoy a Free Virtual Nutrition and Cooking Class hosted by the Food Bank of South Jersey. Check out lots of online food security events here.

This video from Steve Fiedler of Go Green Galloway and the Atlantic Cape May Sustainable Jersey Hub shows how a residential rain garden works to manage stormwater while building habitat with native plants. This Sustainable Jersey Hub support Green Team communities in Atlantic and Cape May County. The first Sustainable Jersey Regional Hubs were launched in 2013. The hubs are independent; they organize and align themselves to the sustainability goals of their region. Active hubs range from multi-municipal green team collaboratives, to county planning departments taking the lead on convening their own municipalities, to grassroots leaders with the desire to see a more regional collaboration within their area. Sustainable Jersey provides financial support, technical assistance, guidance and networking opportunities for the hubs. 

Members of Merchantville's Green Team, Garden Club and Incredible Edible met by virtual conference call on Tuesday, March 24th. The main agenda item was the need to revise plans and postpone the Earth Fair on May 9th. The attendees decided that postponement until the Fall rather than cancelation made the most sense then, assigned outreach tasks to inform accepted vendors and media outlets. Members also reviewed updates on existing projects, including the effort towards Bronze certification with Sustainable Jersey and, will keep the public updated on any future changes to Earth Fair.