Urge your lawmakers to support SR68 and AR232 to help fund the School of Conservation

Urge lawmakers to invest in the New Jersey School of Conservation

Urge your lawmakers to support funding for the New Jersey School of Conservation

Conversations are happening right now in the state legislature about the future of the New Jersey School of Conservation — the nation's oldest and largest environmental education center that's taught more than 400,000 children over the course of seven decades.

Last year, a group of dedicated local leaders worked with the Murphy administration to keep the School from getting shut down for good during the financial crisis. Now we're facing another huge moment with our state lawmakers making big decisions in the next few days with a budget resolution that will determine how many kids the School can serve in the years ahead.

After all that our state's kids have been through with remote learning, now is not the time to scale back investing in an institution that teaches students about the environment, gives them access to the outdoors, and helps them create lifelong memories.

The legislature must finalize the budget by June 30. Urge your lawmakers to support budget resolutions SR68 and AR232 to help fund the School of Conservation.

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Please support funding for the New Jersey School of Conservation

Dear lawmakers,

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As your constituent, I urge you to support the $3 million budget resolution to fund the management, operation of programs, and maintenance of the building and grounds of the New Jersey School of Conservation (NJSOC).

The mission of the NJSOC is to cultivate and encourage responsible environmental stewardship through education, providing the tools to resolve persistent environmental problems and build stronger, healthier, and more resilient communities. As a nationally renowned leader in environmental education for over 70 years, the NJSOC has served thousands of researchers, graduate students, environmental educators, and students. It makes no sense to close a school poised to deliver the training and support necessary to make New Jersey a national leader in climate change education, especially now that First Lady Tammy Murphy has announced plans for our state to become the first in the country to incorporate climate change into its K-12 curriculum. This promise could remain unfulfilled by the closure of this fixture in environmental education unless we take action now.

Previously, funding for the New Jersey School of Conservation was provided by the legislature to Montclair State University to manage the NJSOC. Given that MSU has relinquished their involvement in NJSOC, funding should be transferred to the Friends of the NJSOC to support operations and maintenance of the school. This support from the state legislature would fulfill the intent of the NJSOC’s founding legislation.

I therefore respectfully ask that the legislature support a $3,000,000 appropriation in the 2022 FY budget to the Friends of the NJSOC to fund important environmental educational programs, teaching supplies, educational equipment, the housing of students, teachers and faculty, grounds, building and lake maintenance for the New Jersey School of Conservation.

Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely, [Your information here]