Sustainable Jersey City (SJC), a nonprofit organization, was started in 2011 by Debra Italiano and a small group of project managers local to Jersey City. Originally launched as a modest education organization, SJC has grown over time into a robust virtual community green team hub for volunteers and businesses to come together and build a more sustainable and resilient place to live and work for the City of Jersey City. “People understood that although sustainability could be very abstract, it could also be a very personal experience used to design your life and workplace,” said Italiano. “However, when we started, folks didn’t understand the systems perspective - that all these various systems – buildings, transportation, waste, green infrastructure, social networks, governance, economics - are all inter-connected and decisions have cascading consequences. One of our primary goals is to teach systems thinking and how it relates to sustainability and resiliency planning, and ultimately to the quality of our lives.” The organization focuses on engaging individuals, neighborhood associations, and other organizations in direct outreach programs as well as facilitating volunteer-based community projects on topics such as plastic & materials recycling, composting, community solar, energy efficiency, green infrastructure, and urban forestry. Once a project team has been formed, SJC guides the team to document the steps taken so that the project can be replicated across Jersey City. In doing so, SJC effectively converts volunteers into local sustainability champions and proactive environmental stewards.
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