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2025: Year in Review

Here's a look back at all of the activities that the SCMUA-WRWMG accomplished in 2025!

New Grant Funding and Awards

• In 2025, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation awarded the SCMUA-WRWMG two grants, one from the National Coastal Resilience Fund ($194,822.73) and the other from the Delaware Watershed Conservation Fund ($428,534.37). This funding will help the SCMUA-WRWMG expand the riparian reforestation buffer at the Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge and implement a backyard best management practice program for homeowners in the Paulins Kill Watershed lake communities.

• NJ Department of Agriculture provided SCMUA-WRWMG with $30,000 of funding to develop designs for agricultural composting and manure storage facilities. The designs described the site prep needs, required materials, and cost estimates for producers to build the projects.

• The NJ Department of Environmental Protection selected the SCMUA to receive the award for Outstanding Educator/Educational Program at its 2025 Recycling Awards Ceremony.

Volunteer Engagement

• The SCMUA-WRWMG worked with 338 volunteers who contributed a total of 598.5 volunteer service hours. Volunteer groups included High Point High School students, Sparta High School students, Halsted Middle School students, AmeriCorps NJ Watershed Ambassadors, the Greater Culver Lake Watershed Conservation Foundation, and Sussex County Association of Realtors Community Outreach Committee members.

• In September, the SCMUA-WRWMG welcomed Lena Ouellette to serve as the 2025-2026 AmeriCorps NJ Watershed Ambassador for the Wallkill River Watershed.

Educational Events and Trainings

• This year, 1,072 participants attended presentations and educational events led by the WRWMG.

• The SCMUA and WRWMG hosted an Earth Day educational event at the SCMUA for 265 elementary and middle school students from Pope John Middle School (Sparta), McKeown Elementary School (Hampton), Hardyston Elementary School (Hardyston), and Merriam Avenue School (Newton).

• SCMUA-WRWMG also helped organize Sparta Township’s Earth Day Fair at Sparta Middle School. 17 different exhibitors participated in the event.

• Kristine Rogers and Dawn Latincsics created a joint display at the NJ State Fair to highlight the WRWMG’s Culver Brook Preserve restoration project and the SCMUA’s recycling initiatives. The pair collaborated again at Sussex County Day to educate residents about their ecological work and hosted a series of public presentations at each branch of the Sussex County library system.

• SCMUA-WRWMG helped organize the 7th annual North Jersey Rivers Conference. The event featured 9 different workshops focused around 1) climate and habitat change, 2) land and water resiliency, and 3) community partnerships.

Riparian Reforestation

• The SCMUA-WRWMG and volunteers planted 7,000 trees and shrubs along the Clove Brook, Papakating Creek, and Culvers Creek in the Wallkill and Paulins Kill Watersheds.

• The SCMUA-WRWMG worked with TerraCycle to recycle 2,905 lbs. of polypropylene tree tubes that were removed from previous reforestation sites.

Stormwater Management

• The SCMUA-WRWMG’s AmeriCorps NJ Watershed Ambassador partnered with the Sparta Environmental Commission to host a rain barrel workshop for the public. 10 rain barrels were constructed as part of the event.

• The SCMUA-WRWMG is participating in NJ Salt Watch, a statewide stream monitoring effort to assess the detrimental impact that road salt applications can have on local water quality and in-stream wildlife.

Agricultural Restoration

• The SCMUA-WRWMG’s Agricultural Outreach Specialist worked with USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service to plan, design, and install agricultural best management practices at local farms, including 1) erosion control practices like diversions, grassed and stone-lined waterways, and rock chutes, 2) livestock pipeline and rotational grazing systems, 3) grade stabilization structures, 4) agricultural chemical mixing facilities, and 5) waste storage facilities.