Programs & Events

The Mendham Township Environmental Commission encourages residents to attend the online program, “Backyard Forestry in 90 Minutes.”

On Thursday, September 21, 7:00 – 8:30 pm, Jean Epiphan, Agriculture & Natural Resources County Agent III, Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Morris County, will lead the virtual program, “Beech Leaf Disease: what’s at stake in New Jersey and strategies to mitigate impacts.

Backyard Forestry in 90 Minutes Zoom Link
New Jersey Forestry Association

**“Backyard Forestry in 90 Minutes” is a free educational program series sponsored by New Jersey Forestry Association, State forestry Services & Rutgers Cooperative Extension.  The program, now online, takes place on the Third Thursday of every month from 7:00 – 8:30 pm.

2023 Beech Leaf Disease
Dark bands show damaged leaf tissue from beech leaf disease. (Photo Credit: Jean Epiphan)

Join Us as We Volunteer to Help Cleanup Our Environment!

The Mendham Township Environmental Commission is once again participating in the Raritan Headwater’s Stream Cleanup Event. Volunteers are needed. The date is Saturday, April 15 from 9:00 am to 12:00 noon.  Our site is #11 at the Tempe Wick Reserve off of Tempe Wick Road.  Registration is required and you can sign up on the Raritan Headwaters Page.

Raritan Headwaters will provide trash bags, gloves and hand sanitizer. 

Come on out for an hour or two and help keep Mendham Clean.

2023 Stream Cleanup

Mendham Township Environmental Commission Presents the Fall Photography Competition Winners

Congratulations to the winners of the 2022 Environmental Commission's Fall Photography Competition!  Winners will receive prize certificates, and coupons kindly donated by Harmony Brookside Gift Store!

2022 Photography Winners

Mendham Township Environmental Commission: 3rd Annual Fall Photography Competition

The Mendham Township Environmental Commission presents its 3rd Annual Fall Photography Competition.  Submit your photographs taken in our beautiful Garden State.

Entrants must be students at a Mendham school or a resident of Mendham. Submit entries by email to envcphoto@gmail.com. Deadline: NOVEMBER 30, 2022. Winners will each receive a certificate and prize.

For more information on requirements and full details on the contest theme and categories, please review the flyer:

2022 Photography
2022 PHoto

The Nature of Mendham to Host a Native Plant Garden Tour and Plant Giveaway and Sale

On Saturday, September 17 from 10:00 am - Noon, The Nature of Mendham will host a native plant garden tour at 10 Washington Valley Road. This property is certified as Wildlife Habitat by the National Wildlife Federation. The first 30 residents to attend will receive a free Swamp Milkweed plant. Toadshade Wildflower Farm will also be selling other native plants which are all propagated and grown in their nursery in Frenchtown, NJ.

Mendham Township and Mendham Borough Environmental Commissions are working on certifying the Mendhams as Community Wildlife Habitat. The program called "The Nature of Mendham" is in partnership with the National Wildlife Federation & NJ Audubon aims to make the Mendhams greener and more wildlife-friendly by creating wildlife habitat throughout its communities while educating and engaging residents. The program encourages homeowners to use best management practices for wildlife on their property (using native plants, avoiding pesticides, etc.) and certifying their yard at nwf.org/certify.  The Mendhams will become a Certified Community Wildlife Habitat when we achieve 175 certification points (1 point for each residence, 3 points for each town property, and 5 points for each school). Come and see how you can certify your property!

For more updates from the Mendham Environmental Commissions follow us on Instagram @sustainablemendham or Facebook The Nature of Mendham.

Native Plant Show and Sale

Wanted: Volunteers for planting at the Mendham Township native plant demonstration garden near the Ralston playground in Wysong Park from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, May 28.

Shifts can be as short as an hour or as long as the whole day depending on interest and availability.

The garden is the result of “The Nature of Mendham” a National Wildlife Federation Community Wildlife Habitat program, in partnership with New Jersey Audubon and Wild Birds Unlimited in Denville. The purpose is to make the Mendhams greener and more wildlife-friendly by creating wildlife habitat while educating and engaging residents.

The program encourages homeowners to use best management practices for wildlife on their property, such as using native plants and avoiding pesticides, and certifying their yards, which they can do at nwf.org/certify. The Mendhams will become a Certified Community Wildlife Habitat when we achieve 175 certification points (1 point for each residence, 3 points for each town property, and 5 points for each school).

The garden, a 10-foot by 12-foot area at the park, was mulched on April 23. On Saturday May 28, about 40 perennial plants and 14 shrubs will be planted. The plants were chosen based on their value to wildlife as nectar and host plants. All have some to high deer resistance and a variety of bloom times from April to October.

For more information, call Kylie Bailin at (973) 216-4413 or email kbono@openix.com. Participants are asked to bring their own gardening gloves and shovels.
volunteers wysong 2022

Come On Out and Help Clean up our Environment!

The Mendham Township Environmental Commission is once again participating in the Raritan Headwater’s Stream Cleanup Event. Volunteers are needed. The date is April 23 from 9am to 12noon.  Our site is #60 Buttermilk Falls Entrance on Ironia Rd.  Registration is required and you can sign up on the Raritan Headwaters Page.

Raritan Headwaters will provide trash bags, gloves and hand sanitizer.  You will need to follow the Raritan Headwaters Stream Cleanup Safety Protocols which are on the registration site.

So come for an hour or two and help keep Mendham Clean.

Cleanup Event

Mendham Township Joins Movement to Become a Wildlife-Friendly Town

Mendham Township, led by the Environmental Commission, recently registered with the National Wildlife Federation & NJ Audubon’s Community Wildlife Habitat program. Each certified site within the community provides the four basic elements that all wildlife need: food, water, cover and places to raise their young, while integrating sustainable gardening practices like using native plants and not using pesticides. 

Native plants are great choices for your garden or landscape. Because they evolved in your region, they thrive in the local climate, weather patterns, rainfall levels, soil moisture with little need for extra watering or pesticides or fertilizers and provide green infrastructure to prevent flooding & storm water runoff. But most importantly, native plants are the plants that wildlife rely on for survival. If each of us added one new garden bed filled with native plants each year, the impact on wildlife and essential pollinators would be huge. We already have 14 homes certified, will yours be next? Visit https://www.nwf.org/CertifiedWildlifeHabitat to certify your yard. 

The Mendham Township Committee supports this exciting new initiative and encourages homeowners to learn more about the project and consider certifying their yards in order to make Mendham Township a more wildlife-friendly community. Mayor Nick Monaghan “hopes that residents will recognize how important their yard is to the health of our town and its wildlife. Providing habitat and using sustainable gardening practices support our local pollinators and other wildlife.”

Our kickoff event will be participating in the 2nd annual Great Swamp Watershed Association’s Native Plant Sale. From April 1-22 you can order native plant plugs from https://www.greatswamp.org/native-plant-sale/ Local pickup will be on April 30 from 2-4pm at the Mendham Township Municipal parking lot at 2 West Main St in Brookside. We hope to also give away free tree seedlings during this time. All residents are encouraged to come by and learn more about the project and take home some free trees to help wildlife in their yard. 

Also save the date for a webinar on May 12 from 7-8pm titled “Gardens with Buzz” by Mary Anne Borge. Mary Anne led Lambertville Goes Wild, which already achieved certification and is an instructor at Bowman’s Hill Wildflower Preserve, a Pennsylvania Master Naturalist, and the Editor of Butterfly Gardener, a magazine published by the North American Butterfly Association.

For more information and updates including upcoming webinars, follow us on Instagram @sustainablemendham and on Facebook at The Nature of Mendham

Mendham Wildlife

Mendham Township Environmental Commission 2nd Annual Fall Photography Competition

Congratulations to the WINNERS of the 2021 Fall Photography Competition, organized by Mendham Township Environmental Commission.

To view the Winning Photographs, please click on the link provided: Winning Photographs

January 8, 2022, Styrofoam EPS Recycling Day, 9am-1pm, 37 Ironia Road

On Saturday, January 8, 2022, The Mendham Township Environmental Commission and Mendham Borough ECOSST Commission will host a Styrofoam EPS Recycling Day at Mendham Township Public Works, 37 Ironia Road, between 9:00 am and 1:00 pm.

2022 styrofoam recycling flyer


Mendham Township Environmental Commission is sponsoring a Well Water Testing Kit Event on Saturday, November 6, 9:00 am - Noon

To make well testing more convenient for residents, RHA is partnering with the Mendham Township Environmental Commission to hold a Well Water Testing event at the Mendham Township Municipal Building. Well water testing kits can be purchased outside of the Municipal Buidling on Saturday, November 6 between 9:00 am and Noon.  Residents will then return their water samples to the Municipal Building on Monday, November 8 between 7:00 am and 9:30 am.

For more information about the upcoming event and a full menu of testing options, visit the Raritan Headwaters website at www.testmywell.org or contact the Raritan Headwaters Well Testing office at 908-234-1852 ext. 401 or welltesting@raritanheadwaters.org. To learn more about Raritan Headwaters and its programs, please visit www.raritanheadwaters.org.

Well water testing 2021


Mendham Township Environmental Commission: 2nd Annual Fall Photography Competition

The Mendham Township Environmental Commission presents its 2nd Annual Fall Photography Competition.  Submit your photographs taken in our beautiful Garden State.

Entrants must be students at a Mendham school or a resident of Mendham. Submit entries by email. Deadline: NOVEMBER 21, 2021. Winners will each receive a certificate and prize.

For more information on requirements and full details on contest themes and categories, please review the flyer:

Photo contest


Green Homes Today! Energy Efficiency & Sustainability for Mendham Township NJ Residents

Please join us on Wednesday, June 23, 7:00 pm for the Green Homes Today! webinar.  Learn how to reduce your carbon footprint, save energy, money and the environment while learning how to make your home cleaner, healthier and more comfortable at the same time!

NJ’s Clean Energy Program experts will share tips and tricks on becoming more energy efficient and creating a healthy home.  We’ll have a speaker from the Barnegat Bay Partnership teach residents on how to landscape for a healthier yard as well as a speaker from Rutgers Cooperative Extension, who will talk about the backyard composting recycling process.

Pre-Registration for the Zoom link is required.

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

NJ Clean Energy Program


June 5, 2021, Styrofoam EPS Recycling Day

On Saturday, June 5, 2021, The Mendham Township Environmental Commission and Mendham Borough ECOSST Commission will host a Styrofoam EPS Recycling Day at Mendham Township Public Works, 40 Mount Pleasant Road, between 9:00 am and 1:00 pm.

2021 styrofoam recycling flyer


Clean-up Along Tempe Wick Road and Buck Hill Natural Area - A Success!

The Environmental Commission organized a clean-up along Tempe Wick Road and at the Buck Hill Natural Area. Volunteers filled 17 trash bags; 14 recyclable bags; and even found a discarded hockey net! It was part of the annual Raritan Headwaters Association's 31st Annual Stream Cleanup at 70 sites along the watershed.

Tempe wick

Tempe wick


Did you miss the Mendham Township Environmental Commission’s webinar on Gardening with Native Plants? You can view it now on Mendham TV

View the recording and learn how to support biodiversity and bring butterflies and birds to your yard by planting native bushes and flowers. Deb Ellis, the founder and co-leader of the Essex County chapter of the Native Plant Society of New Jersey & a Master Gardener, led the workshop, which is perfect for beginner or experienced gardeners who want to support pollinators. You will learn about invasive species and how to replace them with easy-care and beautiful natives. 


Thursday, February 11, Recycling 101: Lunch and Learn Webinar

Residents are invited to join a Lunch and Learn Recycling Webinar with representatives of the Morris County Municipal Utilities Authority (MUA) on Thursday, February 11, from 12:00 - 1:00 pm. Gain a better understanding of what items are acceptable for recycling; and the right way to place them out to ensure pick up. There will be an opportunity to ask questions, following a 30-minute presentation by the MUA. 

Please register for this program to receive the Zoom link by sending an email.

Recycling Webinar


Mendham Township Environmenal Commission 1st Annual Fall Photography Competition

Thank you to everyone who submitted photographs. We had a wonderful response. Many great shots. So many talented photographers in our community! For a listing of winners and prizes given, please view the links below.


January 9, 2021, Styrofoam Recycling Event

On Saturday, January 9, 2021, Mendham Borough and Mendham Township Environmental Commissions will host a Styrofoam Recycling Day at Mendham Borough Public Works, 37 Ironia Road, between 9:00 am and 1:00 pm.

Flyer

 


November, 2020: 1st Annual Fall Photography Competition

The Mendham Township Environmental Commission presents its 1st Annual Fall Photography Competition.  Submit your photographs taken in our beautiful Garden State.

Entrants must be students at a Mendham school or a resident of Mendham. Submit entries by email. Deadline: NOVEMBER 30. Winners will each receive a certificate and prize. Awards will be made at the Mendham Township Library. 

For more information on requirements and full details on contest themes and categories, please review the pages included with this note.

Photography 2020

Photography 2020


January 11, 2020, Styrofoam Recycling Event

On Saturday, January 11, 2020, Mendham Borough and Township Environmental Commissions hosted a Styrofoam Recycling Day.  The event was a huge success! A 20-yard dumpster was filled to the top with material that was taken to Foam Pack Industries in Springfield, NJ.  Foam Pack Industries reuses the material, saving it from ending up in a landfill.  Two future Styrofoam Recycling dates have been set: Saturday, June 27, 2020 and Saturday, January 9, 2021.  Both events will be held at the Borough's Public Works Garage from 9:00 am - 1:00 pm.

Styrofoam

Styrofoam

Styrofoam

Styrofoam