Lawrence Green Team and Sustainable Lawrence presented the Sustainable Jersey Silver Certification for 2016 at a Lawrence Township town council meeting on January 17.

Sustainable Jersey has 441 registered towns. Lawrence Township is one of 44 New Jersey municipalities that have attained certification at the silver level. The township was honored at the Sustainable Jersey Awards Luncheon in November in Atlantic City. Members of the board attended the event.

Lawrence has been a leader in the sustainability movement in New Jersey and helped launch Sustainable Jersey, a nonprofit organization that provides tools, training, and financial incentives to support communities as they pursue sustainability programs. The township was certified at the Sustainable Jersey Bronze level in 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2014.

In 2016 the Lawrence Green Team built a partnership with Rider University Professor Brooke Hunter and her capstone seminar students who spent their spring term studying local sustainability efforts and interviewing local leaders. The students analyzed Sustainable Jersey requirements and wrote reports documenting how Lawrence has fulfilled 35 actions in 11 categories and exceeded the minimum of 350 points for Sustainable Jersey silver certification. The semester-long effort brought Rider students, town volunteers and Lawrence Township staff together.

Former Lawrence Township Mayor Pam Mount is chair of Lawrence Green Team and Sustainable Lawrence. She served as chairman of Sustainable Jersey from 2012-2015.