Wayne K-12 district seeking grant to plant trees at schools
By: Philip DeVencentis
NorthJersey.com
USA Today Network - New Jersey
WAYNE - The K-12 district is applying for a grant to cover the cost of trees to be planted in waterlogged areas and at school playgrounds that lack proper screening.
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The grant would also pay to replace trees that died on school campuses in the past few years due to an invasive beetle, called the emerald ash borer. Its larvae are notorious for burrowing under healthy bark to eat. The insect, which in native to Asia, has killed hundreds of millions of ash trees in the U.S. since it was first discovered in Michigan, the state Department of Agriculture says.
..... Schools Superintendent Mark Toback said the exact number of trees to be sought thought the Trees for Schools grant program has not been determined.
...... The Board of Education is expected to pass a resolution at a public meeting on April 24 [2025] to authorize submission of a grant application.
..... The program is administers by Sustainable Jersey for Schools, an offshoot of the Sustainability Institute at The College of New Jersey. A total of $4.5 million in available to pubic districts, county colleges and state universities that apply by the May 13 [2025] deadline.
..... Grants form 410,000 to $250,000 will be awarded.
..... An initial round go grants two years ago paid for nearly 3,000 trees at 33 institutions, including schools in Bloomingdale and Paterson.
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The program is funded toughener participation by the state Department of Environmental Protection in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, which establishes a cap on carbon dioxide emissions from power plants that burn fossil fuels. New Jersey is among 11 states involved in the cooperative effort to provide cleaner air.
..... Proceeds from cap-and-trade auctions pay for programs, like Trees for Schools, that benefit the environment.