2012 LAND GRANT AND SEA GRANT NATIONAL WATER CONFERENCE Portland, OR Poster Abstract Stormwater management education and best management practice (BMP) implementation in the City of Newark

In 2009, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) awarded the Rutgers Cooperative Extension (RCE) Water Resources Program with 319(h) funding to provide the City of Newark with stormwater management education and best management practice (BMP) implementation in an effort to reduce the occurrence of combined sewer overflow (CSO) discharges. City-owned, undersized, and undevelopable vacant lots were identified as ideal locations for BMP implementation. With input from two local non-profit groups, Greater Newark Conservancy and New Jersey Tree Foundation, sites with stormwater management opportunities that were located in areas where community support for urban revitalization had already been fostered were prioritized for pilot demonstration projects. Through the efforts of this grant, a once vacant lot is now a community garden with a 1,550 gallon cistern that collects rainwater from the rooftop of an adjacent building and a rain garden to capture overflow. To supplement the installation of the demonstration stormwater BMPs on this site, an in-classroom and hands-on stormwater management training was held for members of the Clean and Green team, a transition program for ex-offenders developed by the City of Newark and Greater Newark Conservancy. An educational curriculum entitled Stormwater Management in Your Schoolyard was presented to sixth grade students at a nearby school. The curriculum incorporated student assistance with planting of the rain garden and trees at the lot.