REMINDER: The Mantoloking Environmental Commission and Green Team Present Diane Lewis and the Great Healthy Yard Project

REMINDER: 

Renowned Garden Club Speaker, Diane Lewis, will be speaking on June 23^rd 5 – 6 pm at the Sacred Heart Parish Hall in Bay Head.  Founder of the nonprofit organization, The Great Healthy Yard Project, and author of the book by the same title, her educational event will be fascinating for anyone interested in their health and how it relates to what we put in our yards and ultimately the impact on water quality.   

Of her many accolades, her book won the 2015 Benjamin Franklin Awards silver medal for Home and Garden Books.  Ms. Lewis also received the 2015 Advocate Award from the Environmental Advocates of New York, the 2016 Environmental Champion Award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the 2021 Margaret Douglas Medal from the Garden Club of America. 

In 2018 The Great Healthy Yard Project was privileged to begin working with The Garden Club of America to decrease pesticide usage on yards and gardens across the United States and advocate for responsible drug disposal.  Lewis is a member of Bedford Garden Club and has served on the Garden Club of America National Affairs and Legislation Committee from 2019 to 2023.  Ms. Lewis has also written a number of opinion pieces about health and the environment for major newspapers including, “The Toxic Brew in our Yards” (New York Times Sunday Review, May 11, 2014), “Are green lawns worth the risk of green Lake Erie and toxic algae?” (The Cleveland Plain Dealer, June 9, 2014), “What you do in your yard matters," (The Baltimore Sun, March 24, 2015), “Protect precious plants and water,” (The Camden Courier Post, March 9, 2015).

This event is being funded by a grant received from Sustainable Jersey and the PSEG Foundation.  The Borough of Mantoloking is a Bronze certified Sustainable Jersey community thus allowing us to apply for grants of this nature.