Passaic River Coalition: NJ environmental organization, Homepage

December 23, 2008

Willow Hall - Future home of the Passaic River Coalition

The Passaic River Coalition is now under contract to purchase Willow Hall as its new and permanent headquarters in Morristown.

The Music Room

Willow Hall is a symbol of American entrepreneurship and invention as the home of George Vail, owner of Speedwell Iron Works, the premier manufacturing facility of its day, and financier of Alfred Vail and Samuel F. B. Morse, inventors of the telegraph. Here, a revolution in industry and telecommunications was born.

The Speedwell Lake

Located across from Historic Speedwell Village, Willow Hall sits on a six acre park-like property overlooking Speedwell Lake. Construction of the three story stone house was completed in 1848 and was based on a design by noted and influential landscape architect Andrew Jackson Downing.

The Dining Room

The PRC is proud to join the long lineage of devoted caretakers of this beautiful mansion and property. Willow Hall represents the industrial revolution in America and the innovations that eventually gave us the capability for global communication. In the coming year the PRC will be undertaking an adaptive re-use project to convert the mansion into suitable office space while maintaining the historic integrity of the house. We will be partnering with Historic Speedwell Village and the Morris County Parks Commission to create programs that will give the public opportunities to discover the incredible history of Willow Hall and its role in shaping the world we live in today.

December 5, 2008

!!! NJ Governor Corzine honors river activists !!!

Two local environmentalists were singled out by Governor Corzine on Thursday for their work to protect and restore the Hackensack and Passaic rivers.

The Hackensack Riverkeeper Inc., led by Bill Sheehan, and Ella F. Filippone, executive director of the Passaic River Coalition, both received 2008 Governor's Environmental Excellence Awards during a ceremony at Drumthwacket, the governor's residence. The annual award competition, administered by the state Department of Environmental Protection, was established in 2000....read more here

From left to right: Richard Plambeck (Vice chairman), Susan Nanney (Director of Development), Ella Filippone (Executive Director) and Joe Filippone (Treasurer)

November 18, 2008

Now is the the time to clean the Passaic River!

Check out a new flyer the Passaic River Coalition has produced to get the word out about cleaning the Lower Passaic River. This flyer is the first in a series of publications the PRC will be creating to educate communities about the contamination in the Lower Passaic River and to promote dredging with full decontamination as the best option for cleaning the river. Be sure to visit our site periodically to learn more about the issue and see other publications we’ll be making.

To learn more about the Lower Passaic River project click here.

November 18, 2008

Donating to the Passaic River Coalition is easier than ever at Firstgiving! - You can now make a tax-deductible donation to the PRC using any major credit card through Firstgiving.com. Firstgiving uses VeriSign Security features and will automatically mail you a receipt. Visit our donation page to support the PRC today!

Follow www.firstgiving.com/passaicrivercoalition to support. Thank you for your contributions!

November 18, 2008

Give the Gift of Environmental Understanding to Yourself and Others - Imagine being able to discuss climate change with the State Climatologist or learn about New Jersey’s Geology from the people who map it. Wouldn’t it be interesting to hear how New Jersey’s environmental regulations get enforced from a person who actually does the enforcement? How about learning about the role of soils in the environment from the person who runs Rutgers’ Soil Testing lab? These are some of the opportunities that are available to enrollees in the 2007 Rutgers Environmental Steward Volunteer Training Program. Would you like to learn how local environmental decisions get made from the head of the Association of New Jersey Environmental Commissions or how land preservation can be done most effectively from some of the leading players in land preservation in NJ? ...learn more

Passaic River Coalition gratefully acknowledges the support of Continental Airlines, which provided free air transportation for PRC staff to attend the 2008 River Rally in Huron, Ohio.