Duke Farms of Hillsborough Receives NJDEP Stewardship Award

By Duke Farms

On a beautiful September 16, 2015, Duke Farms was presented with a Certificate of Stewardship by Assistant Commissioner NJDEP Compliance and Enforcement, Ray Bukowski. Duke Farms is the first organization in New Jersey to achieve a perfect score and be recognized in all 21 categories of stewardship.

In 2008, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, Compliance and Enforcement Division created a recognition program to encourage entities to voluntarily improve their stewardship practices beyond simple compliance. The program is open to any entity that is regulated by the DEP, and it allows inspectors to recognize and showcase practices that can serve as an example and resource to others. It is a voluntary program that 1157 New Jersey organizations currently participate in.

The 21 categories cover a broad spectrum of environmental best practices and stewardship. Examples of the categories include reducing greenhouse emissions, achieving green building certification, implementing renewable energy sources, and water and energy reduction. The NJDEP Stewardship Initiative Program also encourages leading by example through outreach, mentoring to other organizations, and publishing an annual report on stewardship practices.

A few examples of stewardship initiatives that Duke Farms has implemented are the bioswales in the visitor parking area and a constructed wetlands wastewater treatment system. The bioswales not only absorb and convert CO2 from car engines back to oxygen but they also cleanse the automotive fluids that are spilled on the parking surface. Last year, the bioswales returned 5 million gallons of water to the aquafer, diverting it from storm drains. Additionally, the on site constructed wetlands system returns 1 million gallons of water yearly to the ground, diverting it from sewage treatment.

For more information on Duke Farms’ award winning stewardship initiatives, click HERE.