Borough of Madison Gets $10,000 To Help It Go Green

MADISON, NJ — The Borough of Madison has been awarded a $10,000 grant by the Gardinier Environmental Fund to support sustainable energy projects like solar feasibility studies.

In a press release last month from Sustainable Jersey, Madison Borough mayor Robert H. Conley said the grant will go toward engineering studies and financial analyses to better understand the potential for using solar technology in three borough-owned parking lots.

The grant, he said, will go as far as to aid the borough in generating preliminary designs and conducting community outreach.

"I applaud the efforts of the Sustainable Madison Committee for their determination to help improve Madison’s green footprint through grants like this one from Sustainable Jersey," Conley said in a statement.

Since 2009, Gardinier Environmental Fund has distributed more than $5.5 million in grants to schools and municipalities in New Jersey, all in an effort to make the state more livable, prosperous and environmentally friendly.

"We are proud to stand alongside Sustainable Jersey, and to continue to fund worthy projects that support our mutual goals in New Jersey," Gardinier Environmental Fund president Gene Wentzel said in a statement.

Sustainable Jersey provides tools, training and funds to support communities working toward sustainability programs. Today, 80 percent of the state's municipalities are participating in the municipal certification program and 900 schools are participating in the Sustainable Jersey for Schools certification program.

Randall Solomon, executive director of Sustainable Jersey, said the state is one of the fastest-warming in the nation.

"These grant recipients demonstrate leadership and a commitment to advancing climate action that will help New Jersey meet more ambitious targets moving forward toward a low-carbon future," Solomon said in a statement.