This month, our team had the privilege of working in Long Branch, NJ—a community marked both by resilience and challenge. Known as a superfund site and an area experiencing deep inequalities, Long Branch reminds us why green infrastructure matters most where the need is greatest.
Together with Rutgers Green Infrastructure Champions, the Long Branch Environmental Commission & Green Team, in partnership with GI Champions who also represent Waterspirit, Beyond Plastics NJ, and Clean Ocean Action, we helped install a rain garden at the home of a Long Branch resident who has faced repeated flooding behind their home. This simple, nature-based solution will now help capture stormwater, reduce flooding, and restore beauty to a property that has weathered more than its fair share of storms. Projects like this do much more than manage water—they build relationships, support MS4 permit goals, and empower residents to take part in creating local solutions to our global problem of climate crisis. It is especially meaningful to witness Waterspirit’s ongoing involvement with Rutgers’ Green Infrastructure Program, from its early days to this latest chapter of collaboration and community care.
Our Public Policy & Justice Organizer, Rachel Dawn Davis, is glad to plan for more rain gardens, capturing whatever stormwater we might as the storms and droughts grow in intensity. To do this requires funding and we actively hope to secure the funding necessary to support these efforts in a timely manner.
Call to Action: If your community space or a property you know in New Jersey is experiencing flooding, please reach out so we might connect potential support. Together, we may explore rain gardens and other green infrastructure options to reduce flooding and strengthen our shared resilience. Check our Stormwater Management & Green Infrastructure page. Rachel will be moderating not 1 but 2 panels at this years Jersey Water Works Conference 12/11/25. Register HERE.