Pinelands Alliance turned 35 years old in 2024. Milestones often provide an opportunity to reflect on accomplishments and struggles, and to look forward to the next set of challenges. During these conversations with staff and our board of trustees, we reflected on how much we had grown since 1989.
We have broadened our reach through initiatives that link environmental preservation with health, food systems, and community well-being. These initiatives represent the Pinelands – a region rich with cultural, historical, and environmental diversity. This inclusive approach has drawn in individuals and organizations not previously involved in Pinelands work—and who often do not even identify as “environmentalists.” We created Pinelands Adventures in 2016, launched Rancocas Creek Farm in 2020, began partnering with health and community organizations, such as Allies in Caring in Hammonton and The Opportunity League in Burlington City, and became the home for food equity and health initiatives, such as Roots to Prevention. These programs connect more Pinelands and South Jersey residents to the importance of protecting the Pinelands, demonstrating that nature’s health is essential for human health.
As Pinelands Alliance enters its next decade, we wanted to better communicate this collaborative work with the public and continue to grow the audience of people who know and love the Pinelands and who will take action with us to ensure that it is protected. So we began working on updates to our name, logo and mission statement.
Our new name, Pinelands Alliance, demonstrates that we work on more than preservation of land. Preservation of the Pinelands will always be at the heart of what we do. But we also work in urban communities surrounding the Pinelands to improve tree cover and stormwater management and to connect these communities to the amazing natural resources found in the Pinelands. We work to improve farming practices in and around the Pinelands to improve wildlife habitat and water quality. And we are committed to improving the accessibility of natural areas for all people.
Changing the name meant we also had to change our logo. The Pinelands is the heart of the organization, so we kept the Pine trees as part of the logo transition. We didn’t want to make a dramatic change in appearance, because we have 35 years of history in New Jersey and wanted to maintain that name/brand recognition. The circle is emblematic of alliance – people with shared interests, and once again, we want to convey that to the public.
Lastly, we have updated our mission statement – To Protect and Preserve the Resources of the New Jersey Pinelands. It was created 35 years ago by concerned residents fighting to protect the Pinelands; thus was appropriate for that time and for years after. We still believe and fight to protect and preserve the resources of the New Jersey Pinelands, but the old mission statement is very limiting and doesn’t capture the extent of work that has shaped our organization and the communities for the past 15 years. After much deliberation by our staff and board members, the new mission statement is – To protect and advocate for New Jersey’s Pinelands through collaborative action, research, and education. It’s not dramatically different from our original mission statement, but it is more encompassing of our work.
The world is infinitely more complicated now than it was in 1989. Nonprofit organizations must evolve to meet the moment while not losing track of what matters the most. In order to protect wildlife, water, forests and wetlands in the Pinelands we must reach more people. We can’t rely on the same strategies used since the 1990’s to engage people in advocacy for the protection of this region. We believe our name change, new mission statement and innovative programs will ensure we do that.
We rarely share in one article all the work that we do, so I am going to try and capture it for you in a few bullet points.
- The ONLY, solely focused nonprofit for the Pinelands National Reserve. Our unparalleled expertise in Pinelands laws and regulations allows us to engage thousands of people in Pinelands Commission activities and projects occurring in the 53 Pinelands municipalities that are or have the potential to violate the Pinelands or other state regulations. We are the primary watchdog and advocate for the Pines and enlist the support of the community to fight against inappropriate projects or activities like illegal off-road vehicle use and over withdrawal of our freshwater aquifer.
- Stewardship services on public and private lands. We support trail improvements and building, sign installations to prevent illegal off-road vehicle use, green stormwater infrastructure projects like rain gardens and tree plantings through our Landscape Makeover Program, and much more.
- Research and education opportunities at its Pine Tree Center, which houses our Pineland Research Institute. It is a science-based field station that will be a center for scientists, educators, naturalists, and the public to generate knowledge and understanding of the unique forested ecosystem and the Pinelands regional land use planning system.
- Subsidized and paid canoe and kayak trips and land-based outings and education programs. We provide these services on public land and Pineland Alliance properties at the Pine Tree Center, Rancocas Cranberry Preserve, Rancocas Creek Farm, Ives Branch, and the Bishop Farmstead (headquarters) through its Pinelands Adventures outfitter.
- A community-supported agriculture membership through Rancocas Creek Farm, which is located at the Bishop Farmstead. The Farm also provides opportunities for education programs and other nature-based activities like bird-watching. The conversion of an old corn/soybean farm into a regenerative, natural landscape has created so much more biodiversity to this area.
- Support to food desert communities through its Roots to Prevention (RTP) program, which is interconnected to our Rancocas Creek Farm. RTP is a cross-sectoral collaboration of nonprofits, healthcare providers, educational and government entities. We focus on reducing upstream causes of diet-related illnesses by promoting local healthy food economies through community health investments.
- Education, awareness, and investment in accessible trails. Our nature access for all programming provides resources, stewardship, and building of trails and other needs for those unable to access traditional trails and points of entry into our nature preserves.
- A renovated barn facility for weddings, graduations and other events in which the revenue generated from rentals supports our education programs.
The Pinelands National Reserve is a rich treasure of farms, wildlife, history, parks, and people. Our organization is trying to support all these treasures. I hope you appreciate our growth over the years and, of course, our new name, logo, and mission statement.
