Bloustein studio sees idea become reality with New Brunswick’s first orchard

New Brunswick’s first orchard, which came from ideas of a fall 2011 graduate studio class, is at the intersection of Oliver and Abeel Streets.

On April 25, students from the Fall 2011 Voorhees Fellows/Community Development Studio class, as well as students in subsequent studios, saw their ideas become reality. Community and university partners planted nearly 40 apple trees downtown near Elijah’s Promise, creating the city’s first urban orchard.

The Fall 2011 Community Development Studio and Ralph W. Voorhees Civic Engagement Fellows worked with Elijah’s Promise to explore the potential to grow and process food in New Brunswick, estimate the purchasing power for fresh produce grown in the city, and identify growing and processing models that meet community economic development goals, like job training, education, and entrepreneurial business development, as well as food security goals such as increasing community access to healthy food.

The studio mapped where in the city food is grown and sought additional locations that had the potential to grow food. The students also reviewed the different ways to grow in the city, the types of products that would grow best, and the challenges and benefits of each model. Lisanne Finston, Director of Elijah’s Promise, asked the studio to consider the potential for an urban orchard.  Katie Nosker, a Voorhees Fellow and studio participant, explored that vision and recently helped plant the orchard.  As she explained: “So many wonderful people, organizations, and stakeholders came together to make this vision a reality. That I had even a small role in this great undertaking is incredibly rewarding. Planning for and planting this urban orchard, which will bring good, healthy, locally grown food to New Brunswick residents, has been a great learning experience. I look forward to watching this orchard grow.”

40 apple trees were planted in New Brunswick’s first orchard

Orchard implementation moved forward after Elijah’s Promise’s Lisanne Finston shared the idea with School of Environmental and Biological Sciences (SEBS) dean Mark Robson on a Rutgers Community-University Research Partnership Grant-funded urban agriculture and community economic development field trip to Philadelphia. NJ Agricultural Extension Staff, New Brunswick residents, Elijah’s Promise’s staff, SEBS faculty, and Rutgers current and former students came together to plant the orchard.

Anthony Capece, another former Bloustein student, who now works for Elijah’s Promise as the New Brunswick Community Food Alliance Coordinator, partnered with Rutgers SEBS and the NJ Agricultural Extension to plant the trees. He shared his experiences: “For me it was so gratifying to see this orchard transform from a vision to a reality over the past year and a half. The support we received from everyone in the New Brunswick and Rutgers community has been remarkable. I look forward to watching the orchard grow and produce apples for the New Brunswick community over the next few years!”

Less than a month later, the trees are already blossoming!

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Op-ed: Education critical to solving economic, employment issues

Opinion: N.J.’s economic growth must focus on better relationship between education, labor market

This excerpt is from the Times of Trenton Guest Opinion column on Friday, May 10. Written by Thomas Little, a graduate student in the Master’s in Public Policy program at the Bloustein School.

If state policy makers want to address New Jersey’s slow economic growth, they must repair the severed relationship between education and the labor market. For decades, we have believed that once you get a college degree from a good school, you should be able to find a job in this economy. For many people today, that is simply no longer the case — and even people who have a job are not safe in this economy.

The Great Recession, along with several changes to American businesses — changes that include globalization, advances in technology and an emphasis on efficiency — have led to sharp reductions in the demand for jobs with good wages. Even if the unemployment rate goes back to pre-recession levels, not all of the jobs that were eliminated by the recession will come back; in fact, it is safe to say that those lacking the necessary skills or qualifications will be unable to participate in the labor market in the near future.

Read full article at Times of Trenton website.

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C-Suite Survey results to be revealed at NJ Economic Policy Summit, May 21

The sixth annual New Jersey Economic Policy Summit will take place on Tuesday, May 21, at the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. The event will bring together key New Jersey stakeholders to review the results of the hallmark “C-Suite Survey” conducted by the Bloustein School. The survey targets senior executives from companies headquartered and/or deeply entrenched in New Jersey. It also gauges their opinions about the economy and their experiences doing business here. James W. Hughes, Ph.D., Dean of the Bloustein School, will present the survey findings at this event.

Founded in 2007, the New Jersey Economic Policy Summit has a single goal: to forge a shared vision for the state’s economic growth. The New Jersey Business & Industry Association (NJBIA), Rutgers University’s Bloustein School, and commercial real estate services firm Cushman & Wakefield, Inc. head the effort.

The Summit unites the Garden State’s business, educational and political communities in an effort to identify, understand and address challenges and opportunities for the future health of the state. Kevin McArdle, State House Bureau Chief, Townsquare Media New Jersey, will moderate an expert panel representing a variety of industries: Bernie Flynn, President and CEO of New Jersey Manufacturers (NJM); Janice Klostermeier, Executive Vice President & CFO of Emergency Medical Associates; Douglas Kuiken, President & CEO of Kuiken Brothers Company, Inc.; Robert Rudin, Vice Chairman of Cushman & Wakefield, Inc.; and Judith Spires, President & CEO of Kings Supermarkets. The program will also feature comments from Gil Medina, Executive Managing Director of Cushman & Wakefield of New Jersey, and Philip Kirschner, President of NJBIA.

The May 21 event will begin with registration and networking at 8:30 a.m., followed by the program from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m., in the Bloustein School’s Special Events Forum, 33 Livingston Ave. in New Brunswick. Seating is limited; to register online, visit Events at www.njbia.org. The cost to attend is $25 per person.

Confirmed sponsors of the 2013 New Jersey Economic Policy Summit include Cushman & Wakefield, New Jersey Economic Development Authority, AT&T, Connell Foley, Microsoft, Verizon and IBEW Local 102. Additional corporate sponsorship opportunities are still available. For more information, contact Sherry Esteves at 609-393-7707, ext. 219 or sesteves@njbia.org.

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