Electric Leaf Blowers Coming To Chatham High School

Chatham NJ

19 May, 2022

1:29 PM

Description

CHATHAM, NJ — The days of the gas-powered lawnmower are over for Chatham High School. The Chatham School District intends to use a $2,000 Sustainable Jersey grant to replace gas-powered lawn care equipment with electric equipment. A growing number of communities across the country are becoming aware of the health and environmental risks associated with gas-powered lawn care equipment and are taking steps to transition to electric equipment. Quiet Communities, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to reducing the health and environmental impacts of noise and pollution, published this FAQ on the health risks of gas leaf blowers. "The grant you have most recently awarded to Chatham will enable us to take our first steps down the path toward electric landscaping equipment," Chatham Superintendent Michael LaSusa said. On Monday, Sustainable Jersey for Schools announced the 26 New Jersey public schools and districts that have been chosen to receive Sustainable Jersey for Schools grants from the New Jersey Education Association (NJEA). "This is an important program that directs resources into our schools and NJEA is proud to continue to work with Sustainable Jersey," NJEA President Sean Spiller said. "When our students can learn, at an early age, that sustainable and healthy practices often go "hand in hand" with economic efficiencies, we all benefit from the positive changes." Grants totaling $1.75 million were awarded to projects ranging from aquaponics systems to outdoor classrooms, pollinator and edible gardens, water bottle refilling stations, tree planting and composting initiatives. "It is important for our students to see that we at CHS are taking our environmental impact seriously and are doing our part to reduce emissions and noise pollution, Torri Van Wie, Chatham Borough Environmental Commission chair and CHS Green Team advisor said. "Having electric lawn machinery at the high school broadens awareness across the community, because students will be discussing these changes with their parents at home. This could impact the lawn decisions that families in the Chathams make and thereby significantly reduce our collective emissions," Neighbors across the country have long complained about gas-powered leaf blowers. People complain about the noise, which can cause permanent hearing damage or other hearing issues like tinnitus after only 2 hours of hearing a blower's 65 to 80 decibels at 50 feet away. " In addition to reducing air pollution and our carbon footprint, this equipment will enable our maintenance staff to perform work during school hours in a quieter way that is less distracting for students," LaSusa said. Thank you for reading! Have a news tip, correction or comment? Email [email protected]. Learn more about posting announcements or events to your local Patch site. Subscribe to your local Patch newsletter here.