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[light music] - Good evening and welcome to a special edition of "NJ Spotlight News."

I'm Brianna Vannozzi.

For more than a year now we've had the incredible opportunity to introduce you to several people who are giving back to their communities in extraordinary ways through our digital documentary film series "21."

"21" profiles one person in each of our 21 counties and the series examines the simple question of does where you live in the state affect how you live?

Well, tonight we introduced you to several more new Jerseyans who let's just say are going above and beyond to make their communities a better and healthier place to live.

First, we wanna introduce you to the entire Thompson family.

At the helm, Mary-Beth and Scott who have been making waves since the day they met.

This duo has made ocean stewardship an integral part of the fiber of their family on the shores of Monmouth County.

Scott, a county native, and Mary-Beth, the Chief operating officer of Clean Ocean Action, have made their commitment to keeping a cleaner New Jersey coastline, a family affair.

Meet the Thompson clan.

[light music] - When I was a little girl growing up, we had a family beach house and before you went in the house, you'd sit on the back step and take a rag and wipe your feet off.

That's what needs to be done.

You don't understand, "Wow, why do I have tar on the bottom of my feet?

That shouldn't be, that's not right."

So that was one of my earliest memories of why I should work to protect the ocean.

[dramatic music] I would describe Monmouth County as a little piece of heaven.

It's tranquil and peaceful.

The ocean, that's what I love about this area.

I got involved in Clean Ocean Action through my husband, Scott.

For the past 30 years I've been employed by Clean Ocean Action.

- We felt very strongly about the environment and how important it was.

- Great.

- Thank you very much.

- We appreciate it, see you.

- Yep.

Enjoy the day.

- You too.

- Yep, okay.

Thank you.

- Thank you, ladies, for your help.

- Appreciate it.

Okay, that's it.

That's what we're looking for.

It's not quantity, it's quality.

- Obviously we would go to the beach with our kids as much as we could and the beaches were just not what we wanted them to be.

It was litter abounded.

There were marine life that were struggling on the shoreline because the water was so polluted.

Seeing all the problems that the ocean was having made us realize we have to do our part.

The ocean means so much to us.

We just have to embrace the work that needs to be done and get involved.

That's right there.

Yep, yep.

[dramatic music] The enormity of the ocean and the silence of the ocean is difficult in respect to getting people to understand the issues.

Liter, you see it, so you pick it up and you recycle it hopefully.

Whereas there are a lot of ocean pollution issues that you really can't see.

- [Scott] The world can't become artificial and that's where we're headed.

The natural world is where we started and where we need to put our focus.

And the ocean is number one.

- Eagle eyes.

- Perfect.

- [Mary-Beth] It was very apparent that we had a serious litter problem in New Jersey, coastal New Jersey in particular because all waterways lead to the ocean.

All the litter ends up on the beach or in the water.

- Typical everyday garbage.

Straws, like bottle caps, you know, pretty standard stuff.

We found some big plastics as well, but you know, it was good, it was a descent amount.

- Well, thank you for participating and helping to clean the environment.

- [Helper] Of course.

[light music] - Throughout the years working on various issues and seeing them grow and expand and become so important and so valuable has been very rewarding.

It's much more than just picking up trash on the beach.

Beach Sweeps started in Sandy Hook, one location with 75 people and has grown now to over 70 sites throughout New Jersey, mostly coastal, and a few in waterways up in North Jersey and about 10,000 people a year participate.

And that's only at two times a year.

[light music] About how many people?

- I think like close to 30.

- We not only collect the trash, and of course separate recycling from trash, but we have data cards that have hundreds of items on them.

Very specific.

[upbeat music] We feel we have a clear picture of the actual litter that accumulates on the beaches.

Thank you so much.

- No, thank you.

- No, thank you for hosting us.

It's amazing.

- Every year we tabulate all that data into an annual report.

It gives us a picture of what types of litter and quantities that are found along the coast.

And then this data is true, scientific proof that these particular items are being found in these particular quantities.

Many towns have used this data to enact regulations within their town such as smoking bans on the beach, plastic use bans.

- You have to let people know that you care and that you can make a difference.

So that's what we try to do.

[light music] - [Mary-Beth] I think where you live definitely impacts how you live, but I think also what your background is plays a role.

My parents were very community minded and felt that it was their duty to give back to the community and volunteer in many ways.

That's the way it was, and we try and instill in our kids a responsibility to also take care of the environment.

I think one of the most impactful parts that I've seen over the years when someone realizes, wow, this is really important.

I can do something that makes a difference.

And to me to see that spark of excitement when somebody understands an issue or takes that leap to go and do something, that's to me the most meaningful.

Thank you so much for helping.

- Thank you.

- [Mary-Beth] I have learned to persevere, to be patient, to always base anything that I say or do in fact, in science, I've learned to be flexible.

It is all about the ocean and what's good for the ocean is good for business.

What's good for the ocean is good for the economy.

What's good for the ocean is good for physical health, mental health.

Been involved in the community and bettering the environment.

It's important to us and that's what you do.

Thank you.

- Have a great day.

[light music] - Now up to Somerset County where Cindy Ehrenclou worries about the quality of life for millions of people living along our rivers and tributaries.

She's the executive director of Rariton Headwaters and is working to protect this critical resource.

She envisions a future where clean water is accessible to all.

Meet Cindy.

- Water connects you to everything, everybody, and all these communities are connected through water.

It is an important thing to teach people that everything they do on the land is going to compromise water quality and their health.

Every one of us can make a difference and wouldn't it be great if we knew how?

Growing up in Somerset County was pretty special.

I was roaming the forest and building forts and really felt like, I mean, that mountain was mine.

In the early seventies I moved to the Midwest and when I moved back 11 years later, things had really changed.

With every new home, there's a impact on the environment.

When someone pops a house in a field, it requires a water supply.

Out here there's typically a well which means the aquifer is being tapped.

It's important for people to know where their water comes from because it affects their health.

It is important to understand the connection between what you do on the land, how you behave in your own backyard or in your house.

How it's affecting not just your water quality, but Somerset County's water quality.

There is a very strong connection between preserving land and protecting clean water.

The watershed is an area of land that drains into a water body.

300,000 people depend on our water here in this watershed region.

However, another 1.5 million downstream in the more urban areas in New Jersey depend on the water that we're protecting here.

So it's very important that we're doing a good job up here because we're sending all this clean water downstream to support the rest of New Jersey and right out to the Atlantic Ocean.

[light music] I think people would be surprised by the quality of water in our watershed because our rivers look pristine and people expect when they turn on their tap and they see the water is clear that it's healthy.

But there are a lot of things happening with water that can't be seen.

There's a lot of bacteria in people's water.

There's nonpoint source pollution entering the river all the time and some of it comes from agriculture.

All our beautiful farms and landscapes are often polluting our rivers because absolutely everything you put on the land will eventually end up in the river.

Some of the recent storms we've had, like Ida, it was a big wake up call that climate change was very real in our watershed and that we needed to really be concerned about water quality.

You put it in an email and we will write it right.

- Okay.

- Cool.

- All right?

- Good.

I work for a conservation organization, Rarita Headwaters' mission is to protect the health of water.

We have probably over 2,500 volunteers a year.

- Cindy is working on a lot of ideas for press releases.

- We have a great volunteer corps.

As far down as you can get, right?

- Yeah.

And I'm just cutting it all back.

- We have this amazing stream cleanup to celebrate Earth Day every year in April.

The stream cleanup is just such a great day because it's tangible.

When that team of volunteers walks away, they can see they really made a difference.

Our goal is to become a resource, share our expertise, make sure that the towns are armed with what they need to make good land use decisions.

We really have to be able to tell people how they can be better stewards of the watershed without intimidating them with acronyms and science.

We do well testing for communities and individuals because again, 80% of the folks living in our watershed are on well water.

We create these community days where folks pick up a well test kit and they're testing for coliform and lead, arsenic, all sorts of pesticides and we have our team there to educate people about what they might need to test for.

[light music] There's a lot of science to protecting land and water and there's a lot of work.

Wouldn't it be fabulous if our annual report card gives us an A plus, that there are no pollutants in the stream?

[light music] Part of our job is to teach people about safer alternatives, using less fertilizers, taking back some of their lawn and leaving some of the landscape wild.

I am very passionate about getting kids into the outdoors.

- Maybe the fairies actually play with us?

- Giving kids the opportunity to connect with nature.

We have so many kids in New Jersey that don't have access to a wildlife preserve like Fairview Farm.

About 1996, I created the Nature Education Program.

Who's gonna set up the fairy trap.

And you wanna catch fairies.

We brought kids out from Jersey City and Newark and the more urban areas.

It is so important to connect kids at a very young age because after all, they are the future.

They're gonna be problem solvers because we've kind of made a mess.

And I just think that you get very excited about things when you can put your hands on them and you can experience them.

- Okay, three, two, one, go.

- [Both] Poison ivy, leaves of green.

See three leaves and leave them be.

On the trees and on the ground, fuzzy things all around.

Yay.

[light music] - Where I live here in Somerset County does affect how I live.

It's kind of amazing that if you walk to the top of this hill, you can see the Empire State Building.

Yet here we sit with birds singing, got great parks.

People still ride their bikes.

They take walks with their dogs.

It's just magic.

I am a very lucky person.

At Raritan Headwaters I would like to make sure that in my time we have made a big impact on these issues.

I mean, my dream would be that this watershed is a model in the nation.

That we are applying good science, that we have citizens that understand how they can do a good job protecting their water supply and land.

We have a vision that everyone has access to clean, safe water.

Everyone within our reach.

Wouldn't it be fabulous?

[light music] - Well, now we take you all the way down to Salem County where Sue Ann Leighty is building a better future for her community, house by house.

Through her work with Habitat for Humanity, she transforms neglected land into havens of hope for those who are willing to put in a little "sweat equity," as she calls it, and help build themselves a proper home.

For those already with a roof over their heads, but are disabled and need access she has a recycling ramp building program on the side.

Her mission is simply to build an affordable and accessible community.

Here's Sue Ann.

- Housing, staying in housing, it's just a passion of mine.

We're at a point in time where people are living in conditions that there's not enough room for them to be there.

It's a tremendous opportunity to own your own home.

We're there not to do it quick.

We're there to teach you.

It's just really about a hand up, not a handout.

[light music] I am the executive director for Salem County Habitat for Humanity.

I'm very engaged in the community.

So I'm a determined person and I don't like to be told no, that I can't do something.

But I'm a problem solver.

It's a slower pace in Salem County.

A lot of neighbor helping neighbor kind of things.

You need horse manure next door?

Just ask.

You know, things like that.

My dad and I, when I worked in corporate America and he worked for DuPont Company we went to a Habitat build.

That was our day of service every year.

But I just wanna be able to inspire other people to be a volunteer.

My dad was going to college at the time and he was building houses and we were expected to be out there to help.

And when we put an addition on the house, we laid block and it was always a learning experience.

You meet new people, you go to different places and you try different things.

Salem county's changed a little bit over the years, not as much as a lot of the other areas.

It's not overbuilt.

There's more development.

The farmland's going away and it's such a strong need.

I mean, there's very little public housing.

Believe the rentals have doubled.

People are doubled up living in places that aren't met for that many people.

Criteria for a Habitat House is who has the ability to pay, the willingness to partner, which is sweat equity, and who has a strong need.

Most of our homeowners are women.

It's special for them to be able to say that, "Look at all these women that came to help me today."

- We'll get the scaffolding up for the siding and we're gonna work outside and we're gonna have a great day.

- A lot of the myths and truths about Habitat are that we just give away homes.

And it's not true.

The homes are made affordable because of the sweat equity, because the family each puts 225 hours, each adult.

It's not meant as a punishment.

It's met as this is the way that your house is affordable.

She is a tremendous volunteer.

I mean, we are just, they all do sweat equity, but some people volunteer anyways for Habitat.

So she started out helping us out.

Anyone that's in a Habitat house right now is paying half to a third of what a rental is right now.

It's their home.

They're just like anybody else.

It's not a stigma.

A lot of the properties that we've built on have been donated by the townships.

So that's typically how we'll get a property.

[light music] Anybody's family to us.

It doesn't matter who's applying, it's just who's gonna fill that house and what's the best use of that space?

Here in Mannington, they gave us that land.

Nobody wanted it.

It was where people would just throw trash, you know?

Instead of paying to have your mattress hauled away, they'd dump it here.

It was really disgusting.

We're ecstatic because you know, it's a beautiful lot.

It's in a great location.

They get very close during that time, you know, to build their house.

This is a group of like-minded people that are all doing this for the same reason.

These houses were $99,000.

You know, that's a bust to anybody.

Oh, how nice.

So all of our homes have a turning radius.

The doors are wide, so we're just kind of looking ahead and making them adaptable and accessible.

All of our homes are accessible, but this one is specifically built for someone in a wheelchair.

Most of the homes around here, they're a hundred years old.

They're just not built with accessibility in mind.

Habitat's Ramp program was something I started about 10 years ago.

I felt really horrible when I heard about there was a young boy in Penns Grove and he lived in a house.

He had a mechanized wheelchair, but it was under a tarp every night because there was no way to get it into the house.

So this mother, tiny woman, had to carry him up into the house and he just was slumped in a regular wheelchair all day.

And I thought, that's just horrible.

How can this happen?

How come there's nobody that can help these people?

He can't even go out and get sun on his face and feel the warmth and you know, it's a beautiful day and he's just stuck in the house.

So I went to a local builder and I said, "This is wrong.

Is there anything we can do?"

They put the ramp up, built it.

My dad was the leader that day.

And then I would see the little boy out with his cousins and he was racing around with his wheelchair with the kids playing in the yard 'cause he could go in and out anytime he wanted it now.

That was kind of the start of all this.

I think one ramp, when we first started, that had been to 10 different locations.

So following that ramp was just like, this program works.

So all of a sudden I've got like five ramps and you know we're taking them down, we're putting them up as people need them.

Yeah, it's here for as long as you need it.

- Thank you so much.

- Then I wrote some more grant requests and people started finding out about the program.

We have a deficit of about 10 ramps perpetually.

There's always somebody waiting.

Typically one goes up, one goes down every week.

Our program for the ramps has already been adopted by several other affiliates.

You know, it's been a constant struggle to find more ramp material, more money to be able to do this or find out either there are people that once they're done with them and they've received them through another means, they may wanna donate it to Habitat.

My goal when I started 12 years ago, by the year 10, was to build five homes.

We did it.

It also, what I'm told from some of them is that they would do something like side their own home now because "Why would I pay somebody, that wasn't that hard?

I can do that."

I think it's pretty amazing that these women are here building the homes.

[light music] I believe that there's a lot of strength in numbers and that there's a lot of collaborative efforts that could help us all.

I know people, they're just, they know me.

They see me.

They might just say, "Hey Habitat."

Who knew that I would be here with Habitat and building homes.

It's just very community based.

Community here is strength, it's love, it's compassion.

It's a hug.

It's a warm hug.

I have so many people that I have met and would stop and do anything for Habitat.

I have people that are volunteers and there's a lot of retirees.

It is an aging population, but people also that don't have a whole lot of money, have time.

And to me that's the most precious gift is their time.

Why wouldn't you wanna help people?

Why wouldn't you want that to be your calling?

So, you know, everybody can't do everything, but I think that everybody here tries to support each other.

- One, two, three.

- Habitat.

- That good?

[light music] - You can experience some of the other extraordinary Jersey residents profiled in the "21" film series at mynjpbs.org/21.

That's gonna do it for us tonight.

I'm Brianna Vannozzi.

For all of us here at "NJ Spotlight News," thanks for being with us.

Have a great holiday.

[upbeat music] - [Commentator] NJM Insurance Group, serving the insurance needs of residents and businesses for more than 100 years.

Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey, an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association.

And by the PSEG Foundation.

Major funding for the "21" film series is in part provided by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Additional funding is provided by the PSEG Foundation.

[upbeat music]