Option Green

About Option Green

In 2017, the East Brunswick Public Library began a partnership with the Friends of the East Brunswick Environmental Commission (a nonprofit dedicated to local environmental education and conservation) on the “Option Green” program series. Each year there are three-to-six events, ranging from lectures featuring environmentalists in various fields to documentary screenings with facilitated discussions.

Upcoming Programs

• What You Should Know About Plastic (10/29/2025)

Past Programs

 

• Poisoning the Well: How Forever Chemicals Contaminated America (09/24/2025) (Recording Available)
• Venus and Greenhouse Gases (Recording Available)
• Recycling and Waste Reduction: History, Trends, Innovations and Interesting Stuff (05/28/2025) (Recording Available)
• Sustainability Basics in the Home through Solid Waste Management, Recycling, & Getting Food Smart (04/16/2025) Presentation Slides (Recording Available)
• EB Community Garden Meeting 
• The True Cost of Fashion  Resource List (Recording Available)
• EB Sustainability Task Force Repair Cafe
• Honeybees: A Powerful Pollinator  (Recording Available)
• Food Choices for a Small Planet (Recording available) ** WINNER, 2024 Environmental Achievement Award from the Association of New Jersey Environmental Commissions (ANJEC) **
• EB Grow Seedling Swap 
• Offshore Wind Lecture (Recording available)
• East Brunswick Community Garden Meeting 
• Home Energy Conservation with PSE&G  (Recording available)
• EB Grow Seed Swap 
• The Jersey Pinelands: more than meets the eye
• Invasive Plants  (Recording available)
• Documentary & Discussion - Kiss the Ground -- Check out these local resources!
• The Benefits of Green Infrastructure (Recording available)
• EB Grow Seed Swap
• Whales of New York & New Jersey (Recording available)
• Water Quality in East Brunswick
• Tiny Powerhouses Beneath the Sea & Their Role in Life on Earth  (Recording available)
• Helping Our Trees Live Healthier, Safer, and Longer (Recording available)
• Rain Barrel Workshop
• East Brunswick Community Garden Meeting
• East Brunswick Seed Swap
• Exploring East Brunswick Parks(Recording available)
• The Lower Raritan Watershed: History, Health, and Future(Recording available)
• Seed Saving Workshop with a Master Gardener
• The Spotted Lanternfly in New Jersey (Recording available)
• Disparate Environmental Impacts: Causes and Solutions to Environmental Injustice with Dr. Maritza Jauregui, Stockton University (Recording available)
• Sustainable Agriculture Projects in Zimbabwe with Dr. Tait Chirenje, Stockton University (Recording available)
• A Jersey Spin on Decoding the Weather Machine with New Jersey State Climatologist Dr. David A. Robinson (Recording available)

• Moths of the World - National Moth Week (Recording Available)

• The Sky by Day and By Night: an Introduction to the Heavens with Jim Peck
• Climate Change in New Jersey: Practical Steps Individuals Can Take to Reduce Its Impact with the Sierra Club
• The Nature Conservancy with Mary Conti
• "Just Eat It": Documentary & Discussion
• Fall is for Planting with Stephen Kristoph
• Wild New Jersey: Nature Adventures in the Garden State with David Wheeler
• Strangers in the Night: Moths in Your Backyard with Elena Tartaglia
• Introduction to New Jersey Birds with Kathy Easton
• "Bag It": Documentary & Discussion
• What’s That Rock? A Look at New Jersey’s Geological History with Dr. Lauren Neitzke Adamo
• Mushroom Tea & Other Fun Facts About Forest Fungi with Garrett Kopp
• Seed Saving Basics with the Master Gardeners
• Can Recycling Make a Difference? with Dr. Kevin Lyons
• East Brunswick’s Butterflies from Azure to Zabulon with Dr. David Moskowitz
• "Chasing Coral": Documentary & Discussion with Liti Haramaty
• Geocaching - A Modern-Day Treasure Hunt with Steve and Jessica Godun
• Birding In and Around East Brunswick with Steven Albert
• Discovering Natural NJ: from High Point to Cape May with Jim Peck
• Plants and You Lecture (Hydroponics) with Stephanie Alea
• Vernal Pools and Spotted Salamanders with Dr. David Moskowitz

 

Past Awards

Option Green 2025: WeCycle

East Brunswick Public Library, East Brunswick Sustainability Task Force, and the Friends of the East Brunswick Environment Commission received the 2025 Environmental Achievement Award for the WeCycle recycling lecture series. This is the third time the partnership has won the award. Several topics were addressed, including changes to recycling practices and the impact of international policies. The programs featured speakers from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and Middlesex County’s Solid Waste Management and Environmental Division.

 

Option Green 2024: Food Choices for a Small Planet

East Brunswick Public Library, East Brunswick Sustainability Task Force, and East Brunswick Hadassah received the 2024 Environmental Achievement Award for, "Option Green: Food Choices for a Small Planet." With a panel of environmental experts, slides illustrating the daunting dilemma of too much food waste in the environment, a short film on the simple way to compost, and a delicious buffet of treats that were free of waste, the program's informational forum was as impactful as it was inspirational.

 

Option Green 2021: Climate Change & Community

 

Option Green, the partnership between EBPL and FEBEC has been selected as a grantee for Resilient Communities: Libraries Respond to Climate Change, an initiative of the American Library Association. The Spring 2021 program series will be expanded to focus on climate change and its impact on our community.

View the Full Press Release

Option Green 2021 Program Community Partners

• Highland Park Public Library
• Matawan-Aberdeen Public Library
• New Brunswick Free Public Library
• North Brunswick Public Library
• Old Bridge Public Library
• Plainsboro Public Library
• South Brunswick Public Library

 

Live Option Green 2021 programs may have ended, but you can watch them on-demand!

• A Jersey Spin on Decoding the Weather Machine with New Jersey State Climatologist Dr. David A. Robinson (01/13/2021) (Recording available)

• Sustainable Agriculture Projects in Zimbabwe with Dr. Tait Chirenje, Stockton University (02/09/2021) (Recording available)

• Disparate Environmental Impacts: Causes and Solutions to Environmental Injustice with Dr. Maritza Jauregui, Stockton University (03/11/2021) (Recording available)

 

Option Green Virtual Film Festival

• Chasing Ice [2012 / PG-13 / 75 minutes] (01/19/2021 through 01/20/2021)

• How to Let Go of the World and Love All the Things Climate Can’t Change [2016 / TV-14 / 127 minutes] (02/16/2021 through 02/17/2021)

• The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind [2019 / TV-PG / 113 minutes]  (03/16/2021 through 03/17/2021)

• Fire and Flood: Queer Resilience in the Era of Climate Change [In production / This film is not yet rated. Contains some heavy themes and occasional mature language /102 minutes] (04/20/21 through 04/21/2021)

   

 

East Brunswick Public Library Wins Award For Option Green Program Series (10/23/2017)

Association of New Jersey Environmental Commissions President Nancy Tindall and Executive Jennifer M. Coffey present East Brunswick Public Library Programming Librarian Melissa Hozik with the Environmental Achievement Award for the Friends of the East Brunswick Environmental Commission and East Brunswick Public Library’s Option Green programming series.

The Friends of the East Brunswick Environmental Commission and East Brunswick Public Library received a 2017 Environmental Achievement Award from the Association of New Jersey Environmental Commissions (ANJEC) for their Option Green Lecture series.

 

The award was presented at the ANJEC’s Environmental Congress at Mercer County Community College on October 13.
The ANJEC Environmental Achievement Award recognizes exceptional projects carried out by environmental commissions and nonprofit organizations that benefit the local environment. The criteria for the award are the project’s impact, originality, educational value, innovation, and response to a need in the community.

The Option Green Lecture Series began in March 2017 as a partnership between the Friends of the East Brunswick Environmental Commission and the East Brunswick Public Library. The series’ goal is to host speakers on a wide range of topics that offer new or updated information on specific environmental issues.

This year, topics in the series have included climate change in New Jersey, hydroculture, salamander migration and protection, and beekeeping. For more information about the upcoming lectures, including geocaching, visit www.friendsebec.com.