The annual Mill Hill Garden Tour, which is sponsored by the Old Mill Hill Society, showcases wonderful urban gardens in the Mill Hill neighborhood of Trenton, New Jersey. This year’s tour, "Urban GreenScapes," took place on June 13 and its theme was sustainability, which some Mill Hill gardeners have embraced by selecting native species well-suited to the central New Jersey climate, growing vegetables, adaptively re-using found objects, making compost, and choosing natural fertilizer.

Visitors started at the Artworks brick studios then traveled on foot to more than 20 private gardens. Artworks was a partner in the event, which also featured Project Porchlight educating people on the energy savings offered by compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs.

A total of 161 CFL bulbs were handed out, part of Project Porchlight New Jersey’s campaign to distribute one million free energy-efficient light bulbs to residents across the state. Project Porchlight is an initiative of One Change, and the campaign is made possible thanks to funding by the state Board of Public Utilities (BPU) and New Jersey’s Clean Energy Program (NJCEP).

“The event was a big success,” says Artworks Executive Director Michael Gumpert (pictured right). “People from outside of Trenton came and saw our beautiful neighborhoods, and having Project Porchlight participate was really fantastic.”

When it comes to protecting our environment, simple actions matter. Even something as simple as changing a light bulb is important. Michael knows all about conservation. Up until a recent accident, he used to drive a car powered by vegetable oil. “I’m not suggesting that everyone needs to drive a veggie-powered car,” he says. “But people can turn the lights off when they leave a room. Change their light bulbs to CFL bulbs. Do some of the simple things. If everyone changes the margins just by half an inch on all their Word documents, we’ll save a lot of trees.

“Our present energy consumption lifestyle is not sustainable,” adds Michael. “It’s so important because our world is dying. There are some small, simple compromises that people need to make, and that can make an enormous difference.”