Bergenfield, New Jersey, held its second annual Family Fun Day [1] on June 14 at Veteran's Memorial Park. The free event, which was open to all borough residents, featured children’s amusement rides, games, and other family activities during the afternoon, followed by entertainment and fireworks in the evening.
“The idea is to bring people together, and let them enjoy the day with their families and make some new friends,” says Bergenfield Councilman Barry Doll (pictured here). Another bright idea—suggested by a member of the borough’s Ecology Committee—was to invite Project Porchlight to participate. “We thought that would highlight ecology and raise awareness and also give Project Porchlight a chance to be in the spotlight,” says Councilman Doll.
A total of 550 energy-saving compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs were handed out at the event, 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 [2], and the campaign is made possible thanks to funding by the state Board of Public Utilities (BPU) [3] and New Jersey’s Clean Energy Program (NJCEP) [4].
“We were absolutely happy to have Project Porchlight there,” says Councilman Doll. “I think we’re on the verge of using alternative energy. In the meantime, we have to conserve our resources as much as we can and keep our mother earth as clean as possible.”
When it comes to protecting our environment, simple actions matter. Even something as simple as changing a light bulb is important. “Actions that the ordinary person can do can make a difference,” says Councilman Doll. “It’s not so complicated. For example, using an efficient light bulb: It doesn’t take somebody who is very involved with anything or specially educated to understand the benefit of changing a light bulb. It’s easy.
“We have to do this,” adds Councilman Doll. “If we poison our environment and use up all of our resources, where do we go? At this point, we don’t have any spaceships taking us any place else. This is it.”