About Us
Edison Wetlands Association (EWA) is a grassroots environmental nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting human health and the environment through conservation and the cleanup of hazardous waste sites.
Check out Edison Wetlands Association’s established programs:
Environmental JusticeEWA has more than 14 years of experience with contaminated sites and their impacts on human health and the environment. As a leading public advocate, we use a unique approach for addressing the cleanup of contaminated sites.
Brownfields to GreenfieldsGreenfields can be defined as the conversion of brownfield sites to open space, for the purposes of conservation, wildlife enhancement, and/or public recreation. EWA works on many sites along the Lower Raritan River such as the Keasbey Redevelopment Area, Edgeboro Landfill, and Kin Buc Superfund Site.
Re-Purpose New JerseyRe-Purpose New Jersey is a sustainability pioneer that recycles clothing, shoes, and other textiles from municipalities, businesses, universities, and schools at no cost. By keeping these materials out of landfills and incinerators, recycling textiles is good for the environment and saves millions of hard-earned taxpayer dollars in disposal costs.
Raritan River Initiative
The Lower Raritan Watershed’s environmental health has strongly rebounded through EWA’s advocacy over the past decade, but there is a long way to go. Bald eagles, peregrine falcons, and osprey again soar the Raritan skies, and a thriving fish population has helped seals, otters, and marine life recover here. There is a long way to go, however. Since 1989, EWA’s Raritan River Project has fought for the cleanup and restoration of the hazardous waste sites posing the greatest threats to human health and environment.
Triple C Ranch & Nature CenterIn April 2001, EWA completed the purchase of the ranch, which had fallen into considerable disrepair. EWA has since restored the Triple C Ranch as the only working farm in the Edison-Woodbridge area, and one of the few remaining farms in northern Middlesex Country.
Environmental Education ProgramEdison Wetlands Association now boasts over 1,000 visitors to the Triple C Ranch each year. Groups include schools, homeschools, churches, adult education, civic groups, senior groups and scout troops. With the Triple C Ranch as their outdoor classroom, students see the wonders of nature firsthand, in a way rarely experienced in crowded Central Jersey. Whether seeing our farm animals, discovering diversity alongside the trails, or sweeping a net throughout the flowing waters of the Bound Brook, the Environmental Education program provides knowledge and memories that students will carry with them for a lifetime.
Read about the History of how EWA began!
Check out our Breaking News section to read recent media coverage about EWA!
Check out our Videos section for a virtual tour of projects and sites EWA is working on!
Edison Wetlands Association is supported by grants and donations from people like you.
Please see our donations page for more information about supporting EWA.
What do we do?
EWA was founded in 1989 to address issues such as open space preservation and the hazardous waste contamination at the Chemical Insecticide Corporation Superfund Site (CIC) in Edison. After 20 years of EWA’s advocacy, our work on CIC now serves as a national model for effective grassroots advocacy, earning us a profile in the national bestseller, “Bushwhacked” by Molly Ivins and the 1997 Environmental Quality Award—the USEPA’s highest honor. (Click here to read about the Green Rabbits Story!)
Thus began EWA’s quest to address contaminated sites and communities that are being ignored by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP), United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) and other regulatory agencies. EWA currently manages over 70 sites throughout the state of New Jersey working with the elected officials, local community groups, municipalities, and different agencies to assure proper remediation above state and federal levels.
Many of these sites impact human health and the environment, some are examples of environmental justice and others have potential as Brownfields-to-Greenfields projects. And EWA hasn’t forgotten about land preservation. In 2000, we purchased the Triple C Ranch and Nature Center, the last remaining farm in Edison, located in the heart of the Dismal Swamp Conservation Area. This outdoor classroom and nature preserve offers exciting environmental education programs for children and community groups. Through research, correspondence, petitions, networking and legal routes, Edison Wetlands Association works to make real progress in cleaning up New Jersey.
Because of our grassroots experience in the field, EWA is consulted regularly by the media and elected officials to provide guidance on vital environmental decisions. Executive Director Robert Spiegel has testified three times before the United States Senate on the federal Superfund issue, and recently testified before Senate staff on the public health risks of trichloroethylene. EWA’s accomplishments have been profiled in the New York Times, Time Magazine, NBC Nightly News, CNN, Washington Post, ABC News, New York Newsday, Philadelphia Inquirer, CBS News, Mother Jones, and Los Angeles Times, as well as a 2003 national bestseller and the 2004 Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation book, H2O: Highlands to Ocean.
What can you do?
Become a member of Edison Wetlands Association! With your support, YOU can help EWA enhance the quality of life in our community.
Click here to find out all the benefits of becoming a member of EWA!
When making your charity and estate decisions, please keep us in mind. The Edison Wetlands Association relies heavily on private donations.
