Trenton, NJ – For more than thirty years, NJN has produced documentaries on New Jersey – some of the best of these programs are shown on Sundays at 11 pm as part of NJN Classics. This week NJN Classics presents Nature’s Ripple Effect featuring evolutionary biologist Ted Stiles, a well-respected environmentalist in New Jersey who died on March 7. Professor Stiles taught at Rutgers University for 35 years. He also devoted much of his personal time to working on more than 70 land preservation projects. He was responsible for preserving lands around Hutcheson Memorial Forest and for leading the efforts that permanently preserved Baldpate Mountain, a Mercer County Park that will be renamed “The Ted Stiles Preserve at Baldpate Mountain.” NJN Classics host Marie DeNoia will be joined in the studio by Michael Catania, president of Conservation Resources and a long-time friend of Ted Stiles, for a discussion about Stiles’ life and work and his legacy to New Jersey. In Nature’s Ripple Effect, Stiles shares his views on land conservation and his work with the Nature Conservancy, noting “I do research throughout the world in different environments and I would like New Jersey to have a legacy, a natural heritage legacy that is maintained. And I think that the people of New Jersey want that.” Three other New Jersey environmentalists fighting to help New Jersey achieve a balance between growth and green are also featured in the program. Lobbyist Cindy Zipf of the Ocean Dumping Task Force and Clean Ocean Action, talks about how important it is to protect the fragile ecosystem of New Jersey’s 127 miles of coastline. Her work to stop ocean dumping and clean up New Jersey’s shoreline serves as an example of just how much can be accomplished at the grassroots level. Founder of the New Jersey School of Conservation, environmentalist Jerry Schierloh shares his concerns about people’s disconnect from the land and discusses his efforts to educate students and teachers in ways that allow them to discover the importance of the environment – using trails, experiment stations, group meeting places and discovery kits built around natural focal points. Pete Dunne of the New Jersey Audubon Society points to birds as indicators of environmental health. He addresses the importance of protecting open space and the need to educate people about not only birds, but all natural wonders around them so they may develop a vested interest in protecting the environment. Next week on NJN Classics – Pine Barrens Journey. For more information visit NJN Classics.

NJN is available on all New Jersey cable systems, satellite systems, and Time Warner Cable channel 750 in NYC.
NJN Classics is also available via video streaming at njn.net after the original broadcast.
Additionally, the program is repeated on NJN’s JerseyVision available on Comcast Digital Cable in New Jersey.
(Check http://www.njn.net/digital/schedule.html for detailed listings.)
NJN – Uniquely New Jersey
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