Earth Crew is the core and life-blood of the Mahwah Environmental Volunteers Organization, Inc. (MEVO). Comprised of passionate volunteers, our mission is to
“Carry out service events that heal the natural environment and engage people in stopping environmental degradation.”

Earth Crew is the organization’s primary volunteer outlet and operates as the centerpiece for MEVO’s environmental work. Earth Crew christened MEVO with its first event in the summer of 2008, a trash cleanup at Winter’s Park in Mahwah, New Jersey. Since then, with the help of a continuously expanding and tremendously dedicated corps of volunteers, the Earth Crew has carried out dozens of environmental service events. With activities ranging from clean-up projects and trail rehabilitation to recycling bin distribution and educational presentations, the Earth Crew promotes sustainability in our communities to protect the welfare of the natural environment.

Past Earth Crew events include:

Clean-ups
Earth Crew’s trash cleanups are an integral part of what we do. In order to combat littering and its consequences – chemical damage to ground soil, harm to various animals exposed to trash, health risks to people, unsightly communities, etc. – Earth Crew works to eliminate these issues by removing garbage from the environment and disposing of it properly.

Tree planting and gardening
The Earth Crew’s horticultural efforts, such as events in conjunction with the New Jersey Botanical Gardens, help raise plants that not only give us precious oxygen but beautify the splendor of the environment.

Recycling drives
Earth Crew works with another non-profit, Principia NP, to encourage recycling old electronics. If sent to a landfill, their components, such as internal batteries, poison the environment. During Earth Crew recycling drives, old electronics are accepted free of charge and sent to a special processing center where they are broken down safely and effectively.

Compact fluorescent light bulb distribution
To promote energy preservation, Earth Crew partners with OneChange and assists their Project Porchlight initiative, in which our volunteers distribute compact fluorescent bulbs throughout local towns. CFL bulbs conserve tremendous amounts of electricity (likely generated by fossil fuels) and save money on energy bills.

Trail maintenance, construction and rehabilitation
Environmental enthusiasts love to hike but without proper paths to walk on, human activity causes erosion and harms flora. Earth Crew partners with the NY-NJ Trail Conference to restore hiking trails throughout the New York / New Jersey area so people can enjoy nature without inadvertently hurting it.

Recycling bin creation and distribution
Courtesy of Hydrosorbent Dehumidifiers in Massachusetts, Earth Crew inherits wooden bins that would otherwise be sent to a landfill and instead turns them into recycling containers that are distributed to schools, business and parks in the Tri-state area.

Educational assemblies and public outreach
Spreading awareness is one of the most effective ways of protecting the environment. Earth Crew participates in various types of public outreach programs in order to update people on pressing ecological issues. These include organizing assemblies in the Mahwah school district that teach students about the benefits of recycling (and the implications of not recycling), promoting anti-idling campaigns to decrease carbon emissions and visiting town fairs to raise local awareness.

Today, Earth Crew operates throughout northern New Jersey and upstate New York, carrying out environmental service events three or four times per month during the spring, summer and autumn seasons. Our volunteer base is led by and consists of young adults from both high school and college, stemming primarily from our home town of Mahwah and surrounding municipalities in Bergen County. MEVO strives to mitigate human impact on nature and instill an appreciation for it amongst our peers. Preserve the delicate ecological balance that colors our world each and every day for future generations!

Since 2008, the Earth Crew has

• Engaged 340 people in volunteer events
• Built up a volunteer base of over 1000 members
• Carried out over 18,000+ hours of service
• Directed 70+ volunteer events
• Distributed 2309 compact fluorescent light bulbs
• Up-cycled and distributed 213 industrial shipping drums into recycling bins, preventing 639 cubic feet of methane from entering the atmosphere each year
• Planted 65 trees
• Rehabilitated 11 miles of hiking trails
• Built 6 miles of low-impact hiking trails

We need your help for these numbers to grow! Whether you can give just a couple of hours at a cleanup or organize entire events, the Earth Crew is always in need of passionate volunteers to aid us in our mission. Get involved today and do your part to protect the environment!

What is the problem we are trying to solve?

The Mahwah Environmental Volunteers Organization was founded in the summer of 2008 by a bunch of nature loving teenagers who wanted to make a difference. We envision a sustainable world with enough resources for everyone, where people don’t live in toxic surroundings and where everybody considers their impact on the Earth. MEVO carries out volunteer work to promote environmental sustainability throughout local communities. We plant trees, clean-up polluted areas, rehabilitate soil erosion, start natural agriculture farms, organize electronic recycling drives, educate students on recycling, distribute recycling bins and give away compact fluorescent light bulbs. We want to get people involved in improving their society and working to solve our worst environmental problems.

Click to watch our mission video, see what MEVO is all about!

Why is it important to us?

Our planet is our Eco-system, the place where the entire 7 BILLION population lives. Generations that follow won’t have the same opportunities we do if we don’t live in partnership with the Earth by keeping it clean and managing its resources. We are students, leaders and above all we are the ones will inherit our planet and society. We need to take action now to ensure the safety and health of children in the future. It isn’t hard. We can do it! But reducing our impact on the environment is only possible if we work together to solve our waste, food and pollution habits. Taking action now will create an even more beautiful Earth tomorrow.

What is our plan of action?

A bunch of super awesome youth, students and the occasional adult get together for weekend environmental volunteer events. These events are planned by youth, led by youth, managed by youth and carried out by youth as an example of our generation’s passion for change. We have organized over 56 events involving more than 243 people in environmental community service. We have handed out 2,610+ compact fluorescent light bulbs. This amount of bulbs is the equivalent to removing 135 cars off the road and preventing 1,099,828.77 lbs (500 tons!) of CO2 emissions. We have planted well over 200 trees, rehabilitated at least 9 miles of badly eroded hiking trails and helped build about 6 miles of long-term low-impact hiking trails. We have collected hundreds of bags of trash, recycling and scrap metal. We have educated hundreds of students on the importance of recycling by hosting assemblies throughout many public schools. We have painted 196 recycling bins and distributed 100 of these to schools and business to create a more effective and efficient collection of recycling. This is all in days work. We have only been operating for a little over three and a half years! Imagine what we can and will do in five or ten.

How can you help?

We need youth. We need student leaders. We need volunteers. We need professional advisers. We need academic interns. WE NEED YOU! Do you think what we do is cool? Well my sister or brother, we think you rock! We love passionate people and we want you to help us MAKE A DIFFERENCE. We need people who want to dedicate some of their time volunteering to change the way communities approach environmental sustainability. Do you want to volunteer on the weekend? Want to be a student leader of one of our programs? Want to organize an academic internship? Have a great idea for a new project? Need help getting your project off the ground and think we could provide some resources? Email us and let us know mevo@mevoearth.org and/or sign-up to volunteer with us HERE! This is our Earth, our Eco-system, and we need all the help we can get.