Sustainable Margate Chairman Steve Jasiecki has been named Sustainability Hero of the Month by the organization that leads municipal green teams across the state.
Also known to locals as Scuba Steve, Jasiecki believes in collaboration, especially among the Downbeach towns of Ventnor, Margate and Longport, and has formed Sustainable Downbeach to enhance collaboration on Absecon Island.
A former professional photographer who likes to travel to Florida and the islands to go scuba diving, Jasiecki said he is alarmed by the degradation of the ocean and the bleaching of the coral in tropical areas.
“People need to be aware of what’s happening with global warming and the environment,” he said. “The environment provides us with the food, air, and clean water that sustains us.”
Over the last decade, he has been involved in educating the public about the fragile nature of the marine environment by tabling at local events, participating in Sustainable Jersey Atlantic-Cape Hub events, and attending municipal meetings in Downbeach and elsewhere in the county to advocate for a clean environment.
As leader of Sustainable Margate, he has led the team to perform actions that garnered Sustainable Jersey Bronze certification, enabling the city to qualify to receive grants for sustainability projects. He is a member of the Margate City Planning and Zoning Board, partners with agencies such as Clean Ocean Action and the Surfrider Foundation on community and semi-annual beach cleanups, and has encouraged other green teams to adopt ordinances and resolutions that prevent pollution.
Provided/From left, Anthony Edge, Steve Jasiecki and Bob Blumberg pose in front of the Salem Oak sapling planted near Ann Pancoast Dog Park in Margate.
His most recent effort has encouraged local municipalities, including neighboring Longport, to adopt resolutions and ordinances to prevent toxic plastic waste pollution at construction sites that can enter the stormwater management system that brings rainwater to the bay and ocean.
Jasiecki was also instrumental in encouraging numerous municipalities and the County of Atlantic to adopt lighter-than-air balloon release bans to protect marine animals. Balloons are carried by prevailing winds into the Atlantic Ocean where they burst, drop into the ocean and endanger marine life.
He also works to protect the ospreys that nest in the marshes around Absecon Island by erecting and maintaining osprey nests perched atop timbers that dot the marshlands.
He is an astronomy buff who has undertaken a visual campaign to educate the public about the universe by erecting signs along a 1.5-mile stretch of the Ventnor City boardwalk showing the planets scaled to size in relation to the sun. The signs are currently mounted along the railings on the boardwalk for the summer season.
Jasiecki conducts presentations for children and their families during Thrilling Thursday events each year, holds a discovery Beach Walk during Beachstock, hosts Environmental Row at te Cherry Blossom Festival in spring and at Scott’s Dock during the Fall FunFest on Amherst Avenue. He can also be found paddling his kayak to keep little rubber duckies from escaping during the city’s annual Ducky Derby.
“Other people have done a lot more than I have,” he said, recognizing the team of environmentalists he leads. “I’m just trying to create awareness about our area, and I appreciate all the cooperation I get from our membership.”
He is currently working to compile an inventory of community assets, such as arts and history organizations, schools and non-profit organizations operating in the area.
Read more about him on the Sustainable Jersey website .
Descriptive boards about the planets are spaced in proportion on a 1-inch to 100,000-mile scale.
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