If you’re ready to make your home or business more environmentally friendly you might want to take the first-ever Monmouth County Eco Tour scheduled for Sept. 26 and 27. The tour includes an Ocean Township tea room, Tinton Falls rain gardens, bee hives and pesticide-free gardens.
The tour is sponsored by the Monmouth Transition Group and local environmental commissions.
The tour will visit homes, businesses and farms where green practices are conducted: solar panels, backyard gardens, beehives, mushroom harvesting, rain barrels, cisterns, businesses that recycle 100 percent of their waste, up-cycled crafting, and more.
“I am very glad this is occurring. It allows people to visit businesses and residences that showcase green practices. People can learn about these green practices by seeing them in action,” said Ray Pogwist, chairman of the Ocean Township Environmental Commission.
Pogwist said he also gets to showcase his own property, Ray and Sue’s Homestead, as part of the tour.
On Sat., Sept. 26, sites in eastern Monmouth County will be on the tour, including those in Asbury Park, Middletown, Red Bank, Rumson, Fair Haven, Shrewsbury, Ocean Township, Tinton Falls, Long Branch, and West Long Branch.
On Sunday, Sept. 27, western Monmouth County sites will be open in Marlboro, Freehold, and Holmdel.
In Ocean Township, Kirsten’s White House Tea House, 45 Monmouth Rd, will welcome the tour on Saturday from 2 to 4 p.m. The Tea House serves organic teas and light foods made from the fresh local and organic ingredients.
The business is one of the most sustainable in Monmouth County- powered 100 percent by wind energy, having a completely toxin-free inside environment, and having a no garbage philosophy. It is also the first company to provide charging for electric cars in Ocean Township..
Also on the tour in Ocean Township are Ray and Sue’s Homestead at 1308 Vina Ave. from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The Homestead features bee hives; organic, pesticide-free gardens; honey production; and side-yard gardening.
The Community Garden at the Middlebrook Apartments, 816 Deal Rd., are also on the tour from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The garden is on Garden Drive, behind the tennis courts.
The Tinton Falls Eco Tour will be by bus and people wanting to take the tour should be at the Crawford House, 750 Tinton Avenue, by 9:45 a.m. The tour lasts from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sites on the tour are homes and businesses with solar panels; organic/sustainable gardens; rain barrel systems; rain gardens; and beekeeping.
For more information go online and search for 2015 Eastern Monmouth County Eco Tour or 2015 Western Monmouth County Eco Tour.
