Highland Park Ecology and Environmental Group
Welcome to Highland Park Ecology and Environmental Group! We are based out of Highland Park, NJ, but open to anything environmental anywhere on our one planet. Thus far, most of the work we have done has been trash clean-ups in and around Highland Park and along the Raritan River, and rain garden maintanece. We have been doing clean-ups in “natural” areas and “in town” as well. Clean-ups are usually all ages. See below for the latest details on dates and locations. We have worked with several other groups including Sustainable Highland Park, Lower Raritan Watershed Partnership, and Beautiful Edison. In the future, we plan to do much more.
We are now also maintaining the rain gardens in town. We have done planting in the gardens on South 4th, South 5th, and the Teen Center. We will be planting bulbs in Fall 2026. We will continue to maintain the gardens in perpetuity. See below for any scheduled rain garden work. Dates, times, and locations will be added as they become available.
If you wish to contact us, join our clean-up mailing list, suggest a clean-up location, add your clean-up details to the list, have a joint clean-up, sign-up for our rain garden email list, or for any other reason, you can email us at hpeegnews@gmail.com
Below is a list of currently scheduled cleanups and the groups running them. HPEEG plans to be present for all (if possible). Details will be updated as they become available. For all clean-ups gloves, bags, grabbers, and other equipment will be provided. Clean-up details are added as they are determined, so please refresh the page to see the latest details. SHP/HPEEG dates for for clean-ups for 2026 are now available! Exact times (generally 2 hrs in the 9:00 am to 12:00 pm range) and exact locations for some are to be determined. All clean-ups are weather permitting so check back for any cancellation notices. Below the clean-ups is the schedule for rain garden work. Rain garden work is all ages, and all supplies will be provided.
CLEAN-UPS
Saturday November 7, 2026 – Sustainable Highland Park/Highland Park Ecology and Environmental Group/Human Relations Commission – Molimock-Graff Park (formerly Karsey Park) – 10:00 am – 12:00 pm – Meet at Molimock-Graff Park, 201-299 Karsey St, Highland Park, NJ 08904
Sunday November 15, 2026 – Sustainable Highland Park/Highland Park Ecology and Environmental Group – Valley Place Trail and trail along the Raritan River parallel to South Adelaide Ave. – 10:00 am – 12:00 pm – Meet at the entrance to Valley Place Trail at the intersection of South Adelaide Ave and Valley Place, Highland Park, NJ 08904
Saturday December 5, 2026 – Sustainable Highland Park/Highland Park Ecology and Environmental Group – Native Plant Sanctuary – 10:00 am – 12:00 pm – Meet at the Native Plant Sanctuary on River Road, across from Harrison Ave, Highland Park, NJ 08904
Sunday December 20, 2026 – Sustainable Highland Park/Highland Park Ecology and Environmental Group – Pre-holiday downtown cleanup – 10:00 am – 12:00 pm – Meet at the rain gardens on South 4th Ave just off Raritan Ave, Highland Park, NJ 08904
Saturday January 2, 2027 – Sustainable Highland Park/Highland Park Ecology and Environmental Group – 10:00 am – 12:00 pm – Location TBD
Sunday January 17, 2027 – Sustainable Highland Park/Highland Park Ecology and Environmental Group – 10:00 am – 12:00 pm – Location TBD
Saturday February 6, 2027 – Sustainable Highland Park/Highland Park Ecology and Environmental Group – 10:00 am – 12:00 pm – Location TBD
Sunday February 21, 2027 – Sustainable Highland Park/Highland Park Ecology and Environmental Group – 10:00 am – 12:00 pm – Location TBD
Saturday March 6, 2027 – Sustainable Highland Park/Highland Park Ecology and Environmental Group – 10:00 am – 12:00 pm – Location TBD
Sunday March 21, 2027 – Sustainable Highland Park/Highland Park Ecology and Environmental Group – 10:00 am – 12:00 pm – Location TBD
Saturday April 3, 2027 – Sustainable Highland Park/Highland Park Ecology and Environmental Group – 10:00 am – 12:00 pm – Location TBD
Sunday April 18, 2027 – Sustainable Highland Park/Highland Park Ecology and Environmental Group – 10:00 am – 12:00 pm – Location TBD
Saturday May 1, 2027 – Sustainable Highland Park/Highland Park Ecology and Environmental Group – Pre-Earth Day and Street Fair downtown cleanup – 10:00 am – 12:00 pm -Meet on North 3rd Ave just off Raritan Ave, Highland Park, NJ 08904
Sunday May 16, 2027 – Sustainable Highland Park/Highland Park Ecology and Environmental Group – 9:00 am – 11:00 am – Location TBD
Saturday June 5, 2027 – Sustainable Highland Park/Highland Park Ecology and Environmental Group – 9:00 am – 11:00 am – Location TBD
Sunday June 20, 2027 – Sustainable Highland Park/Highland Park Ecology and Environmental Group – 9:00 am – 11:00 am – Location TBD
Saturday July 3, 2027 – Sustainable Highland Park/Highland Park Ecology and Environmental Group – 9:00 am – 11:00 am – Location TBD
Sunday July 18, 2027 – Sustainable Highland Park/Highland Park Ecology and Environmental Group – Irving School and surrounding area – 9:00 am – 11:00 am – Meet at the Main Entrance on South 11th Ave, Highland Park, NJ 08904
Saturday August 7, 2027 – Sustainable Highland Park/Highland Park Ecology and Environmental Group – Bartle School – 9:00 am – 11:00 am – Meet at the picnic tables on Mansfield Street, Highland Park, NJ 08904
Sunday August 15, 2027 – Sustainable Highland Park/Highland Park Ecology and Environmental Group – High School/Middle School – 9:00 am – 11:00 am – Meet in the parking lot off South 5th Ave, Highland Park, NJ 08904
Saturday September 4, 2027 – Sustainable Highland Park/Highland Park Ecology and Environmental Group – 9:00 am – 11:00 am – Location TBD
Sunday September 19, 2027 – Sustainable Highland Park/Highland Park Ecology and Environmental Group – 10:00 am – 12:00 pm – Location TBD
Saturday October 2, 2027 – Sustainable Highland Park/Highland Park Ecology and Environmental Group – 10:00 am – 12:00 pm – Location TBD
Sunday October 17, 2027 – Sustainable Highland Park/Highland Park Ecology and Environmental Group – 10:00 am – 12:00 pm – Location TBD
Saturday November 6, 2027 – Sustainable Highland Park/Highland Park Ecology and Environmental Group – 10:00 am – 12:00 pm – Location TBD
Sunday November 21, 2027 – Sustainable Highland Park/Highland Park Ecology and Environmental Group – 10:00 am – 12:00 pm – Location TBD
Saturday December 4, 2027 – Sustainable Highland Park/Highland Park Ecology and Environmental Group – 10:00 am – 12:00 pm – Location TBD
Sunday December 19, 2027 – Sustainable Highland Park/Highland Park Ecology and Environmental Group – Pre-holiday downtown cleanup – 10:00 am – 12:00 pm – Meet at the rain gardens on South 4th Ave just off Raritan Ave, Highland Park, NJ 08904
RAIN GARDENS
Currently we have no rain garden plantings or maintenance scheduled
LINKS TO OUR PARTNERS
Sustainable Highland Park: sustainablehighlandpark.org/
Highland Park Environmental Commission: https://hpenvironmentalcommission.org/
Lower Raritan Watershed Partnership: https://lowerraritanwatershed.org/
Beautiful Edison: htttps://BeautifulEdison.com
Edison Community Gardens Initiative: https://edisoncommunitygardens.org/
Reformed Church of Highland Park: https://www.rchighlandpark.org/
New Jersey Litter Picker: https://www.facebook.com/groups/269732495173783