June 13, 2025

Employees from JCP&L’s Green Team have planted more than 2,000 company-donated trees across our New Jersey service territory this year as part of FirstEnergy’s commitment to the environment and sustainability.

“We are fortunate to work and raise our families in one of the most beautiful states in the country and privileged to give back to our communities with a program that provides a greener, cleaner and healthier environment,” said Doug Mokoid, New Jersey President. “Our team members often clean up fallen trees after storms, and I’m proud of their commitment to volunteering their time to restore what was lost by planting anew.”

JCP&L is more than two-thirds of the way toward eclipsing last year’s total of 2,795 trees, with 2,174 trees donated and planted to date. The work is part of our larger effort, which is on pace to pass a goal of donating 25,000 trees in 2025 across our five-state service territory.

So far this year, nearly 23,000 trees have been planted. And more than 40 JCP&L Green Team members have donated a total of 214 hours to tree-planting events. JCP&L launched FirstEnergy’s first Green Team in 2018, and the company now has Green Team chapters in each of the states we serve.

Tree-planting locations are chosen in partnership with local nonprofit organizations with a focus on ensuring the trees are placed safely away from power lines and other utility infrastructure. Varieties include native species like red maple, river birch, white and northern red oak, shagbark and bitternut hickory, pitch pine and dogwoods.

Some of this year’s tree-planting events in New Jersey include:

• More than 580 trees planted on Earth Day with the Girl Scouts of the Jersey Shore at Camp Sacajawea in Farmingdale.
• 400 trees planted with Schiff Natural Lands Trust and the Mendham Township Environmental Commission at the Tempe Wick Preserve in Mendham.
• Collaborations with Shade Tree Commissions and Parents Teacher Organizations to plant trees at local schools, including 160 trees at Howell Middle School South in Howell, 100 trees at Milford Brook Elementary School in Manalapan and 64 trees at Clara B. Worth Elementary School in Bayville.
• Nearly 180 trees planted at the Wattles Stewardship Center in Port Murray with the N.J. Audubon Society and another 250 trees planted with the Musconetong Watershed Association at Hampton Borough Park in Hampton.
• More than 300 trees planted at Winding River Park in Toms River, days after a wildfire scorched more than 15,000 acres just 10 miles to the south.

In addition to tree plantings, employees also volunteered at events that included tree donations. In early May, they gave away 150 tree seedlings at the New Jersey Sustainability Summit, hosted by Sustainable Jersey at Bell Works in Holmdel, home to JCP&L’s central New Jersey headquarters.