Fair Lawn Resident Wins 'Going Green' Award

The Fair Lawn Green Team presented its "Going Green" award last week to a borough resident who has taken extra care to increase the efficiency of his home and lifestyle.

Marc Colyer, the recipient, has rain barrels, composters, an organic garden with a dry well and is an avid recycler, according to Green Team Chairperson Joan Goldstein

"We're just astounded at the things he had," she said.

Colyer told Patch he was surprised and honored to win the award.

"I really didn't think I was doing anything special, it just felt like the right things to do," he said.

Colyer's environmentally-friendly methods were developed gradually as he became interested in gardening and growing his own food, earning him a reputation among neighbors and coworkers as a source of tasty organic tomatoes.

"It just blossomed into doing things in a more sustainable way," Colyer said.

His increasing interest in efficiency led him to install rain barrels and the dry well, which helped keep his water bill down and was just easier than using the hose. Colyer has also found that recycling all the organic material from his property in the garden and his lawn has eliminated his need for fertilizers or pesticides. 

"The more you work with nature, the less need you have for chemicals," he said.

Besides recycling organic material, Colyer also recycles metal for items like garden art and pathway lights. He's also taken an interest in blacksmithing because the old-fashioned ways of doing things are sometimes more efficient, he said.

"A lot of the modern ways of doing thins are incredibly wasteful," Colyer said. "You just have to think about things a little bit."

For more information about the Green Team, visit the borough website.