Run to remember Robbinsville environmental advocate, Tomm May, set for Oct. 12
By Sara Jerome
When the late geology expert and Robbinsville native Tomm May began urging his friends and family to recycle way back in the ’70s, they thought it was a little quirky.
“He made us as a family, even back then, recycle,” said Janet Young, one of May’s younger sisters. “We were like, ‘Huh?’ But he was really adamant and determined.”
May’s determination is what eventually made him one of the most important environmental figures in the history of Robbinsville. He died in a tragic accident in 1988, but his legacy lives on in the greenery of the town. Robbinsville may have been drastically different if not for May’s work.
That’s why members of the community gather for a 5K race each year to recognize May, who was an avid runner. A nature walk on a trail named in honor of May is also part of the event. Now in its 20th year, the event is slated for Oct. 12. Proceeds are donated to preserving the trail.
May remains a beloved figure in Robbinsville because of his environmental advocacy work. Residents say he changed the history of Robbinsville.
Back in the ’70s, Robbinsville (then Washington Township) came under consideration as the site of a hazardous waste dump. May galvanized locals to help him fight the proposal, and the effort paid off: the waste site was ultimately blocked.
May drew on his expertise in the sciences to persuade stakeholders at town hall meetings to oppose the waste site.
“To be effective in a debate like that, you need someone who knows what to say to counter the developers,” said his sister, Young, who was a teenager at the time. “Tomm was the scientific mind in the group. He knew why the soil in that area was the worst place to choose.”
May took on the well-funded developers. What he lacked in funding, he made up for with precision and rigor, shoring up his presentations with solid scientific facts.
“At meetings, he got up in front of the developers and blew them away,” Young said. “Their mouths would just open, because he was responding with factual, scientific evidence about the topography. He prevented that landfill from coming into the township.”
May showed officials the dangers the waste site could bring to the town.
“He convinced them that the local water levels wouldn’t support the site,” said Joe Barker, who is helping organize the 5K as recreation director for the town. “Having any hazardous waste would get into the water system and really create problems.”
Janet Van Nest remembers May for his “dedication to the environment” and his “gentle spirit.” She was his neighbor, and fought the proposed waste site with him as a fellow activist.
She said May and the activism group were concerned the proposed waste site would have the same effects as a site in Bordentown, which gave off a smell and attracted seagulls who flocked to the pollution.
“We were familiar with their problems,” she said.
Van Nest remarked on how much times have changed, noting that May’s concern for the environment was ahead of its time.
“Believe it or not, people back then said ‘no, no, no,’ we’re not going to recycle. They thought it was too much trouble,” she said.
Now there are more regulations in place to protect the environment, she said. But in those days, May’s work was a novelty.
“People are just very used to it now. But back then, it was different. Tomm would recycle and compost and conserve water, and he did all those things before it was a popular thing,” Van Nest said.
Wherever he went, May’s love for the environment had a contagious effect. At the time of his death, he was pursuing a PhD. Long before the township battle, his environmental advocacy began at home.
“He got it all started with us as a family,” Young said. “I would try to slip things in the garbage, and he’d say, ‘Janet, no.’ We were the sisters, and of course, we looked up to him, because he was our big brother. After a while we realized ‘This is important.’ He had forward thinking.”
Young, a banking industry professional with a horticulture background, said her brother’s passion for the environment left a strong mark on her: She still recycles, and she seeks out ways to live sustainably.
“Now, it’s ingrained into who I am,” she said. “Paper, plastic, glass, textiles. If I don’t need it, I give it to Goodwill.”
May’s legacy lives on in Robbinsville, as well, where locals say their town might be quite a different place today if the waste site had been built all those years ago.
“In essence, he changed the face of what Robbinsville became,” Barker said. “If a hazardous waste site were built, I doubt it would be the choice of many people to come and live here after that. A lot of the properties built in the last 20 years just wouldn’t have happened.”
He said Robbinsville residents have May to thank for their pristine surroundings.
“We still have this beautiful town, and this beautiful park because of Tomm May’s work,” Barker said.
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