Esther Van Der Wart Yanai (May 15, 1928 – October 15, 2003) worked for more than thirty years to preserve open space in

Moorestown, New Jersey Moorestown is a Township (New Jersey), township in Burlington County, New Jersey, Burlington County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is an eastern suburb of Philadelphia and geographically part of the South Jersey region of the state. As of ...

Background

Born in

Schenectady Schenectady () is a city in Schenectady County, New York, United States, of which it is the county seat. As of the 2020 census, the city's population of 67,047 made it the state's ninth-largest city by population. The city is in eastern New Y ...

, New York, Yanai earned her bachelor's degree from

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York. Established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church, the university has been nonsectarian since 1920. Locate ...

. She earned her master's degree in social work from the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Tw ...

. She was working in Minneapolis as a

social worker Social work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession concerned with meeting the basic needs of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society as a whole to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social work ...

when she met her future husband, Hideyasu Steve Yanai, a chemist and native of

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. They were married in 1956 and they moved to

in 1958.

Career

In the 1960s, Yanai organized a project to study conservation issues for the

League of Women Voters The League of Women Voters (LWV or the League) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan political organization in the United States. Founded in 1920, its ongoing major activities include registering voters, providing voter information, and advocating for vot ...

. This led, in 1972, to her helping to found, and then later becoming the president of, the citizens' group Save the Environment of Moorestown (STEM). She was on the Moorestown Environmental Advisory Committee and helped in the creation of this organization. She was active with the Pompeston Watershed Association. She also served on the Moorestown planning board for 16 years. Yanai drove the creation of a natural resource inventory (NRI) for the Township, a process that took ten years. In 1988, the NRI was finally adopted as an appendix to the Township Master plan. She was the driving force behind an open space inventory for Moorestown's first Open Space Committee. She worked with local artists to create banners that celebrated every open space. She campaigned for the Green Acres bond issues and worked on many public education events.

Legacy

A 34-acre property near Albury Court on Garwood Road has been named in her honor. It was preserved as a Moorestown Open Space in October 2004. It is primarily wetlands and includes some vernal pools.

Awards

*2009 Honoree of the National Women's History Month

Death

Yanni died at the age of 75 on October 15, 2003, of

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

. She died at her daughter's home in

Syracuse, New York Syracuse ( ) is a City (New York), city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, Onondaga County, New York, United States. It is the fifth-most populous city in the state of New York following New York City, Buffalo, New York, Buffa ...

. She is survived by her husband, her daughters, Ruth and Nina, and her granddaughter, Nora.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yanai, Esther Syracuse University alumni University of Minnesota College of Education and Human Development alumni 2003 deaths 1928 births People from Schenectady, New York People from Moorestown, New Jersey Deaths from cancer in New York (state)