17th Annual Environmental Film Festival
Saturday, June 6, 2026
Amphitheatre, 339 Pleasant Valley Road, Mendham, NJ
(Use 351 Pleasant Valley Rd, Mendham in Your GPS to Arrive at the Schiff Nature Preserve Entrance. Follow the one-way road up to the Nature Center. )
Welcome to Schiff’s 17th Annual Environmental Film Festival (EFF), a beloved community event showcasing important environmental topics. Each year, we offer inspiring films, opportunities for learning and discussion, and a chance to raise funds for Schiff. The event is a special way to explore the preserve, with activities like hayrides, hikes, and gathering around the fire pit with friends.
NEW! This year, the EFF will be held in the Amphitheatre, on outdoor seating and viewing area requiring a shorter hike/hayride with seating provided. Once in the Amphitheatre, folks can enjoy the 360°views of the woods, good company, popcorn, and the anticipation of the films. Due to the event’s popularity, we’ve implemented handicapped parking for those who hold the credential and are not well suited for a hike or a hayride to the venue. Directions to the handicapped parking area will be sent to those who select the parking a few days in advance of the event. Also, NEW this year, we are offering FREE ice cream from Cream of the Crop from Gladstone.
Join us for an alfresco movie experience with seating, complimentary popcorn, and water. Bring a picnic dinner, your favorite beverages, some cash, and a friend to support Schiff Natural Lands Trust. In case of rain, the films will be shown inside the Nature Center, sans hayride and ice cream truck.
6:30 pm – Check in begins at the Nature Center & Self-Guided Hikes to the Amphitheatre
6:45 pm – Hayride to the Amphitheatre
6:45 pm – Ice Cream Truck on site for free ice cream for our film festival guests
7:00 pm – Enjoy your BYOPicnic and music provided by MRHS musician, Lincoln Vera
7:30 pm – Welcome from Schiff Trustee, Amalia Duarte
7:35 pm – Welcome Mendham Alliance’s showing of their Save Mendham short film
7:50 pm – Welcome, Film into. Q&A – Guest Speaker, Jared Flesher
8:20 pm – Feature Movie: Good Grains
9:00 pm – Hayride tractor and hikers will depart to return to the Nature Center
This Year's Feature Film
Good Grain
Brief Synopsis
Imagine: Next door lives a hardworking organic farmer. Each summer you watch majestic fields of wheat mature from green to gold. And then the harvest.
At a new stone mill down the road, a miller grinds the farmer’s wheat into whole grain flour, sold just days old at the local market. At a small bakery on Main Street, a sourdough baker sells artisan loaves. At the corner pub, a craft brewer pours pints brewed with local ingredients.
It all tastes amazing.
Once upon a time, American communities were centered around their farmers, millers, and food artisans. GOOD GRAIN is the comeback story of the local grain movement, as found in New Jersey, the original Garden State.
Executive Producer: Devin Cornia
Directed by: Jared Flesher
Film Festival Sponsors
Thanks to the generous support of our Film Festival sponsors, the proceeds from this event help Schiff in its education, stewardship, and conservation mission. Please join us in thanking them by supporting these businesses!
Interested in becoming a sponsor for this event? Please complete the EFF sponsor form and return it to [email protected] by May 15.
For assistance with our Environmental Film Festival, please contact [email protected].