PINE BEACH — Officials and residents here say they have 18-year-old Lindsey Van Zile to thank for launching the campaign that led to the borough’s first $2,000 grant from Sustainable New Jersey and a new native garden at Pocket Park. “I was tired of looking at the overgrown weeds, and seeing how bad the area looked when I was riding my bike,” said the teen, who lives near the park at the corner of Riverside and Motor roads. Last year, Van Zile began going to Borough Council meetings to persuade council members to help with her quest to revitalize the park. The council agreed to pass a resolution to apply for the grant. “She (Van Zile) walks her talk,” Councilwoman Susan Coletti said of Van Zile. “She is the one who wrote the grant, and executed her plan.” “I just wanted people to be able to come here and enjoy nature, its beauty,” Van Zile said. In addition to the council’s help, Van Zile also sought the help of the American Littoral Society and its Bayscape for Barnegat Bay program. “The program was created for just that purpose, to help individuals with preserving and protecting the bay area,” said Helen Henderson, Atlantic Coast programs manager and Barnegat Bay projects director. “Anyone can participate in the programs and create native plant gardens and become stewards of the land,” she said. Van Zile said her parents, Marcy and Robert Van Zile, have always been environmentally conscious. Her father works for a pharmaceutical company and her mother is a Clean Ocean Action volunteer. “I guess I get my drive to preserve and recycle from my parents,” she said. “It must have rubbed off on me.” The work to create the garden included clearing the land of debris and tilling the land. Van Zile purchased the plants including blazing stars, foxglove and bush blueberry plants. The area is lined with stone pavers and has a tiled stone that was designed for the garden by Van Zile’s neighbor, 9-year-old Taylor McCue. Van Zile recently graduated from Toms River High School South. She has received multiple awards for her volunteer work, and also started a recycling program in the town. Through the program, she collects empty yogurt cups and granola wrappers to send to Terracycle, a Trenton company that recycles the materials into new products. “They pay me money for the recyclables. So far, I have $500 coming to me,” she said. The windfall will go to the environment, of course, says Van Zile, who heads to Lynchburg College in Virginia in August and plans to become an environmental lawyer: She expects to buy garden enhancements, such as signage to identify its plants.