Welcome everyone to our monthly E-Newsletter, supporting a network of school garden advocates! We will keep you updated on the latest news and work being done across school gardens programs here in Newark, New Jersey, and the best resources from across the country.   

Looking for a specific resource? Interested in having your own resources published? Reach out to us to discuss more at pevans@citybloom.org and we will be more than happy to help.

Save the date for the 1st School Garden Tour focused solely on the beautiful school garden programs here in Newark, New Jersey! The Newark Grows School Garden Tour plans to shuttle attendees to visit 6 school gardens across Newark, NJ including examples from elementary, high school, and charter schools. As we continue to build our Newark Network of School Gardens, we want to ensure school gardens programs are collaborating and learning from each other's successes and failures as we all strive to build a greener, healthier Newark. 

Stay tuned for more information or contact Sarah O'Leary at soleary@citybloom.org

Register your school garden to be a part of our Newark School Garden Support Network and see where other school gardens are located near you!

These Family Programs are great to enjoy with a young person, but you can join in on your own for an informal professional development session. They are an opportunity to see ways our environmental educators encourage kids to develop wonder, make observations, construct understanding, and engage in science conversations.  You can also learn some cool crafts, healthy recipes, and ways to incorporate more hands-on, engaged learning.

Second Saturday Family Adventures

In-Person

Saturday, May 11th @ 10:30-12pm

Join us for Second Saturday Family Adventures as we explore the science behind plants as we learn about the different parts of a flower and take a hike around the garden to explore the many colors we could see! Be ready to do a range of activities around flowers!

Registration is required, but the program is FREE! 

REGISTER HERE

So You Want to Start a School Garden Workshop

In-Person

Tuesday, May 14th @ 4:00-5:30pm

Join us as we discuss how to plan and design your garden, basic gardening skills, necessary resources, outdoor classroom management, and how to connect your garden to your goals! This workshop is perfect for those looking to start or improve an existing school garden program. 

REGISTER HERE

Supporting Trans & Gender Non-Conforming Youth in the Garden

Virtual

Wednesday, May 22nd @ 2:00pm-3:00pm

Gender expansive youth represent a growing demographic of students who utilize school gardens and outdoor classrooms. In spite of this, many programs continue to be built around traditional gender roles, from introducing classes as "Ladies and Gentlemen" to the ways that educators discuss the plants and animals in the garden. This webinar will provide research, resources, and information on ways to support Transgender and Gender Nonconforming (TGNC) youth in outdoor spaces. Starting from basic adjustments to everyday language, we will expand to challenge ourselves to create more accepting, welcoming spaces and lessons for our students.

REGISTER HERE

National Children & Youth Garden Symposium

In-Person

The American Horticultural Society’s 32nd Annual National Children and Youth Garden Symposium will be held on Chicago’s North Shore from Monday, July 8 to Thursday, July 11, 2024, in partnership with the Chicago Botanic Garden.

Reinvigorate your passion to educate a new generation about the importance of gardening. Network, engage, collaborate, and learn from like-minded peers across the country.

MORE INFO HERE

1st Graders in Newark Public Schools have been coming out to our Outdoor Learning Center at Greater Newark Conservancy to explore our urban habitat through various learning stations. Students are engaging in these hands-on stations, learning about everything from urban mammals to wiggly worms to birds to all the wonderful plants that surround our garden. We still have many more weeks of field trips and are looking forward to seeing many new faces visit our garden! 

Check out this school year's Newark Grows School Garden Workshop schedule below!

This month's Jersey Fresh Harvest of the Month is Asparagus! Asparagus is in season in the spring,
during the months of April, May, and June. Asparagus
is planted as crowns under the ground and it takes three years for the plant to mature or be ready to harvest. Learn more about Asparagus here.

The Coalition for Healthy Food in Newark Schools (HFiNS) is thrilled to announce its official launch, bolstered by a generous grant of $3.8M from Novo Nordisk. This funding spans over the next three years and is dedicated to improving the Newark school food system with community participation and input. Greater Newark Conservancy is serving as the lead organization in this initiative, with this award representing the largest grant awarded to the agency in its 36-year history. HFiNS steering committee includes several other agencies that serve Newark, including Common Market, FoodCorps NJ, Newark Beth Israel Medical Center, RWJ Barnabas Health, United Way of Greater Newark, and the Urban Agriculture Cooperative. All work together with the shared goal of transforming Newark’s school food system; these partners are committed to ensuring every student has access to fresh, healthy, and culturally relevant foods. Click here to learn more! 

What did one lettuce say to the other lettuces when they saw a rabbit coming?

 “Everyone, romaine calm!”

Source: Wisconsin School Garden Network

Interested in bringing your students to the Outdoor Learning Center at Greater Newark Conservancy to experience the joy of nature-based education? Fill out this Field Trip Interest Form! We offer a variety of field trip programs that will spark the interest of any youth. Whether they are learning about urban habitats, diving into the world of bugs and insects, or seeing how worms can break down our food into a valuable soil amendment, your students will leave our site with a host of knowledge! For more information reach out to soleary@citybloom.org.

The work that we do would not be possible without the generosity of our donors. While we had to put some of our on-site programs temporarily on hold during the COVID-19 crisis, we are back to normal operations and ramping up a number of programs and activities at our Outdoor Learning Center, the Hawthorne Avenue Urban Farm, school partner gardens, as well as various virtual workshops.