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.   

Scroll down to reach our section on Grant Opportunities to see current opportunities for your school garden programs. The Whole Kids Foundation Garden Grant and Sustainable Jersey for Schools Grants we suggest applying for as those deadlines end in early-March.

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.

Join the Movement with FoodCorps!

🍎 Are you ready to transform school food environments and teach kids about nutrition? FoodCorps is seeking passionate individuals to participate in our next service term! Unsure if you qualify? Take our online eligibility quiz to find out!

🔍 Who Can Apply? Open to all who have a passion for public health and education. Don't miss the chance to make a significant impact!

🌟 Make an Impact: Work directly in schools to build healthier food landscapes, educate on nutrition, and grow community through food!

📝 Apply Now: Don't wait. Take the first step today! Check out the eligibility quiz and apply now through the FoodCorps website. Your journey to make a lasting impact on school food systems starts here. Start your journey and apply today! Let’s grow a healthier future for our children together! 

Click Here for Eligibility Quiz!  

Click Here to Learn More About FoodCorps!

These Family Programs are great to enjoy with your little ones, 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, March 8th @ 10:30-12pm

Gather your family and head to Greater Newark Conservancy for a fun-filled morning of urban gardening. Learn the essentials of gardening in the city, and get hands-on experience by starting your own seedlings. Each family will get to take their new plants home, making this an adventure that extends beyond our garden.

Spaces are limited, so don’t miss out!

This program is free, but registration is required! If we hit capacity, please reach out to pevans@citybloom.org to be placed on the waitlist!

REGISTER HERE

Greedy Gardener Workshop

In-Person

Wednesday, March 26th @ 4-5:30pm

Get comfortable preparing, cooking and eating with your students. Watch how our FoodCorps members can get creative with providing nourishing alternatives that are simple to replicate in the classroom and only requires common cooking materials! Attendees will be able to participate in a mini-cooking lesson !

REGISTER HERE

Organic Gardening Course

In-Person (Greater Newark Conservancy)

Saturday, April 5th @ 9:00am-3:00pm

Whether you are a gardening newbie or a veteran, NOFA NJ’s Organic Gardening Course for Food Production will provide you with time-tested information as well as opportunities to discuss specific questions about your garden. Learn how to improve your soil and how to plan, prepare, and plant your own plot. Where there are gardens, there are weeds, diseases, pests, and hungry critters and you will discover methods to manage these challenges. Instructor Al Johnson has farmed and gardened Organically for over 50 years.

LEARN MORE HERE (REGISTRATION OPENING SOON)

Vocational Horticulture and Transition with Exceptional Students: Drew Horticulture

Online

Wednesday, March 19th @ 2:00pm-3:00pm

This webinar details the innovative techniques designed to accommodate students with disabilities using differentiated methods and adaptive equipment carefully chosen to provide each student the opportunity to participate and gain valuable vocational horticulture skills leading to possible employment. Winner of the Grand Prize National Magna Award, this comprehensive program showcases the transition process through hands-on experiences producing food products for fine dining establishments in Detroit, retail outlets and sale at our nation’s largest food hub, Eastern Market. They will highlight the techniques and plans for creating the nation’s largest Farm to School/Table program, including the development of corporate/educational partners to aid and maintain the program’s viability and sustainability, obtaining grant funds, and staff/community involvement.

REGISTER HERE

Celebrating Cultural Inclusion in the Garden

KidsGardening is happy to announce our newest e-course "Celebrating Cultural Inclusion in the School Garden!" This free e-course supports educators as they learn how to center cultural learning in their school garden program with a new curriculum of lesson plans, growing guides, and more. Its creation was supported in part by the USDA Patrick Leahy Farm to School Program.

This is a self-paced with unlimited access to the course materials.

REGISTER HERE

Last year, Greater Newark Conservancy, Trust for Public Land, and the Coalition for Healthy Food in Newark Schools collaborated to host the inaugural 'Newark Grows School Gardens Tour' which showcased 10 successful school garden programs around Newark.

The tour is planned for Friday, June 13 and we are looking for folks that can meet with us one or two times per month until then.  Even if you don't think you can commit, but have thoughts about the tour, say yes and put your two cents in.  

Reach out to soleary@citybloom.org for more information!

This month's Jersey Fresh Harvest of the Month is Kale! A single cup of raw kale contains 134% of the recommended daily value of Vitamin C! Kale is also an excellent source of Vitamin A, B6, and K and the minerals Potassium & Copper. Check out recipes and fun activities around Kale here!

Each year during March, we celebrate National Nutrition Month by promoting the importance of making informed food choices while developing both healthier eating and physical activity habits. 

This year, the National Nutrition Month theme is “Food Connects Us.” Food is a connecting factor for everyone. It strengthens our bonds socially, economically, and culturally. Food is like a language that we all can understand. Food is much more than just a source of nourishment for survival, it connects all of us regardless of background, culture, or language. Food helps us feel connected whether it’s from a memory of a family/friend gathering, or experiencing a new cuisine, or volunteering at food assistance programs within our communities to help those experiencing food insecurity. 

Source: US Department of Veteran Affairs

School meals are an essential resource in feeding 30 million children every day. Making school meals free for all students ensures that every kid is nourished and ready to learn, regardless of their family’s income.

FoodCorps and our coalition partners are advocating for the continuation of school meals for all. With the end of pandemic-era waivers, districts in many states have needed to return to charging families for school meals. But no child should go hungry because of financial or bureaucratic burdens. Lawmakers must do more to make school meals for all permanent.

Learn more about school meals for all below and take action by urging your senators to prioritize children’s well-being.

Interested in filling out postcards? Stop by Greater Newark Conservancy at 32 Prince Street, Newark NJ to pick-up or drop-off your School Meals for All postcard. We have postcards in English and Spanish. 

What did gardener say when she found a fungus on her plants?

Guess there’s mushroom for improvement.

Source: Wisconsin School Garden Network

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!

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.