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.

Our team was very thankful to have the opportunity to travel to San Diego to be a part of the Growing School Gardens Summit, the largest gathering of school garden educators in the country! From the enlightening workshops to the powerful speakers, and the wonderful community of people, we were able to gather so much knowledge and insight to bring back to Newark. 

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, April 13th @ 10:30-12pm

Whether you believe in fairies or not, we will be gathering together to design and craft small houses built from natural materials for fairies, gnomes and woodland creatures. Let your imagination run wild with your very own fairy house!

We will use the natural resources our site offers, but families are more than welcome to bring in items for their own fairy house additions!

Registration is required, but the program is FREE! 

REGISTER HERE

Early Sprouts Workshop

In-Person

Tuesday, April 30th @ 4:00-5:00pm

Join us at virtually for our Early Sprouts workshop as we celebrate the month of the young child and learn about working with gardeners and eaters ages 3 to 6. Learn tips and tricks from intrepid early educators!

Zoom link will be sent day of the workshop!

REGISTER HERE

Project Wet Teacher Workshop

In-Person

Monday, May 13th @ 9:00am-3:00pm

For educators of grades K through 6. The Project WET curriculum guide is a collection of science-based, interdisciplinary activities and lesson plans that are teacher-tested and classroom ready. They are sure to help educators feel confident addressing themes of water in the classroom and empower students to build a more resilient future. Project Wet is aligned with Common Core and NGSS standards. Bring a lunch and dress for the weather. Certificates are given for the workshop hours completed. Led by Environmental Center Senior Naturalist David Alexander.

MORE INFO 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

Our FoodCorps Services Members are working extra hard to make sure all their gardens are ready as more and more plants start to bloom and thrive. From planning and executing their weekly lessons to assisting with the maintenance of hydroponics labs to working on creating their school-wide community spring festivals. We praise all the hard work and effort our FoodCorps Services Members give their school communities each and every week. 

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

This month's Jersey Fresh Harvest of the Month is Spinach! Spinach likes to be directly seeded into the ground and it grows into a leafy green, which is the part of the plant we eat. Spinach loves the cooler weather
and if it lives through a frost the legend is that it actually becomes sweeter! Learn more about Spinach 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 the carrot say to the beet during the big game?

I’m rooting for you!

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.