Greater Newark Conservancy

The Conservancy's youth and family education program provides innovative, hands-on, science-based lessons and field trips for school children in Newark and beyond. Educators, families, and other community members are also provided with nutrition and other programs. Programming focuses on the urban environment and includes activities at our prudential outdoor learning center, the Conservancy's school gardens and the hawthorne avenue farm. Activities include in-class reverse field trips, outdoor teaching gardens at Newark schools, nutritional health lessons and activities, healthy recipe demonstrations, and farm to school programming. The combined education programs reach approximately 5,000 children and adults during the course of the year.

In 2023 the Conservancy launched the coalition for healthy food in Newark schools, a cross-sector collective impact initiative, established to sustainably transform Newark's school food system which serves 41,672 students in its 63 schools. The coalition is focused on increasing local food procurement, farm-to-school access, garden-based education, farm-to- family access, fitness education, and capacity building for food service staff. This is the first collective impact initiative of the Conservancy, for which it serves as a backbone agency.

The Conservancy's community greening and urban farming program annually serves about 2,000 Newark residents through its community gardens with resident-adopted planting plots; urban farm lots that generate fresh produce; and a farm stand/farmer's market operation that makes nutritious, healthy foods accessible to Newark residents and beyond. The Conservancy's 3-acre hawthorne avenue farm is a primary source of fresh produce in Newark's south ward. In 2023 urban farming initiatives expanded to include the Newark growers csa food box, which sources produce from more than 10 newark-based growers and other regional producers.