Educate
One of City Green’s most important functions is to provide nature-based learning opportunities for urban school students from pre-k through 12th grade. City Green partners with local schools to build customized educational programming that brings nature to the classroom and brings the classroom back to nature.
Existing partnerships have involved building new school gardens, providing training for teachers who want to educate their students using hands-on outdoor education strategies, arranging field trips to the City Green Farm Eco-Center, and creating outdoor classrooms where students can get their hands dirty.
Farm Field Trips
Preschool - 4th Grade
Kids can come to the City Green Farm to learn about where food comes from while developing an appreciation for the power and beauty of nature. For parents, a variety of after-school and summer camp programming gives kids a safe and stimulating place to spend time outdoors. Whether they’re soaking up a lesson with one of our experienced staff members, or experiencing the magic of communing with nature, children’s lives will be deeply enriched by the City Green experience. Participants gain important skills that will last a lifetime, such as making healthy food choices and caring for their own local ecosystem, whether it’s city block or a suburban park. When a child experiences City Green’s programming, they grow up to be a responsible caretaker of the natural world, and that is the greatest gift of all.
For children, understanding the natural world that we all share comes… naturally. But kids still need access to the outdoors and the right tools to learn. City Green believes that all children deserve access to open spaces and healthy food, and to help make this goal a reality, City Green offers a multitude of experiential learning opportunities for children ranging from preschool to 18 years old. These experiences take place outside of the school system at City Green’s own sites, as well as those of partner organizations in Paterson, Passaic, and Clifton.
Weekend Family Programs
Farm Camp
Storytime in the Garden
Self-Guided Adventure
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AFTERSCHOOL
City sprouts
Our City Sprouts projects provide safe, beautiful vegetable and flower gardens in urban communities, enhanced by an outdoor education program that ensures interaction with the natural world, access to hands-on experiential learning, and an understanding of where food comes from. Through participation in City Sprouts, urban children develop an appreciation for the power of beauty and nature in city neighborhoods; the taste and health benefits of freshly picked veggies; and the possibilities created by taking an active part in enhancing your community.
City Green partners with a variety of community organizations, such as Boys and Girls Clubs, libraries and even schools, to grow gardens and run on-site nature-based educational programming after school throughout the seasons. City Green educators visit our partner City Sprouts gardens weekly April through November to teach gardening skills, inspire environmental stewardship, and expose kids to a variety of fresh local fruits and vegetables. Click here to find a City Sprouts site near you!
If you are an organization looking to host a City Sprouts garden program contact City Sprouts Manager Liz Kleisner: lkleisner@city-green.org or call (973) 869-4086.