Camden Street School Celebrates New Learning Garden

Representatives of ShopRite, Dole Packaged Foods, the Captain Planet Foundation and Greater Newark Conservancy celebrated the opening of a new Learning Garden at Camden Street School along with students and families, teachers and faculty. Together, these organizations have joined forces to offer Camden Street School students the opportunity to interact with the environment through the Learning Garden while expanding their palates and learning about food origins. Other guests included Tai Cooper, representing Newark Mayor Ras J. Baraka and Newark Schools Superintendent Cami Anderson.

Camden Street School, which has an association with Wakefern Corporation and Greater Newark Conservancy, was awarded the Learning Garden by submitting an application to the Captain Planet Foundation. Dole committed its resources to the effort in conjunction with a recently completed Earth Day program with Shoprite stores. Project Learning Garden is part of a larger effort to increase services in Newark and was awarded in conjunction with the new ShopRite Supermarket that will open in downtown Newark later this summer.

“We are thrilled to provide this Learning Garden to Camden Street School,” said Neil Greenstein, owner of the future ShopRite of Newark. “Giving back to the neighborhoods we serve is incredibly important to us, and we are always looking for ways to improve the quality of the life for children through education around nutrition and healthy living. We are incredibly proud to be opening a new store in downtown Newark later this summer.”

“It’s natural that improving health outcomes should start with our youngest citizens, and the new garden at Camden Street School will help bring science to life for students and faculty alike,” added Robin Dougherty, the Conservancy’s Executive Director. “For over 20 years, we’ve found that school gardens can extend the green footprint of environmental education and become vital tools that help children learn about, experience and develop a lifelong love for fresh fruits and vegetables. We are pleased that ShopRite will be the new neighbor to our Judith L. Shipley Urban Environmental Center on Prince Street and we are delighted that ShopRite, Dole and Captain Planet Foundation have partnered with us to bring another school garden to Newark.”

“Here at Dole, we understand the importance of teaching children the benefits of incorporating fruits and vegetables into their diet, whether they are enjoying fresh produce from their learning garden, or a healthy Dole snack,” said Larry White, Vice President - Sales, Dole Packaged Foods. “By partnering with Captain Planet Foundation and ShopRite, we are helping more students learn about and develop healthy habits.”

“Anything can be taught in the context of the garden, and hands-on learning supports student understanding of natural systems, food origins, and healthy eating,” explained Leesa Carter, Executive Director of Captain Planet Foundation. “Captain Planet Foundation is dedicated to nurturing the next generation of environmental stewards, and ensuring they are armed with an understanding of the natural world in which they live. We are thrilled to be working with Shoprite, Dole and the Greater Newark Conservancy to provide Camden Street School with a CPF Learning Garden!”

“When it comes to eating habits, we often defer to what’s familiar, not necessarily what’s healthy,” concluded Sam Garrison, Principal of Camden Street School. “Camden Street School wishes to inspire kids to make healthy eating commonplace and familiar. We have to change what’s seen and start remaking what our kids experience. We have to change their reality based on how that reality looks, how that reality feels, and the opportunities that reality affords them. We pledge to give them the skills they need to achieve their dreams and give them a hope that they can see that new reality here.

That reality looks different, it feels different, and that difference gives these kids hope for change. It’s about being transformative. How do we transform our reality? That transformation should be seen and experienced in order for people to see the new reality. Camden Street School’s goal is to be a school that transforms its community.”