For 13 years, the Camden City Children’s Garden in New Jersey has educated, entertained & switched kids on to gardening & healthy eating ideas. But now it’s under threat, with the state of NJ announcing it’s reallocating half its land to the adjacent Adventure Aquarium.
Camden, on the eastern edge of Philadelphia, is a Top 9 “Food Desert” according to the USDA. Each year over 10,000 school children get free entry to CCCG’s 4.5 acres of gardens, its GrowLab unit teaches home growing & healthy eating in schools and its successful youth intervention programs helps keep teenagers at school. Featured in Michelle Obama’s ‘American Grown‘, the CCCG is owned & operated by the Camden City Garden Club Inc, which has also developed over 120 community gardens & 12 school gardens throughout Camden.
The CCCG is built on state-owned land & the terms of its occupation of the land are unclear. New Jersey has said it wants to use the prime riverfront land for future ‘economic development’.
You can support the CCCG by joining their CCCG Facebook page.
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