Bug hotel installation by Youth Urban Farm Club teens at Riverview Community Garden and garden harvest. Photo credit: Natalia Hinds.
This article first appeared in Kearny Life Community Magazine and is reproduced with permission from the author, Jaimie Julia Winters.
When teens Ester Fernandez and Zulema Vargas were looking for something to do this summer, they decided on something that would get their hands dirty while giving back to their community.
“I was looking for a new experience, and I like to garden,” Fernanadez said about joining the local Youth Food Systems Education Program. “I have learned a lot and feel like I have given back to my community.”
The two met at the garden on a sunny August day, where visitors could tour the garden, play in a sensory garden, and help with composting.
Changemaker teens, Zulema and Ester, harvest herbs before transforming them into herbal infusions for donating to the Kearny community. Photo credit: Jaimie Julia Winters.
Changemakers is a 12-week program for youth ages 14-18 in grades 9th-12th at the RCE Learning Garden at West Hudson Park, aimed at empowering youth of diverse backgrounds to learn about food systems and food justice while activating them to become changemakers in their local food systems.
Vargas said the experience has not only allowed her to give to her community, but brought her closer to her family, who were farmers in their native country. “I learned a lot about what plants support each other and what should and shouldn’t grow together. I also learned about herbs,” Vargas said.
Since 2023, Kearny teens have spent their summers learning about environmental stewardship and nutrition education, growing fruits and vegetables at the Garden and making fresh produce available to the food pantry. Along with taking care of the garden, Fernandez and Vargas have served as ambassadors of sorts, manning the stand and teaching workshops at the Farmers Market, boxing produce for local pantries, teaching programs at the library, such as bug bingo, and managing food waste. They have also started a seed library.
“The garden serves as an outdoor classroom, creating educational opportunities for youth and families to learn gardening skills that they may implement at home and in their communities,” Natalia Susana Hinds, 4-H Program Associate at Rutgers University, said. “In addition to garden programming, our Learning Gardens partner with local community-based groups to provide education on environmental stewardship and nutrition education.”
The program is run by the Rutgers Cooperative Extension Department of 4-H Youth Development, which was awarded a $638,000 grant by the USDA-National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) for the Children, Youth, and Families at Risk (CYFAR) program. The program, in partnership with Hudson and Camden County 4-H, aims to enhance the quality and quantity of community-based programs for youth and families in urban areas.
Changemaker teens lead visiting kindergarteners through planting pollinator pots for the RCE Learning Garden at West Hudson Park in Kearny, NJ. Photo credit: Jaimie Julia Winters.
Teens work in teams and individually to identify food systems issues in the community and are mentored through planning and implementing food systems projects. Teens also work together to “teach back” what they learn through “Bloom Labs” as part of the Kearny Farmers Market, where they host an outdoor education table and indoor child-focused activities on a variety of food systems topics.
“This year they opted to focus their ‘Bloom Labs’ on cultural food crops/food origins, herbalism and pollinators, and food waste,” Hinds said. “We also participate in food distributions in the community.”
This summer, the teens volunteered at two Kearny Food Pantry Network food distributions and two Hunger Free UIC food distributions.
“It goes beyond stewardship of the garden, and gives them a glimpse into food distribution,” Hinds said.
At the end of the program, youth receive $500 and credit for the service hours they complete. They will also be called on to support Hinds in administering food systems workshops in the local community.
Youth Urban Farm Club
4-H Program Associates at Rutgers University also runs a Youth Urban Farm Club for youth in Hudson County, ages 12- 18, at community gardens and small urban farm sites led by adult volunteers from the community. The goal of this program is for youth to develop new skills in horticulture, urban agriculture, or animal husbandry; serve their community by supporting the maintenance of these sites; and forge relationships with their peers and adult volunteers. Youth gain hands-on experience while also learning about food systems, the local environment, and learning by doing. The program model integrates researched best practices of urban gardening for community development and 4‑H Youth Development curriculum, with the expertise and resources of the County Extension Service and Rutgers University faculty and staff. Learn more about the Youth Urban Farm Club.
