Common Ground – High School, Urban Farm, and Environmental Education Center

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Programs for children and families

This fall, join us for after school programs, school vacation days, birthday parties, weekend programs, and more!

Campus is open every Saturday from 10 AM – 2 PM for you to enjoy!

The gardens and animal yards are open for you to visit and you can explore campus, go for a hike, make a mud pie, build a fort, and enjoy nature.

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commongroundct

common ground is a high school,
urban farm and environmental
education center in a forest,
in the city. new haven, ct.

🎉 It's Friday 🥚 Fauna & Flora 🥬 with Auro

🎉 It's Friday 🥚 Fauna & Flora 🥬 with Aurora time! We're showcasing some of the items you can find in our FALL FARM STAND TODAY, 3:00-5:30pm at 358 Springside Ave! In addition to all the items pictured here, there will be handmade wreaths, popcorn, honey, maple syrup, carrots 🥕, turnips - SO MANY beautiful & tasty treats to enjoy or gift to a loved one!

🎉 Aurora saw beautiful, multi-colored eggs 🥚 from our chickens that you can take home from the Farm Stand. There will be duck eggs too! Aurora also spotted gorgeous Black Futsu squash harvested & ready for the Farm Stand. Black Futsu is a unique kind of winter squash native to Japan that has a rich, nutty flavor. She saw Red Kabocha squash as well -. these squashes are almost too pretty to eat! You could use them as seasonal home decor before cooking them up! 😊

🎉 The freshly washed kale Aurora saw will taste extra sweet after the recent cold nights we have been having. You'll also be able to get collards and mustard greens at the Farm Stand - yum! Our greens 🥬 are among the last leaves around. Even though it's now "stick season," as Aurora's mom calls this time when most trees are without leaves, it's still a beautiful time to hike on CGs trails, as you can see in the last two photos!

🎉 Message us your photos 📷 from the Farm Stand this afternoon or Open Farm Day tomorrow 10am-2pm. We’d love to feature the fauna & flora YOU see at CG next time! 💚

#friday #fauna #flora #fall #farmstand #urbanfarming #localfood #supportlocal #popcorn #honey #maplesyrup #wreaths #treatyourself #eggs #chickens #ducks #openfarmday #wintersquash #kale #collards #mustardgreens #stickseason #nature #naturephotography #commongroundct

🍂 FALL FARM STAND TOMORROW, FRIDAY 11/18 3-5:30

🍂 FALL FARM STAND TOMORROW, FRIDAY 11/18 3-5:30 PM! 🍂 Join us at Common Ground (358 Springside Ave) for handmade wreaths, greens, eggs, radishes, winter squash (3 kinds!), carrots, popcorn, honey, maple syrup and so much more! The farm team has been hard at work all week getting ready to share our harvest! Even the chickens 🐔 have been helping by laying eggs for you to enjoy. SNAP, Cash, Credit and Debit accepted!🎉

🔥 It's Friday 🐐 Fauna & Flora 🌼 with Auro

🔥 It's Friday 🐐 Fauna & Flora 🌼 with Aurora (@auroracoon) time! Featuring SIX special guest contributors from the CG community: Kris (CGHS student, @im_not_here30 ), Cjet (Environmental Educator, @natureofcjet ), Amanda Kathryn, and Deb (@debgreig) , Diane (@dibblin_diane) & Schandra (@schandrabigail), all on our Farm Team!

🔥 Kris spotted Kids Unplugged participants enjoying a campfire after school - a perfect activity now that there's a fall chill in the air, and the sun is setting so early. Cjet saw a carpenter bee resting on a tree - look at the hair on its front legs! Can you see the teeny-tiny white spider 🕷️ hanging from the bee? Too cool! Speaking of which, check out the gorgeous, bright orange marbled orb weaver spider that Amanda Kathryn found near the sheep and goats! 😍 Farmer Deb saw a praying mantis while harvesting kale - it was posing for her! 🕺

🔥 Diane captured this week's farm share looking lovely, and some pretty purple popcorn - wow! Aurora saw this year's popcorn drying in the field. She also saw a radiant purple aster 🌼 , and one of the goats 🐐 smiling! And Schandra saw our two sheep, Argyle and Yarrow, sharing food from the same bucket. 🐑 💚

🔥 Message us your photos 📷 from CG - we’d love to feature YOU next week! Join us for Open Farm Days, every Saturday 10am-2pm - the perfect opportunity to enjoy the fauna & flora of this special place. 🎉

#friday #fauna #flora #campfire #fall #timechange #carpenterbee #spider #prayingmantis #urbanfarming #localfood #popcorn #aster #goats #smile #sheep #sharing #openfarmday #nature #naturephotography #commongroundct

❄ COMMON GROUND'S WINTER FESTIVAL IS BACK! Altho

❄ COMMON GROUND'S WINTER FESTIVAL IS BACK! Although it sure doesn't feel like it today, winter & our beloved Winter Festival are around the corner! 📅 Save the date: Saturday, December 10th 10am-2pm here on our campus (358 Springside Ave).

❄ After a two year hiatus, we're so excited to bring back this community event, which will include:
★ Wreath making (for the 23rd year!)
★ Local artisans & craft vendors
★ Kids activities
★ Food & a bake sale

�❄ Come and enjoy! Do some holiday shopping, make a wreath, have some lunch and take a treat home for dessert. 🎉 Or, sign up to be a vendor - we still have a few spaces left! If you or someone you know is an artisan or crafter, we'd love to have you - more information & sign up here: https://bit.ly/cgwinterfestival (link also in our bio).

#winterfestival #community #wreathmaking #suppportlocal #localartisans #localcrafts #handmade #kidsactivities #bakesale #shopping

🌞 It's Friday 🐝 Fauna & Flora 🍂 with Auro

🌞 It's Friday 🐝 Fauna & Flora 🍂 with Aurora time! Featuring special guest contributor @schandrabigail from the CG Farm Team! 💚

🌞 While it felt like summer this week, there were many signs of fall 🍂 on campus. Schandra spotted a praying mantis egg sac on the farm! Their egg sacs contain up to 300 eggs, and overwinter. We love having praying mantises on the farm because they eat other insects that eat our crops! 💚 Aurora saw a ground yellow jacket and a bald-faced hornet, which are both types of wasps. 🐝 Wasps are extra active in the fall as they are trying to gather food for the winter, and can sometimes be aggressive, so take care. Luckily these wasps were too busy gathering food to bother anyone.

🌞 Aurora also spotted a few final flowers 🌼 soaking up the sun - marigolds in the Children's Garden, and firewheel flower near the parking lot. Marigolds are native to Mexico, where they are called cempazúchitl (also spelled cempasúchil) and are an important part of Día de los Muertos celebrations, which happened this week. On the Old Oak trail, she saw a Christmas fern, which stays green all year round. And she saw lots of leaves! 🍂 Most have fallen off the trees, and their colors are much more muted this week than last - but still gorgeous!

🌞 Message us your photos 📷 from CG - we’d love to feature YOU next week! Join us Open Farm Days, every Saturday 10am-2pm, a great time to see our fauna & flora. 💚

#friday #fauna #flora #fall #november #urbanfarming #beneficialinsects #cempasuchil #cempazuchitl #leaves #nature #naturephotography #connecticut #commongroundct

🍂 FALL FARM STAND AND GIFT POP-UP NOVEMBER 18TH

🍂 FALL FARM STAND AND GIFT POP-UP NOVEMBER 18TH! 🍂 The farming season is coming to a close but we're not done yet! Come get your veggies 🥕 and holiday gifts 🎁 at our Fall Farm Stand on Friday, November 18th, 3-5:30pm here at CG (358 Springside Ave). We'll have kale, eggs, wreaths and dried flowers, popcorn, collards, herbs, winter squash and more! 🎉 SNAP, Cash, Credit and Debit accepted.

#urbanfarming #veggies #gifts #popup #localfood #localfarmers #commongroundct

Want to see CGHS student brilliance in action? Loo

Want to see CGHS student brilliance in action? Look no "feather" than Ms. Climis’ Biodiversity class! Today, students observed & compared feathers from our turkeys, chickens & ducks!

📷 Photos by Karen Climis.

#brilliance #feathers #biodiversity #turkeys #chickens #ducks #commongroundct

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Upcoming events

Common Ground High School Open House

December 13 @ 5:00 pm - 7:00 pm

Common Ground High School Open House

Jan 14, 2023 @ 10:00 am - 12:00 pm

Common Ground High School Open House

Feb 21, 2023 @ 5:00 pm - 7:00 pm

Common Ground High School Open House

Feb 25, 2023 @ 5:00 pm - 7:00 pm

See Full Calendar »

Recent Blog Posts

Common Ground Board Meeting Agenda for November 28 , 2022

PLEASE NOTE: In order to comply with adjusted CT Open Meeting laws, this Zoom meeting will be recorded and posted on the Common Ground website New Haven Ecology Project November 28, 2022 Join Zoom Meeting

Common ground is Seeking a Green Jobs Corps Program Coordinator

Green Jobs Corps Program Coordinator The New Haven Ecology Project/Common Ground Is Seeking a Program Coordinator (part-time). About Common Ground: Common Ground is a center for environmental learning in New Haven, Connecticut. Farm meets forest

Welcome Back To Ms. Burke, English & Reading Teacher!

This fall, we welcomed Jennifer Burke to Common Ground – for a second time! Ms. Burke was a reading and English teacher at Common Ground from 2007 to 2013, and also played an important role