Common Ground – Page 3 – High School, Urban Farm, and Environmental Education Center

Loading...

We Are More Powerful Together

Interested in becoming a student? Learn more about open houses, our lottery, and what it's like to be part of the Common Ground family.

Learn More

Join the Lottery
Visit Us!

Learn about programs for children, families, and adults.
See Our Impact
Greater than 90% graduation and college acceptance rates

15,000 community program participants

10,000 pounds of healthy, local produce
Common Ground is a Safe Space.

We stand with Immigrants & Refugees

We stand with the LGBTQ Community

Common Ground Home cgsandbox-admin 2023-09-19T08:55:22-04:00

High School Home Page

Visit our High School Home Page to learn all about our unique school and view information for current or perspective students.

Saturday Open Farm Days

Open Farm Day invites visitors to enjoy campus every Saturday from 10 AM - 2 PM. Open Farm Day is free and self guided, come explore the farm and forest!

Programs for children and families

Use the button below for links to all of our programs for children and families, including after school programs, school field trips, birthday parties, and more!

The Latest from Instagram

commongroundct

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

Thank you for cultivating community and connection

Thank you for cultivating community and connection for all ages at Common Ground! This #GivingTuesday, we are so grateful for all our community gives. Here are some of the wonderful things YOUR support made possible at CG in 2023:
💚 Our Seedlings Class for children ages 1-4 and their caregivers returned this year, for the first time since the onset of the pandemic, and doubled in size!
💚 100% of the class of 2023 successfully defended portfolios showing their growth as environmental leaders over their 4 years at Common Ground!
💚 Our Mobile Market *pictured in Photo 10* brought fresh produce to 55 stops, including senior living communities, libraries, community centers and a corner store.

Read more about the impact YOUR donations had this year at bit.ly/cggratitude23! *LINK IN BIO*

CGHS is fundraising for a student trip to Puerto R

CGHS is fundraising for a student trip to Puerto Rico! You can bring any lightly used clothes, linens and appliances that you no longer need to Common Ground’s campus at 358 Springside Ave. New Haven, CT. Drop off will be on Saturday, December 2nd from 9AM-1PM, during Common Ground’s Annual Winter Festival and on Saturday, December 9th from 9:30AM-12:30PM.

See the flyer above for all acceptable items!

It's time for Friday Fauna & Flora with Aurora! 🎉 Featuring special guest contributors Amanda (Communications Coordinator), Diane (Farm Manager), and Lauren (Grant Writer)! Join us TOMORROW for a FREE FAMILY NATURE PLAYDATE 12-2pm to see our fauna & flora for yourself - visit the animals, enjoy a campfire, and play in the forest! No RSVP needed. Message us YOUR photos 📷 to be featured next week! 💚

This week, Amanda saw @HoodFarmerRob of @HempMilkHoney teaching our CGHS students how to inoculate mushrooms - so cool! 🍄🤩 She also saw Lauren dropping off her compost. ♻️Thanks to over 135 supporters, we reached our goal for our compost fundraiser on @Patronicity! 🎉YOU made it possible for us to unlock $9,000 in matching funds from @SustainableCT so we can continue to provide and expand composting across New Haven in partnership with @PWComposting and @NHVFoodPolicy - THANK YOU! 🙏😍

Farmer Diane also saw our amazing CG cafeteria team, Chef T, Waleska & Antoine, transforming butternut squash grown right here into a beautiful entree for staff and students to enjoy at our annual fall feast on Tuesday! 😋 Diane also dried out loofahs grown on our farm. Did you know that these natural sponges come from a gourd that is edible when it is young? 🤯Lauren saw beautiful milkweed seeds this week. Aurora admired yellow maple leaves on the old oak trail, and lichen near the Farmhouse. 🍂

❄️ 'Tis the season to support local businesses

❄️ 'Tis the season to support local businesses! This year, we challenge you to buy 100% of your holiday gifts from your neighbors! 🛍️ Supporting local businesses helps the Elm City thrive. You'll make an impact for small businesses, keep our community full of creativity, and best of all, your purchases will be one of a kind!

❄️ CG's 2023 Winter Festival is the perfect opportunity to kick off a 100% local season of giving! Join us for: holiday shopping with local artisans & craft vendors - all items are hand-crafted! *SWIPE LEFT for a peak!* Wreath making (for the 24th year) for only $20! *Photo 1* Kids holiday activities, food & a bake sale! Campus is open for you to explore. All activities are indoors.

🛍️ Our vendors include:
@Wild_Pyrography *Photo 3 & 4*
Josiah's Creations *Photo 5*
@ArtMatenwa *Photo 6*
@CairoStationery
Carmen Colon
Cat on a Loon Art & Illustrations
@central_ave_art *Photo 6*
Fauna and Flora with Aurora
Foxcraft
Stockboy Designs *Photo 6*
Trees and Clay
@VisuallyStokedMedia
@TheLittleSistersFarm *Photo 7 & 8*
Roots & Wildflowers
@SuchSweetRelief *Photo 9*
@tothelunashop *Photo 9*
@rochelle_also_bakes *Photo 10*
CGHS SPEAK Club *Photo 10*
CGHS Urban Farm *Photo 10*

Do you make art, crafts, or food? There are still a few spots left for vendors - sign up today at bit.ly/cgwintervendor23 (link in bio)! Email clia@nhep.com with ?s.

JUST ONE DAY LEFT! This is our LAST CHANCE to rece

JUST ONE DAY LEFT! This is our LAST CHANCE to receive MATCHING FUNDS from @SustainableCT for our Community Composting programs - we can receive up to $9,000, but only if we get a total of $6,000 donated on @Patronicity by TOMORROW November 22nd! We need YOUR HELP to reach our goal - make a gift of any size today at the link in our bio!

With support from community members like YOU, our CGHS students, and partners like @PWComposting and @NHVFoodPolicy, we divert thousands of pounds of food waste from the landfill, which then gets transformed into compost that fertilizes our farm! Thank you to everyone who has donated already. We really appreciate everyone's efforts to support our students and environmental justice in the community.

Earlier this month, we hosted Congresswoman Rosa D

Earlier this month, we hosted Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (3rd District) and Mayor Justin Elicker at a press conference to celebrate the announcement of a new $500,000 grant from the Environmental Protection Agency (@epagov) – funding more than 200 paid jobs for students through Green Jobs Corps (GJC)! 🎉

Crystal Fernandez, CG’s Green Jobs Corps Director, says “I am so excited to be leading this work; through Green Jobs Corps, young people will work together with our partners and city residents to generate meaningful, lasting results related to air quality, climate change, land revitalization, and food insecurity. 200 paid jobs over 2 years. That’s over $120,000 in wages for youth-led work to improve the quality of life for the most disproportionately impacted residents in New Haven!”

According to Crystal, this grant provides the necessary support for GJC to expand environmental leadership and career opportunities both within and beyond Common Ground, to include high school students in other New Haven Public Schools. “It is important for students to have access to opportunities that train workplace skills and offer work experiences,'' says Ana Reyes - CG’s current Green Jobs Corps Coordinator and CGHS & GJC alum. Ana, who worked with GJC in 5 different work placements throughout her 4 years as a CGHS student, stated that she left every job placement with a different skill set.

Congratulations to the GJC team 🎉 and thank you for leading this important work! Special shoutouts goes to our partners, who play vital roles in supporting our student leaders: @HavensHarvest, @NappesoulInc, @City_of_NewHaven Planning Department, @NewHavenClimateMovement, and @UrbanResources 💚
📸 Photos by Anthony Afriyie

Read more at the links in our bio!

It's time for Friday Fauna & Flora with Aurora! 🎉 Featuring special guest contributors Tricia and Keilly (Environmental Educators), Deb (Farm Director), Esther (Food Justice Educator) and Diane (Farm Manager)! Not pictured: CG’s happy microorganisms turning our community’s food waste into compost. Just 4 days left to donate at the link in our bio - every dollar you give will more than doubled thanks to @sustainablect! 😍

This week, Tricia and her students made sun prints using picturesque plants they found around campus, including ginkgo leaves and calendula flowers. 🌞 They also made leaf confetti art! 🍂 Keilly and her students made cute miniatures using acorn caps, bark and berries. It’s garlic time! 🧄 Deb and the farm team planted garlic with CGHS students, sending wishes for the coming year with each bulb they planted. 🥰 Esther and her students roasted the marshmallows they made using plants from our children’s garden to make s’mores - yum!🔥Diane harvested carrots from the hoophouse, and Aurora petted the goats. 🥕🐐

Join us for Open Farm Day tomorrow 10am-2pm to see CG’s fauna & flora for yourself, drop off your food scraps anytime to feed the microorganisms in our compost system, and message us YOUR photos 📷 to be featured next week! 💚

Load More... Follow on Instagram

Upcoming events

Common Ground’s 2023 Winter Festival

December 2 @ 10:00 am - 2:00 pm

Common Ground High School Open House

December 12 @ 5:00 pm - 7:00 pm

Common Ground High School Open House

Jan 13, 2024 @ 10:00 am - 12:00 pm

Common Ground High School Open House

Feb 13, 2024 @ 5:00 pm - 7:00 pm

See Full Calendar »

Recent Blog Posts

Meet Esther Chiang, Common Ground’s Food Justice Education Coordinator

Esther recently joined us at CG as our Food Justice Education Coordinator. CG's Communications Coordinator -- Amanda Byam -- had the opportunity to meet with her and understand her passions for being involved in the

Feast from the Fields ’23 – Saturday Photos

Thank you for joining Feast from the Fields ’23. It was an honor to gather with YOU, our joyous and powerful community. Please enjoy these event photos taken by Joel Callaway Photography. We’d also love

Feast for Families ’23 – Sunday Photos

Thank you for joining Feast for Families ’23. We are so grateful for YOU, our joyous & powerful community! Help us reach our Feast Goal by making a gift HERE of any size! Please enjoy

Previous 234 Next