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.

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.

🌲 It's time for Friday 🐐 Fauna & Flora 🌲

🌲 It's time for Friday 🐐 Fauna & Flora 🌲 with Aurora! Featuring @jonesfamilyfarms (longtime CG supporters) and guest contributor CG staff member Lauren!

🌲 Jones Family Farms has been growing trees for 75 years - wow - and they have been supporting CG for over a decade! Today, Jones Family Farms donated 🌲 for our Winter Festival ❄ WREATH MAKING on Dec. 10th! That’s right - it’s back! This is our 23rd year of wreath-making, a tradition made possible this year thanks to Jones Family Farms! Mark and Audrey had a blast collecting those beautiful boughs - so green and gorgeous - they barely fit in our van! 🎉

🌲 CG's campus was chilly this week but still as beautiful as always! Aurora spotted frost on a flower seed head, gorgeous grass seeds blowing in the wind, the striking silhouette of echinacea seed heads against the clouds, lovely blue lichen on a rock, and at least 3 different types of oak leaves on the Old Oak trail! The goats 🐐 and sheep 🐑 don't seem to mind the cold - Lauren spotted them happily munching on some hay. 💚

🌲 If you're not headed to Jones Family Farms for a tree, come on over to check out CG's fauna and flora for yourself Saturday 10am-2pm. Now that December has arrived, the Animal Yards are closed and staff aren't available to host visitors - but you can still explore campus independently!

#fauna #flora #friday #jonesfamilyfarms #winterfestival #balsamfir #bluespruce #douglasfir #wreathmaking #chilly #frost #seeds #oakleaves #lichen #december #naturephotography #nature #connecticut #commongrountct

🎉 THROWBACK THURSDAY! 🎉 Fire making 🔥, so

🎉 THROWBACK THURSDAY! 🎉 Fire making 🔥, soil testing, companion planting 🌱, wild edible medicinals, cover crops, vertical gardening, goats and sheep… these are just SOME of the topics covered at our Annual Farm and Garden Conference last month. Thanks to our incredible partners @uconnextension's Solid Ground Program, @ctnofa, @igotnextfarmers , Tammy Chapman’s @glassjarnaturaltea, @micro2life_microgreens, @samadgardensinitiative, @ms.laurenlittle and more, guests from all over the region gleaned so much farm and garden knowledge and goodness! Beautiful food and beverage was provided by our wonderful partners @zavorys, @raicesrebeldes and @willoughbyscoffee_nhv! 💚

📷 Photos by Kae Vargas, Disha Patel, Lauren Ruotolo, Robyn Stewart, Diane Litwin and Aurora Coon.

#throwbackthursday #tbt #firemaking #soiltesting #companionplanting #foraging #wildmedicinals #covercrops #verticalgardening #farmandgarden #conference #community #partners #knowledge #gratitude #commongroundct

It's #GIVINGTUESDAY! We're SO grateful to everyone

It's #GIVINGTUESDAY! We're SO grateful to everyone who is part of our CG village. Together, we can help CG continue to thrive and bring outdoor learning and joy to young people and their families in our city. Link in our bio to give! Thank you to @chikephotography for the amazing image!

🎉 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

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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

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DRAFT- Common Ground Board of Directors Meeting Minutes: Nov. 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 Meeting Recording Present:

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