Greater Newark Conservancy - Description of New Space

Description Of The New Space

On the corner of Prince and Springfield sits an old synagogue on a large vacant overgrown lot. Both the inside and outside spaces are about to be transformed by the Greater Newark Conservancy's Urban Environmental and Ecological Center, the first urban environmental center of its kind in the Greater Metropolitan area.

Imagine walking down the street of Newark, you turn and pass through an arbor sheltered with vines. As you come out to the other side, before you lays a mirage of green, of color, of plants and birds, butterflies and fountains. But it's not a mirage, it is the gardens of the Urban Environmental and Ecological Center, known as the Outdoor Learning Center.

It is alive with activity. The arbor entrance opens onto a large space known as the Solar Pavilion where children are sitting on steps. There are children singing a song about the sun and in the middle is a large sundial that's missing its dial. A child steps forward to stand in its center, casting a shadow that tells them all the time. All the others gather around laughing, some of them looking at their watches. The teacher starts to talk about time. Sunflowers standing tall surround the children.

Beyond this, there is a path leading you around the grounds to a variety of garden galleries. To the right is the "Lunar Garden" that comes alive with flowers in the moonlight attracting a flutter of evening moths. Further along is the "Woodland Trail" with its "Three Sister Garden." Here, several children are dressed in Native American attire and are reenacting the grinding of corn while several others are picking beans and cleaning out pumpkins. A parent is reading to them from an outdoor story book display. Later they will go inside and cook what they have prepared. Around the bend is a small pond surrounded by tall grasses and reeds, part of the "Wildlife Gallery." Two children sit quietly behind a "blind" going through a book to find a picture of the bird they just spotted, as a turtle passes quietly by. They later make a bird feeder and will fill it with birdseed.

As you continue around the grounds you will come upon the "Glade Gallery" with a huge tree in the center. If you climb it you will find a weather station at the top. You will come to understand how important trees are. Further along the path, you find the "Butterfly Gallery," and the "Herb" and "Vegetable" gardens. Each spot is for activity and learning, with children and adults talking, interacting, exchanging information and having fun. There are gardens where children can get dirty, picking and planting. There are compost piles that need turning, potting benches and a greenhouse to plant seeds. The outdoor lighting and the energy for the fountains is provided by solar power. The pathways are made of fi-bar, a porous biodegradable environmentally sound material.

As you climb the front steps of the old synagogue and enter the Center you arrive in the main floor of a beautifully restored historic building. The middle of the building has a large multipurpose room that can easily seat 100 children or adults, for meetings and presentations. To the left of the multipurpose room is the Enviro-Tech Library with computers, including a Web-GIS system and access to the Internet. To the right of the multipurpose room are several smaller classroom spaces, a kitchen and kitchen laboratory. The lower level of the building houses a retail shop, perhaps filled with plants and gardening supplies and gifts. There is a cafe serving fresh garden food with, perhaps, local entertainment performing on Saturday evenings. The cafe looks onto the Solarium and joins the building with the outside space, the Outdoor Learning Center.

With the new Urban Environmental and Ecological Center, we can meet the needs of Newark's children, educators and residents. We can offer better programs and space designed for education. We will encourage people to come again and again, especially the children.