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Sharonda Allen, MPA Founder and Executive Director, Operation Grow Inc. RES 2023
Operation Grow Inc. and the NJDEP Greenway Pop Up Garden was the first and only activation at the proposed Greenway, which is the site of a decommissioned, 9-mile railway that stretches from Upper Montclair to Jersey City, right here in New Jersey. Operation Grow Inc. focuses on human, economic, social, and environmental sustainability. This garden project serves the community of North Newark through human and environmental sustainability.
The Operation Grow Youth Sustainability Program participants were very instrumental in the planning and execution of the garden through their program activities that helped them to learn and research food systems, Food Deserts, identifying Food Insecurity, and connecting these issues to Environmental Sustainability to achieve Food Sovereignty with impacts toward Food Justice, Environmental Justice, Climate Justice, and Energy Justice. The Garden allowed the youth to positively connect with the community because of their education about food sovereignty, food cultivation, environmental stewardship, service learning, and effective civic engagement in an Environmental Justice community.
The youth set up a plan to grow plants that are high in nutritional value, as well as other plants that were used to educate, create a pollinator habitat, and create a beautiful space for the overall community. As the youth grew various plants during the 2023-2024 School year, the plants were transferred into the Greenway garden. Throughout the Summer of 2024 into the Fall, the youth implemented their Service Learning Program through Operation Grow Inc. with community meet ups twice per week. Some activities include Garden Tea Parties, Birding lessons, Nature Journaling, Lantern fly Hunting, Rock Painting, a Back to School Supply Giveaway event, and a Halloween party, just to name a few. Throughout each event, we were able to provide fresh, healthy, organic produce to all those that we served.
The Operation Grow Inc. + NJDEP Greenway Pop Up Garden is an exemplar of Urban Agriculture, Youth as Solutions, and positive, impactful community engagement.
Sharonda Allen, MPA is the Founder and Executive Director of Operation Grow Inc. who completed the Rutgers Environmental Steward Program in 2023 as well as a Rutgers Green Infrastructure Champion in 2023.
You can learn more about The Greenway by clicking this text, or by visiting the NJDEP website: https://dep.nj.gov/greenway/