Common Ground

Common Ground is a center for environmental learning and leadership located in New Haven, CT. It is a place where all members of the community - young and elementary-aged children, middle and high school students, the general public, and environmental practitioners - can find connections to the local environment, each other, and opportunities for learning and engagement.

Common Ground is:
   * An environmental education center, offering programs that connect people of all ages with the natural world while helping them develop habits of sustainable living.
   * Connecticut's only charter high school focused on the environment, preparing students for both success in college and environmental leadership.
   * An urban demonstration farm, modeling practices of sustainable agriculture and contributing to a healthy food system for New Haven residents.
   * A 20-acre laboratory for environmental research, sustainable living, the study of natural and human history, and community-building.

Location: New Haven, CT

Highlights:

Common Ground’s name says it simply: we’re in this together.  The environmental challenges facing our planet, and the educational challenges facing our community, are too large to face alone.  By working in partnership with like-minded individuals and organizations, we have a real chance of addressing these big challenges: reducing global warming, making healthy food accessible to everyone in the community, closing the achievement gap, building a new generation of environmental leaders, re-building our connections to the natural world. 

Features of Common Ground High School:

• 150 students
• students and classes actively take part in the work of the center's farm
• environmental understanding is at the heart of the curriculum: hands-on classes, senior projects, internships, and six environmental "big ideas" that connect the curriculum.
• academic and personal development: challenging interdisciplinary courses, academic support, career planning, college counseling, mentors and tutors from University of New Haven and Yale University, and students take college courses while at Common Ground
• student leadership: Green Jobs Corps (on and off-site paid jobs), school clubs, community service, peer mediation, and involvement in city-wide leadership programs

Features of Common Ground's Environmental Programs:

• 6,000 community members are engaged each year in Common Ground programs
• Programs provide community members of all ages an opportunity to dig in the dirt, harvest local food, go on a hike, learn about sustainable living, buy vegetable seedlings, ask garden advice, and enjoy the life on the farm.
• Specific programs for children and youth, families, schools, and community members of all ages.  Additional programs include after-school programs and summer camps.
• Provides support to community members to develop gardens and farms
• Opens the doors to their Community Kitchen for use by local entrepreneurs, gardeners, and community members as they turn local food into value-added products: jams, granola, ready-to-eat treats, sauces and more.  The space can also be used for events about sustainability and the environment.

Links:

• Common Ground (organization website) - http://www.commongroundct.org/
• Common Ground High School (direct school link) - http://www.commongroundct.org/highschool_overview.php

Submitted by Dana Bennis on: Wednesday, April 27, 2011 - 11:10 am

Tags for this entry:
community, sustainability, active learning, environmental education