New City School Farm

New City Public School Urban Farm came to life in June 2010 in Long Beach, California. This location, which was once an ostrich farm in the 1920s and later turned into parking lots, has been transformed into a flourishing garden and orchard. This transformation was a community effort involving school members and locals who cleared and prepared the land. Generously, the Port of Long Beach provided us with three container bins—painted a vibrant barn orange—to serve as a tool shed, office space, and farm stand. Thanks to a nominal lease from the City of Long Beach, we were able to establish the New City Urban Farm.

The inspiration behind this project was a weekend course at The Edible Schoolyard Academy. Administrators and lead volunteers from our school took part in hands-on learning experiences in garden education and culinary preparations, akin to the opportunities at Martin Luther Middle School in Berkeley, which has benefited from this for over a decade.

Classes at our farm began to take root in 2011, as we started with a young garden and endless opportunities. More than 500 eager students began to engage with nature directly, cultivating plants on their new garden ‘campus’. Our local garden designer and horticulturist, Kathleen Irvine, developed a curriculum suited to our garden, which expanded as the garden matured. An orchard was established, and berry vines were positioned to grow along the fence perimeter. We established an extensive composting system, and a grape arbor was created to provide shade and serve as a natural setting for our outdoor classroom.

In addition to hands-on gardening skills, each class participates in a series of ten seasonal lessons covering topics like composting, plant and water cycles, the importance of native plants, conservation, sustainability, and basic culinary activities using the farm's produce. Students also delve into creative projects, crafting poems and artworks inspired by the farm, while exploring the plant life and insects close up.

Looking ahead, we plan to introduce summer enrichment programs, weekend community garden sessions, collaborations with nearby schools, and potential partnerships with local food banks and farmers markets to further our community involvement and educational outreach.