Community Service in Action - Rutgers addition

Down Bottom Farms – Newark, NJ

On the first beautiful Saturday of an otherwise dreary spring, Newark Community Solutions staffers Raul Hernandez and Jukie Tsai worked alongside students and staff of the Rutgers School of Criminal Justice Doctoral program at Ironbound Community Corporation’s Down Bottom Farms. Formerly a freight rail yard -- as evinced decaying train tracks underfoot -- Down Bottom Farms is vibrant urban farm with raised plant beds, a fruit tree orchard, and hand painted murals.  The day served as the annual community service project for the Rutgers School of Criminal Justice and, in addition to laying mulch and weeding the plant beds, participants learned about the work that NCS does at Down Bottom Farms. Through an ongoing partnership with Ironbound Community Corporation, NCS clients perform their community service at ICC locations, including Down Bottom Farms, throughout the year. Completing an array of different tasks, NCS clients have helped to get the farm ready for a number of summer programs including the ICC Farmers Market. For more info on the market please visit: http://ironboundcc.org/down-bottom-farms/