Camden Children's Garden

The Camden City Garden Club is a non-profit (501) (c) (3), membership-based, educational and environmental organization established in 1985 to assist Camden City residents with community gardening.  Over the years the Club has evolved  to include many additional programs: Community Gardening and Greening, Grow Lab, the Community Youth Employment Program and the Camden Children’s Garden.

Established in 1985, our Community Gardening Program helps residents of the City of Camden and members of the Garden Club maintain community garden and greening sites throughout the City of Camden. The Camden City Garden Club (CCGC) assists members with cleaning vacant, city-owned lots and transforming them into beautiful and productive community gardens, growing fresh and nutritious fruits and vegetables. 

The Club provides tools, plants and seeds, while members provide the sweat equity.  Members receive planting and gardening information and can participate in demonstrations, and periodic workshops. The Club also assists members and Camden residents with community greening projects and planting trees throughout the neighborhoods of Camden.

Community Gardening

The Camden City Garden Club, Inc. has operated a Community Gardening Program since 1985 with support from the William Penn Foundation.  Camden residents can garden on vacant, city-owned lots, upon approval from the City of Camden. The Club can assist with providing fencing, lime, fertilizer, seeds, and plants.

Plants are distributed during the Club meetings at the Camden Children’s Garden.  Early crop plants are available in April and May, warm-season crops are available in June.  You must be a member to obtain these supplies.

The organization applies for grants to operate this program and is occasionally able to offer additional materials, such as tools.

Community Greening

The Camden City Garden Club, Inc. will assist Camden residents with their community greening projects.  Residents who are also Club members can request assistance with tree plantings, soil and soil amendents.

Faith-Based Community Gardening Program	

The Faith-Based Community Gardening program is the Club’s newest project. Beginning in December 2008, the Camden City Garden Club, Inc. and the Woodland Ave. Presbyterian Church partnered to help prevent childhood obesity, initiated with a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Founation through community gardening.

This program teaches Camden residents how to grow their own vegetables and fruit, so they can provide their families with healthy, nutritious produce.  Our focus is to help teach residents how to start, maintain and harvest community vegetable gardens.  Throughout the year the Club will also host workshops to teach these gardeners how to cook the produce they grow, preparing healthy, tasty dishes the whole family can enjoy together.

This program is designed to work in cooperation with faith-based groups in the City of Camden.  If you or your Camden congregation is interested in this program, please call the Community Garden Organizer at 856-365-8733.

How Can I Become a Member?

Joining is easy.  If you are interested in becoming a member, please contact the Club’s office and ask for an application to be mailed to you along with an application to garden on City owned lots. You may also download the Community Gardening brochures on this page to fill out the application form and mail it to the Camden City Garden Club, Inc. 

Camden City Garden Club, Inc.
3 Riverside Drive
Camden, NJ 08733

Grow Lab

Grow-lab teaches elementary school children science and math skills through horticulture. The lab is a mini-indoor greenhouse developed by the National Gardening Association. An important part of the program is a K-8th grade curriculum and activities guide developed by the National Science Foundation. This curriculum closely resembles the New Jersey Core Curriculum Standards for science in grades 1-4. The Grow-Lab program serves thousands of school children per year in the City of Camden.

The Camden City Garden Club staff provides assistance to Grow-Lab teachers through periodic classroom visitations and teacher workshops. One of the favorite activities is the salad party. Students grow the salad ingredients and plan the party. 

The Camden City Garden Club enhanced its Grow Lab program 
in 2005 by adding two new and important components: nutrition education and ecological concepts. Our nutrition lessons focus 
on making better food choices and the revised food pyramid. Our ecology lessons examine soil, water and air pollution and habitat lossfrom the perspective: What can I do about it? 

The Grow Lab program is funded through grants and donations. 
If you would like to learn more about this program, please 
contact our development coordinator at 856.365.8733.