What kid doesn’t like getting their hands dirty?
At the Center for Environmental Transformation (CFET) in Camden, they’re harnessing that natural curiosity to foster knowledge and a love of nature. Through its Eco Explorers program, elementary and middle school students at neighboring Sacred Heart School are not only learning about the environment, but also to engage with it through a hands-on, science-based gardening education program.
In 2025, Sustainable South Jersey (SSJ) had the privilege of supporting the program through the Caren Kaufman Memorial Fund, contributing $500 to help purchase seeds, art supplies, and other essentials that brought the lessons to life. This marked the program’s first full season of garden education, with 120 students from 1st through 8th grade journeying across the street to CFET’s urban farm. Complete with a greenhouse and garden laboratory, the farm became an outdoor classroom where students participate in age-appropriate lessons every other week, learning about many different aspects of gardening and food cultivation.
Elizabeth Mariani, Sacred Heart’s principal, has seen the impact of the program firsthand.
“We have been so impressed by the program’s impact. The educational value, the beauty of the garden space, and the relationships being built, especially with CFET’s garden coordinator, Leslie, whom the children absolutely adore. Leslie’s presence and leadership have been a gift, and we hope she’ll be able to continue in her role.”
CFET leaders worked with students to plan out the garden, plant and care for seedlings, maintain the crops, and then harvest the produce they grew. This program wasn’t just about getting their hands dirty – although there was plenty of that. Students also created journals to document their progress and take notes during biology and other lessons. They even tapped into their creative side by making signs for the garden, which they were able to see with each visit.
The fun didn’t end with growing food. Students also built their culinary skills. In Fall 2025, they used ingredients from the garden to make a kale salad together. The fifth grade class that made the kale salad are now sixth graders and still talk about how much fun it was to cook with each other. The kale salad has now become a fixture in the lesson plans.
Gardening teaches kids about cycles — planting, tending, harvesting, and beginning again. But CFET’s hope is that the cycle doesn’t end in the garden. When children learn to care for living things, they begin to imagine themselves as caretakers of their community too.
That’s the real harvest. 
SSJ is grateful to stand alongside CFET in helping these young explorers grow into the environmental stewards our future will depend on.’
If you could invest $500 in a project that would make your community stronger, greener, or more connected, what would you support?
