Greater Newark Conservancy Honors
Winners of 21st Annual City Gardens Contest
Gardeners from every Ward in Newark were among the winners announced by Greater Newark Conservancy at the 21st Annual City Gardens Awards Ceremony held at the NJIT Campus Center on October 20th. This year’s Contest had more than 120 entries in 14 categories including Best Home Garden, Best Children’s Garden, Best Community Garden and Best Block in Newark.
In addition to celebrating the achievements of Newark’s top community gardeners, numerous prizes donated by businesses, individuals and organizations who support the Conservancy were awarded. Gardening tools, museum memberships, plants from several local nurseries and gift certificates to some of Newark’s finest restaurants.
“It’s hard to think of a program that brings together more diverse people from throughout Newark than the City Gardens Contest,” stated Hans J. Solmssen, Co-Chair of the Conservancy’s Board of Trustees and the Retired President and CE of Lincoln Ventures Group, Ltd. “The contest does more than encourage urban gardeners to grow healthy, nutritious produce and beautify their neighborhoods with colorful flowers; it helps unite Newark’s many stakeholders to promote environmental stewardship and improve the quality of life in this urban community.”
Ironbound residents Tara Raye Russo and Stephen Hutchins were winners in three different categories; New Garden, Container Garden and Art in the Garden. They discovered the Conservancy through a flyer they saw in the spring while starting to prepare their rooftop garden. Noted artists, they incorporated “Deepwater Well Clear-Cut Signs and Disconnects,” an art installation based on Japanese Karesansui (dry landscape) Zen gardens into their rooftop display along with flowers, herbs and vegetables. The concept for this piece is directly related to BP and the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. With the use of symbolism, the installation comments on the fragility of our ecosystems, the limits of our natural resources, our consumption and the disconnections to those sources in nature.
“We are so happy to have discovered the Conservancy and hope that its outreach continues far and wide into the community because we believe a key to a community’s success is the enrichment that comes with the appreciation for green spaces and sustainable practices,” Russo concluded.
View a complete list of City Gardens Contest winners here.
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