Barnabas Health Announces Support for New Outdoor Theatre

Barnabas Health Announces Support for New Outdoor Theatre at City Green Learning Farm

Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony for New Outdoor Theatre, September 25

Barnabas Health, New Jersey’s largest health care system, has provided support for the City Green Learning Farm, a farm eco-center promoting education, located on Grove Street in Clifton, New Jersey. Barnabas Health’s support will be used to purchase native plants for the farm and for the construction of a new outdoor theatre.  Barnabas Health will also enhance City Green’s overall educational programming by providing health, wellness and nutrition experts for their school curriculum and after-school programs.  

“Barnabas Health is supporting the new Learning Farm project not only with funding but by holding a staff volunteer day on September 24 when their employees will be actually working with us planting, mulching, helping to paint our new animal pens and installing some of the whimsical features that will make this a special place to visit,” said Jennifer Papa, Executive Director of City Green. “We are so excited about this new partnership because Barnabas Health is a leader in encouraging healthy living and will be able to support some of our existing educational programming with their expertise in health education.”

The new Barnabas Health Outdoor Theatre will be home to concerts, educational programming for students, Theatre in the Garden productions, workshops and seminars. The theatre will be constructed with a beautiful combination of natural and man-made materials, stone seating, paver stage area, dramatic sail cloth shade structure and solar lighting.

“Barnabas Health is proud to support the City Green Learning Farm,” said Barry H. Ostrowsky, President and Chief Executive Officer of Barnabas Health. “This project provides Barnabas Health and its employees with an opportunity to support an important community initiative and volunteer time and energy toward one of our most essential missions, keeping people healthy,” Ostrowsky says. “The City Green project will potentially touch the lives of children and families throughout the state, and we are very pleased to be a part of it.”

The City Green Learning Farm is a farm eco-center supporting education focusing on environmental awareness, sustainable agriculture and healthy food. The multi-use natural area is comprised of different agricultural features such as: the Barnyard; the Farm; the Sustainability Center; the Native American Prairie; an outdoor theatre for educational programming and staged performances, and a Learning Pavilion for activities and gathering. 

A ribbon-cutting ceremony and grand opening of the new outdoor theatre will be held on September 25 at 5 p.m. to celebrate Barnabas Health’s participation, as well as the support of other contributors to the project.

The City Green Learning Farm has received an outpouring of support for the project, the only Farm Eco-Center in New Jersey. Other contributors include The Passaic County Open Space Fund, Jacobsen Landscape Design and Construction, Belgard, as well as donations from the students of St. Philips Academy in Newark and of the Paterson Public School #10 who held fundraisers selling flower bulbs. These students will be visiting City Green on field trips as will all area school groups.

“We appreciate the support of the funders and local businesses who have helped us get this Learning Farm started. We couldn’t have done it without all of this wonderful community participation,” stated Ms. Papa.

The five-acre multi-use natural area has been preserved as open space by the city of Clifton with the support of NJ Green Acres and Passaic County Open Space. City Green is dedicated to facilitating the establishment of urban farms and gardens in northern New Jersey’s cities to increase food security by providing access to healthy, affordable, culturally appropriate food while cultivating education in public health, nutrition and the environment.

The project was made possible through CBS’ EcoMedia advertising program. CBS EcoMedia is pioneering a new way of supporting non-profits through the use of advertising dollars, enabling Barnabas Health to support the new City Green Learning Farm. Through their patent-pending EcoAd, WellnessAd and EducationAd programs, an innovative twist on traditional advertising, advertisers are able to support much-needed local projects which in turn creates jobs, saves taxpayer money and improves the quality of life in communities nationwide. In the process, they’re fundamentally altering the advertising landscape, elevating the ordinary, traditional commercial – and media, in general – into a catalyst for tangible, quantifiable social change. For more information about CBS EcoMedia visit www.ecomedia.cbs.com. 

Barnabas Health is the largest hospital and health care system in New Jersey with six acute care hospitals, two children’s hospitals, a freestanding behavioral health center, ambulatory care centers, geriatric centers, the state’s largest behavioral health network and comprehensive home care and hospice programs. For more information, visit www.barnabashealth.org.

City Green is a Clifton based 501c3 non-profit urban farming and gardening organization dedicated to cultivating education in public health, nutrition and the environment. Visit www.citygreenonline.org or call 973-869-4086.