June 25, 2009 - Concrete Safaris is a grant recipient of YouthBridge-NY’s “Bridging the Gap” Fund. High school students from across the city raised funds, solicited applications, and decided which organizations they believed gave youth a voice and provided them with an opportunity for action. This is a wonderful honor to be awarded by youth for our youth-driven program. Thank you!

June 8, 2009 - Concrete Safaris was one of 10 groups in the city to receive the Osborn Elliot Building Blocks Award from Citizens Committee for NYC. The Award was presented by Council Member John Liu at an evening ceremony held at the Municipal Arts Society. Five 2nd and 3rd graders in our after school program stood on the stage beaming with pride to accept the Award on behalf of their fellow Explorers. Afterwards, they enjoyed playing catch with the colorful balloons and making up raps while dancing all the way back to Washington Community Center. Thank you CCNYC for this prestigious award!

CS Explorers learned about the winter wilderness survival skills of Prospect Park’s animals from NYC Park Ranger, Marissa. We also visited the Grand Army Plaza GreenMarket where the kids learned about different kinds of farms and tasted yummy apples, meat, and breads. CS Explorers dropped off their old pillow cases at the Textile Recycling Station and drank delicious hot chocolate to keep warm. Brrrr…. Here are some photos of local habitats as seen by the kids.

Abu Talib, a founder of Taqwa Community Farm, gave CS Explorers a grand tour of his 1/2 acre space. We learned how they compost, what they grow (fruit, vegetables, bees, & chickens), and how they operate their youth farmers market. We even got to eat freshly baked potatoes, play on the swingset, and buy some just harvested vegetables! It was a lot of fun!

Abu Talib gave us a tour of Taqwa Community Farm.