The New Garden Society

05/04/2026

04/27/2026

Many of us are in the midst of spring cleaning and garden planning. If in that process you find yourself with some unneeded tools, or extra plants, why not donate them to your incarcerated neighbors? To donate, visit
bit.ly/givetorprisongardens

04/22/2026

While we often keep social media posts short and sweet, our newsletters serve as a way to give a bigger picture of the current work we are doing in prisons. This latest newsletter provided a chance for our students voices to be heard. Read this excerpt below…

Studying Plants in Prison Carried us through the Winter
In February-March, TNGS was proud to facilitate our Winter Horticulture Intensive course at two local prisons (Boston Pre-Release Center and Pondville Correctional Center). Students join our winter course for many reasons, including

"To gain more knowledge of how growing plants effect our environment."
"To personally experience the hands-on process of working in a garden; get an idea of how it makes me feel mentally, physically and emotionally."
"Becoming healthier through physical connection and consumption of the earth."

Interested in getting on our mailing list, and receiving these more in-depth stories on a regular basis? Sign up at our website! This is also a great way to stay informed on ways to help out and show up for our students.

https://www.thenewgardensociety.org

04/15/2026

Updated hours and link for registering...

04/12/2026

Daffodils hold many different meanings. To most, they are a certain sign of spring. To others, a sign of hope, or resilience. This week, as our volunteer educators will return to prison gardens and meet this year’s cohort of students, the first thing they will be greeted by will be these Daffodils, bulbs planted by our students last fall. They serve as a reminder of why we do this work. To provide the simple joy and beauty that lights up a grey and concrete scene… to hope for a brighter future… to learn from the resilience of our students.

04/09/2026

While we are so glad to be back in gardens, with programming starting up at 3 facilities in the coming week, we are also grateful for all the opportunities to be in community that this winter provided. We were able to speak to neighboring garden clubs, host an event for new volunteers, and most recently we attended Urban Farming Institute of Boston’s Urban Farming Symposium! Thanks for having us!

03/30/2026

Who else is doing some garden planning? While our outdoor programming is starting very soon, our students spent last week planning their dream gardens. In this lesson, students went over factors like sunlight, access to water, slope, interplanting, and crop rotation. We can't wait to get outside with students and build this season's gardens!

03/23/2026

We will be at the upcoming Urban Farming Symposium! be sure to come say hi!

Urban farming is about more than growing food.

It is about communities having the power to nourish themselves, care for one another, and build systems that reflect their needs and values.

Across Massachusetts, farm workers, educators, youth leaders, policymakers, and organizers are doing this work every day. The Massachusetts Urban Farming Symposium was created in concert with Department of Agricultural Resources to bring this community together to share knowledge, strengthen partnerships, and build a more resilient local food system.

We are grateful to share that the symposium is now sold out.

This moment speaks to the strength and urgency of this work, and to the growing network of people committed to expanding access to fresh, locally grown food across the Commonwealth.

We look forward to gathering on March 28 at UMASS Moston.

If you were not able to register, we hope to share highlights and future opportunities to engage.

03/19/2026

We had the pleasure of speaking this week to Garden Club of the Back Bay about our work and our mission. We are so grateful to them for hosting us, and for having such thoughtful questions and conversation with us. We are also grateful for the numerous ways their Garden Club has supported our cause over the years. Thank you, Garden Club of Back Bay!

03/12/2026

We're all longing for spring, and it's right around the corner. In the meantime, our Winter Horticulture Intensives are still going strong. We've covered topics like Soil Science, and Botany, where students explored flower forms by dissecting tulips! These classes will continue until we're able to start our regular outdoor programming. Our sessions have been very well attended, and students are eager and engaged!

03/08/2026

Last month, we gathered for our annual Winter Board Meeting. Part of our organization's doctrine is for board meetings to be visible and accessible to all members of our organization. In the Winter, we take a moment to nominate and welcome new members to our board. This year, we welcomed 2 new Board Members! One of which, Emily Gold, is a long time volunteer educator, and co-founder of Hedgewitch Horticulture!

03/04/2026

Ecologies of Justice is seeking a web design intern to redesign their webpage! Ecologies of Justice, EoJ for short, is a national network of people who do work just like ours. We have been involved with this organization for years, and will be featured in their forthcoming book! In preparation for the book's release date later this year, the folks behind EoJ have asked for our help in seeking an intern to make this website more accessible and better able to amplify organizations like ours around the country.
To see the current website and learn more about EoJ: https://www.ecologiesofjustice.org/
To view the full role description:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1tIQ8Gpl8m5Ra1sF4rePzc6yr-jKJCltt_4BbXQZ-CmI/edit?tab=t.0