Conscious Connections, Inc. Urban Farm

02/24/2022

Check out this article about CCI Urban Farm from the Delaware USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service.

Delaware Urban Farmer Committed to Making Impact

02/08/2022

Our fundraising event is two weeks away and quickly approaching 🎨 We really hope to see you there on 2/24 from 7 to 9pm! 50% of your ticket cost will be donated to CCI if we get a good turnout!

Remember you will also be guided on how to create your own pepper work of art, get complementary beverages, and take home your 16x20 canvas.

This is a public event and open to anyone who is interested, so please share! Book your seat at the link below:

https://www.paintingwithatwist.com/studio/newark/event/2964973/

01/22/2022

Book your seats now!

Pick a painting, invite your friends, and enjoy step-by-step instruction with our experienced and enthusiastic local artists. You'll leave with a one-of-a-kind creation and be ready to come back again.

01/13/2022

Join us on 2/24 from 7-9pm for a fun night of painting that will also support our organization!

This in-studio fundraising event will be at the Painting with a Twist studio in Newark, DE (painting TBD - stay tuned).

Conscious Connections, Inc. will receive 50% of the proceeds through their Painting with a Purpose program. There will also be a raffle for prizes on the night of the event (prizes TBD). If you would like to participate in the raffle, 100% of proceeds will be donated to CCI.

Stay tuned to find out what we will be painting! Visit the link below to get more details and book your seats.

https://www.paintingwithatwist.com/studio/newark/event/2964973/

01/05/2022

Thank you to everyone who has made a donation to our mural fundraiser. We are lucky to have the best supporters who believe in our mission 💕
We have currently raised $1,600 which puts us at 30% of our goal!

If you are interested in learning more about our mural project on East 23rd Street, please visit our website or GoFundMe page (links in bio).

01/03/2022

We hope everyone is having a great start to the new year! Stay tuned for updates about what we have planned for 2022. In the meantime, here is a look at the farm on this snowy day ❄️

12/15/2021

Visit our website to read our December newsletter and subscribe!

https://www.consciousconnectionsinc.com/

11/30/2021

We are very excited to be working with L.I.T. Crew comic illustrator and local artist Smashed Label to add a mural featuring our characters to our block on East 23rd Street. The new mural will be displayed on the side of the building next to our raised bed gardens (Site B ).

Our mission has always been to bring out the beauty of our community by creating more green spaces that allow residents to connect with nature. Please help us continue to transform our street and community by donating to our mural fundraiser on this

Visit our GoFundMe page to donate: https://gofund.me/b5e0f96b

❤️

What is Wilmington Evolution?

A concept and movement aimed at connecting Wilmington community members by creating a network of individuals who want to positively impact their local community through neighborhood beautification, increasing access to healthy food, and providing opportunities for workforce development.

Wilmington Evolution is an extension of Conscious Connections, Inc. and our mission. We welcome the collaboration of other like-minded individuals and organizations that are ready to invest in the continued transformation of our city by demonstrating and modeling community engagement practices that are more purposeful, equitable, and transparent. We believe that we are stronger when we work together and showing LOVE for our city will help EVOLVE it into a safer place with more opportunity for both personal and economic growth.

11/29/2021

We hope that everyone had a nice Thanksgiving! Here at CCI, we are truly thankful for all that support our mission to combat food insecurity in Wilmington and beyond. Last week, we expanded our outreach and delivered 40 shares of heathy food to families in need living in Sussex County. 15 of those shares were donated by our wonderful supporters through our Feed the Community program!

On the eve of , please consider donating to our Feed the Community program (https://www.consciousconnectionsinc.com/shop/p/feed-the-community) or our East 23rd Street Mural fund (https://www.gofundme.com/f/east-23rd-street-mural?utm_source=customer&utm_medium=copy_link&utm_campaign=p_cp_guide_do&member=15310457).

Tomorrow, we will post some updates about our mural project including an updated design (which you can see now on our website) and more information about the Wilmington Evolution movement.

11/22/2021

Big news! We have a finalized design for the mural we are planning that will be painted on the building facing our raised-bed gardens (Site B ).

Our mission has always been to bring out the beauty of our community by creating more green spaces that allow residents to connect with nature. Help us continue to transform our street and community by donating to our mural fundraiser!

Please visit the link below to learn more and donate:

https://gofund.me/6043929b

11/19/2021

Join us for our last workshop of November this Sunday from 12 to 2pm. We will be going over how to make pumpkin soup from scratch! You can find the recipe on our website, and we will also be giving out recipe sheets at the workshop. Please RSVP at the link below.

https://www.consciousconnectionsinc.com/events/lit-crew-pumpkin-workshop-4rznj-3btdw

11/17/2021

Thank you to everyone who donated to our Feed the Community program!! We had 15 shares donated, and we will be matching that bringing us to 30 shares going to families in need right before Thanksgiving. This is our first month expanding the program to Sussex County, and we are excited to have 15 of the shares going to families in southern Delaware! We are looking forward to putting together the shares for distribution on Tuesday 💚

Thank you everyone for your continued support of our mission to combat food insecurity in our local community and beyond!

11/16/2021

We are very happy to have 7 donations this month for our Feed the Community program! This month, we are matching donations, so we will be feeding 14 families a week’s worth of healthy food the week of Thanksgiving.

Thanks so much to everyone who generously donated 💚 If you are interested in learning more about our Feed the Community program or would like to donate, visit the link below. We will still match any donations received today 😄 11/16 and will distribute food on 11/23.

Also, a big thank you to for their wonderful donation to our program that will also allow us to include healthy, non-perishable items to shares in addition to fresh vegetables grown by local farmers.

https://www.consciousconnectionsinc.com/shop/p/feed-the-community

11/15/2021

Thank you to everyone who made this weekend's tree planting possible! 💚 We had the best volunteers this weekend who worked incredibly hard and made the day enjoyable. The City of Wilmington’s urban forestry team rocked it with all of their great expertise and assortment of tools that they brought to facilitate the day. Thank you to TD Bank and the Arbor Day Foundation for the wonderful donation of trees and commitment to creating more green spaces. Their generous donation will provide a place for the community to connect with nature and provide fruit for the residents for years to come.

11/11/2021

You can get recipes like this pumpkin butter from our last workshop on our website under the community resources section, or visit this link: https://www.consciousconnectionsinc.com/cci-recipes

Our next pumpkin workshop is coming up on Sunday, 11/14! We will be making iced pumpkin cookies. Please RSVP at the link below.

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0F4EA8AC2EA0FCC07-litcrew

11/08/2021

Are you signed up for our newsletter? We just sent out the November edition. Visit our website to read the latest newsletter and subscribe.

https://www.consciousconnectionsinc.com/

11/03/2021

We have been working to expand our Feed the Community program to southern Delaware. This program allows people to donate a week's worth of healthy food to families in need. We will be distributing shares to families on a monthly basis during the off-season months (October through May) and on a weekly basis during the growing season (June through September). We will collect donations via our shop on our website up until the third Tuesday of the month. Distribution of shares will be on the fourth Tuesday of the month.

This month to ensure that even more families can have healthy food for Thanksgiving, CCI will match any shares donated before 11/16/2021! Shares will be distributed on 11/23/21.

Please click the link below to donate!

https://www.consciousconnectionsinc.com/shop/p/feed-the-community

11/02/2021

LIT Crew Pumpkin Workshops - Every Sunday in November from 12pm to 2pm.

Join us as we demonstrate how to make your own natural pumpkin recipes! Watch the LIT Crew cook delicious pumpkin recipes PLUS take home a pumpkin and a recipe of your own.

Recipes include:
- Pumpkin Butter
- Iced Pumpkin Cookies
- Pumpkin Soup

This is a FREE event, but space is limited. Please RSVP at the link below:

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0f4ea8ac2ea0fcc07-litcrew

10/27/2021

Have you ever heard of a food forest? A food forest essentially tries to mimic the patterns and growing conditions found in nature and a typical forest environment - but with all edible plants. Just like a traditional forest, there are various layers and the plants all rely on each other or serve a purpose. At our current urban farm, we use this style of growing, often referred to as permaculture, to grow most of our annual vegetable crops. We are taking things to the next level and creating a CCI Food Forrest on one of our sites that is on the same block as our current sites. We are excited to transform this new space into an edible oasis in the city that will be open to our local community!

Please, help us come break ground on this new project by participating in our volunteer tree planting day on Saturday, November 13th from 10am to 2pm. We will be planting a total of 45 native fruit trees to form the base of our new food forest. Click the link below for more details and to let us know you are coming!

https://www.consciousconnectionsinc.com/events/cci-food-forrest-volunteer-tree-planting-day

Photo from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/294736990_Sustainable_Urban_Agriculture_A_Growing_Solution_to_Urban_Food_Deserts

10/26/2021

Check out this informative video on our YourTube channel of our beekeeper Allison from Alvéole talking about the importance of a fall hive inspection to prepare the bees for winter!

https://youtu.be/AquyWeGOfIg

You can also follow the progress of our urban hive anytime by visiting: https://myhive.alveole.buzz/conscious-connections

Our beekeeper from Alvéole talks about the importance behind performing a fall hive inspection to help the bees prepare for the winter.

10/22/2021

A big thank you to our beekeeper Allison from Alvéole and everyone who attended our Wonders of Wax workshop! 🐝💚 We hope you enjoyed learning about beeswax and the process of making candles. Stay tuned to hear about what we have planned for November.

10/21/2021

We had a great time at our Fall Festival! Thank you to everyone who came out to celebrate the closing of the season with us. Here are some photos from the day and stay tuned to hear about what we have planned for November!

10/20/2021

Tomorrow 🌿 Please come pick your own veggies to help us clean up and prepare for the next growing season 💚 Here are some pictures of what we have left! Stop by from 9am to 12pm tomorrow, 10/21 🍂

10/19/2021

FREE veggies 🌿 Stop by from 9-12pm on Wednesday, 10/20 (please bring your own scissors and bags).

Preparing beds for the next growing season is an important part of fall gardening prep. Most of our raised beds in site B have been planted with a cover crop to help protect and build soil health over the winter. We will be working to clean up site A and our high tunnel this week to prepare for the spring.

Please stop by the farm Wednesday morning if you are interested in taking home some fresh veggies. This is what we have left: Malabar spinach, kale, Swiss chard, okra, and green tomatoes (that will continue to ripen even after being picked).

10/12/2021

Calling all Wilmington youth! What a month we have planned for OCTOBER!

Fall Harvest is here, and each week, we gather mature plants from our farm. Join us each weekend and learn about plants from seed to harvest. This month, we are focusing on COLLECTING SEEDS.

Sign up is on Fridays at CCI Urban Farm (Site A) OR sign up online at the link below:

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0f4ea8ac2ea0fcc07-ccilit

10/11/2021

Please join us for our first annual CCI Fall Festival!

This family-friendly event will include a variety of fall-themed activities including pumpkin decorating, pumpkin bowling, face painting, co****le, and more! It will also feature a DIY salad station, jerk chicken, and other goodies from the farm. There will also be a variety of fun raffles for prizes in exchange for your input about the farm and future programs.

This is a FREE event, but we ask that you please register at this link - https://www.eventbrite.com/e/cci-urban-farm-fall-festival-tickets-180174245017

10/08/2021

How do you like your peppers 🌶 Hot? Sweet?

We have a variety of peppers growing at the farm (mostly hot). We will have some along with some hot pepper jelly to sample at our Fall Festival that is less than 10 days away on Sunday, 10/17 (10am-2pm) 🍂 RSVP now! 🎃

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/180174245017

10/06/2021

Hot off the press: Our October newsletter. Click the link below to read! Visit our website to subscribe.

https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5fd950c07582a273b16afd58/t/615caa7d93d48c3e2b80d9e3/1633462910947/October+newsletter.pdf

10/05/2021

Check out and subscribe to the new CCI channel on YouTube!

https://youtu.be/UMgT0Hd_smU

Our beekeeper from Alvéole talks about how bees communicate using chemical signals called pheromones and how the smoker tool helps when inspecting the beehive.

10/04/2021

October is a busy month at the farm! Join us for our next honey workshop with Alvéole where we will learn about beeswax and the process of making candles at this hands-on workshop 🐝

Our Wonders of Wax workshop will be on Friday, 10/15 from 4pm to 5pm. This is a FREE event, but registration is required. Link below:

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/180195669097

10/01/2021

Happy first day of October 🍂

October will be the first issue of our monthly newsletter which will include info about events, workshops, volunteer days, what’s happening on the farm, our educational programs, and much more!

Check out our website to subscribe: https://www.consciousconnectionsinc.com/

09/30/2021

Fall is in the air 🍂🍃🍁

09/28/2021

Join us at the farm on Sunday, 10/17 from 10am to 2pm for our Fall Festival 🎃

Free admission, but we ask that you please RSVP at the link below:

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/180174245017

09/27/2021

We had a great turnout for our honey workshop this past Friday! Thanks to everyone who came and to our beekeeper from Alvéole 🐝 We learned a lot of fascinating facts about our hardworking bee friends and all they do to make honey 🍯

Stay tuned for more details about our Wonders of Wax workshop coming up on 10/15!

09/23/2021

Come support your community and local farm by signing up to volunteer. We have volunteer events at the farm every other Saturday from 9am to 1pm. Experience is preferred, but definitely not required! Please click the link below to sign up. Thanks for your support!

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0f4ea8ac2ea0fcc07-ccivolunteer

09/22/2021

We still have some spots left for our FREE honey workshop this Friday (4:30pm at the farm) 🍯 You will learn more about the process of extracting honey from a frame that was harvested from our very own hive. PLUS fill your very own jar of honey and bring it home! REGISTRATION is required, but the event is free. Click the link below to sign up:

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/hive-to-honey-workshop-with-alveole-tickets-174375450667

09/17/2021

Have you checked out our website? We have been making updates to include information about our current projects and events, community resources, how you can get involved, and more.

We will be adding more content soon and will be coming out with a monthly newsletter starting in October. Stay tuned!

https://www.consciousconnectionsinc.com/

09/16/2021

Did you know that you can plant flower seeds now for early spring blooms? Some varieties of flowers even require the cold temperatures in winter to properly germinate.

🌸Flowers to plant in September: Bachelor’s Buttons, Black-Eyed Susan, Coneflower/Echinacea, Delphinium, Forget-Me-Not, Hyssop, Larkspur, Love-In-A-Mist, Lupine, Milkweed, Pansies, Poppies, Viola/Johnny Jump Up, Yarrow

09/14/2021

Don't miss out on our honey sale! The honey is produced by bees at our hive right here in Wilmington, DE. Jars are 20% off until the end of September. You can select to pick up your honey at the farm or have it shipped to your home (with a shipping fee). 🍯

Also, stay tuned for more details about our free Hive to Honey Workshop coming up at the end of the month! 🐝

09/10/2021

Happy Friday from everyone here at CCI Urban Farm 🌻😄🙌