Community Programs
Wetlands Restoration Project
The Cayuga Lake Wetlands Restoration Project engages ecological and traditional science to repair ecosystems.
Rootstock Festival
Annual celebration of youth artists in the Finger Lakes region
Youth Entrepreneurship Market
Through a hands-on learning experience, students develop ideas and learn from local entrepreneurs.
Farm to School Lunch
Our Farm to School meal plan features fresh, local produce.
Kestrel Perch Farm
School gardening and agricultural education is part of the curriculum.
Gallery Nights
New Roots historically has organized gallery exhibitions and open house during the Downtown Ithaca First Friday gallery tour.
Wetlands Restoration Project
In a time before settler colonialism, the land that is now occupied by the City of Ithaca was a wetland, and the hillsides surrounding the city were inhabited by a people who understood how to flourish while living in a regenerative relationship with their local ecosystems.
As the people took care of their surrounding ecological webs, so too the wetland “took care” of the Cayuga Lake – performing the valuable ecosystem services of water purification, nutrient cycling, and oxygenation; as well as flood mitigation and biodiversity preservation through habitat provisioning.
In the Cayuga Wetlands Restoration Project, we aim to improve water quality and biodiversity around Cayuga Lake’s Southern shore by helping to reestablish a wetland ecosystem once vital to the biotic and abiotic health of Cayuga Lake. We use ecological and traditional science to guide us in our work.
Youth Entrepreneurship Market
Since 2017, hundreds of students in grades 4-12 have participated in Ithaca’s Youth Entrepreneurship Market & Mentor program.
Through a hands-on learning experience, students bring their ideas to fruition, learning business startup basics from local entrepreneurs and coaches.
“The markets” are a culmination of business planning woven into the workshop series, where students launch their businesses into the community.
So please save your seat or contact us with any questions. We look forward to seeing you soon!
Kestrel Perch Berry Farm
School gardening and agricultural education is part of the curriculum in both core and specialized classes, including sciences, humanities, week-long intensives courses featuring visits to local farms, and agricultural education courses offering college credit through Tompkins Cortland Community College’s CollegeNow program,
School gardening projects have included “urban farming” with container and community gardens, and a larger “big farm” garden plot at the Kestrel Perch Berry Farm at EcoVillage at Ithaca, just outside the city.
Produce grown by students has been featured in our school lunch program, and donated to a local food bank.
Rootstock
New Roots Charter School and Grassroots Festival of Music & Dance are excited to be co-producing our fifth annual Rootstock, a one-day community celebration of youth artists in the Finger Lakes region.
Rootstock will be held at the Bernie Milton Pavilion on May 17th, 2025 with youth musicians and dancers performing on stage, and youth entrepreneurs vending throughout “bank alley”.
Rootstock is committed to empowering the next generation of artists in the Finger Lakes.
This program is made possible (in part or in full) with funds from the Statewide Community Regrant program from the New York State Council on the Arts, with the support of the office of the Governor and NYS Legislature, administered by the Community Arts Partnership of Tompkins County.
Farm to School Lunch
We are very proud of our free Farm to School breakfast and lunch featuring healthy “teen comfort food” for all enrolled students!
Our Farm to School meal program features fresh, local produce and locally sourced products, emphasizing plant foods in season whenever possible.
Our Farm to School meal team strives to serve various local whole foods daily. We do not use processed, packaged, or premade foods, and are committed to keeping sugar, additives, and preservatives out of our food. Our lunches are healthy, unprocessed, whole foods sourced from local and regional partners, emphasizing plant foods.
Gallery Nights
New Roots historically has organized gallery exhibitions and open house during the Downtown Ithaca first Friday gallery tour.
Our school is home to the first operational elevator in Ithaca during the Clinton House years and now serves as a gallery space for student and community events. We also have our music and mural lounge which serves as a performance space with Art Deco ambience from the 1940’s and hosting Ithaca’s first mural.
Past gallery nights include:
- Black History Month gallery celebrating the rich culture and arts of the African diaspora
- Silent auctions featuring studenta and staff art
- Musical performances and documentary viewings