Services

The Isles Garden Support Network (IGSN) strengthens community and school gardens across Trenton by providing technical, organizational, and educational assistance to residents, teachers, students, and community-based organizations. Through IGSN, Isles helps residents develop the skills and resources needed to successfully grow food and maintain thriving community green spaces.

Access to garden materials and support/guidance

• Vegetable plants and seeds.
• Soil testing and soil health guidance.
• Organic pest and disease management support.
• Garden planning and maintenance assistance.

Hands-on workshops and educational programming

• Gardening fundamentals.
• Organic growing practices.
• Composting and soil building.
• Food preservation and post-harvest handling.

The Tucker Street Garden is a half-acre demonstration, production, and training site that serves gardeners of all skill levels. The garden functions as both a training site and community gathering space, where residents learn practical growing skills while building relationships with neighbors.

Incubator Garden Program

• Hands-on gardening instruction.
• Urban agriculture workshops.
• Leadership development opportunities.
• Individual garden plots and planting space.
• One-on-one technical assistance for new and experienced growers.

Hands-on workshops and educational programming

• Gardening fundamentals.
• Organic growing practices.
• Composting and soil building.
• Food preservation and post-harvest handling.

Harvesting and sharing with the community

• Shared freely with the community during Open Garden events.
• Distributed during food sovereignty and community food events.
• Used in Isles’ farm-to-table culinary programming, which teaches residents how to prepare healthy meals using fresh, locally-grown ingredients.
• Isles produces its own raw honey for sale to the community and local businesses. The site also serves as an educational hub for students, volunteers, and community members interested in urban agriculture.

Isles is a founding partner of the Greenwood Avenue Farmers Market, which operates every Monday from mid-June through mid-October. Through its markets, gardens, and food distribution efforts, Isles works to ensure that fresh food is available and accessible to Trenton residents:

• Fresh, locally-grown produce.
• Local agricultural products.
• Healthy food options for the community.
• Isles honey, produced from beehives located at the Tucker Street Garden, is available for purchase at the market through the “Teas for All” store, making locally produced honey accessible at affordable prices.

Our urban agriculture program involves and contributes to the community in a multitude of positive ways:

• Distribution of approximately 10,000 vegetable seedlings to school and community gardens throughout the city.
• Donation of over 700 pounds of fresh produce to emergency food providers annually.
• Management of four beehives located at Mill One and the Tucker Street Learning Garden, helping support pollination and urban biodiversity.
• Hosting hundreds of volunteers who assist with planting, garden maintenance, food harvesting, and urban agriculture projects throughout Trenton.

TCC members develop real, marketable skills in urban landscaping, community beautification, and green infrastructure through direct, supervised service. Working alongside Isles Urban Agriculture staff, members gain professional experience that translates into lasting career opportunities in environmental and sustainability fields.

TCC plants trees across Trenton neighborhoods to advance shade equity, improve air quality, reduce urban heat, and beautify the community. Every tree planted is an investment in the health and resilience of Trenton’s environment — and a visible sign of community pride.

TCC works on projects that protect Trenton’s waterways and strengthen the local food system, connecting environmental stewardship to the everyday health and wellbeing of residents. Members learn how ecosystems work, why they matter, and how to protect them.

TCC members receive education in sustainable practices and environmental stewardship — and bring that knowledge back to their communities. By growing awareness and pride in Trenton’s natural assets, TCC helps build a culture of environmental care from the ground up.

TCST members stand outside Trenton Central High School, 9th Grade Academy, Capital City High School, and Isles Youth Institute every school day — greeting students, de-escalating tensions, and ensuring safe arrivals and departures. Since Safe Passage began in 2022, the schools served have seen a 96% drop in violence. Police calls, once a daily occurrence, are now rare.

When tensions arise, TCST intervenes before violence ensues. Team members draw on deep community relationships and lived experience to mediate disputes, interrupt conflict, and connect individuals to support, reducing retaliatory violence and building lasting peace.

TCST provides direct support to survivors of violence and their families, connecting them with resources, services, and a network of care during some of the most difficult moments of their lives.

TCST’s Community Care team meets residents where they are. In 2025, the team provided 351 Trentonians with diapers and other household essentials, building trust and community connection that helps counter retaliatory crime. Through the Toddler’s Closet Program, TCST also offered free, gently used clothing and items to 190 families.

Trenton Health Education Safety and Information Sessions (T.H.E.S.I.S.) are monthly forums that bring together community members, elected officials, service providers, and faith leaders to drive accountability, share resources, and take action on public safety priorities.

TCST hosts and participates in community walks, health and safety information sessions, youth and adult workshops, and neighborhood events that build connection, visibility, and trust.

The easy-to-use GOTrenton! app allows customers to hail an electric vehicle for rides to work, medical appointments, grocery stores, and more. With expanded citywide coverage and curb-to-curb service, more Trentonians than ever can get where they need to go, when they need to go, in clean, emissions-free vehicles. GOTrenton! operates seven days a week, including Sunday hours, with a bilingual customer service hotline to serve all riders.

Our fleet of EV Kia Niro SUVs and 10 passenger electric vans provide enhanced safety features, climate control, and highway capability for a better rider experience.

For residents who need it most, GOTrenton! maintains five fare-free destination hotspots where rides are always free:

• Trenton Area Soup Kitchen
• The Rescue Mission
• Medina Health Clinic
• Children’s Home Society
• Mercer One Stop (Trenton)

No cost. No barriers. Just access.

GOTrenton! goes beyond individual rides. We provide dedicated van transportation for community events and partner with the Isles Youth Institute to ensure that students have reliable daily transit to school.

In partnership with Isles, the City of Trenton has installed several public EV charging stations throughout the city, with more planned for the future. Our GOTrenton! Operations Headquarters at 256 Allen Street and Administrative Office at 1 Johnston Avenue feature public Level 2 EV chargers that can be accessed 24/7/365 at below-market rates for public charging.

CP&D’s work in the Downtown Trenton Neighborhood (DTTN) focuses on physical improvements to vacant lots, acquisition and rehabilitation of vacant buildings, and the reactivation of underutilized properties. Located downtown and on the cusp of revitalization, DTTN is home to several large-scale redevelopment projects and a growing arts scene that Isles is helping to cultivate.

Located between Assunpink Creek and the D&R Canal, the Creek to Canal Creative District is the result of a six-month planning process led by Isles in partnership with Interface Studio. More than 750 residents of all ages contributed input on the arts activities, redevelopment, and services they wanted to see in their community. Arts and culture anchor this district because of their proven power as catalysts for community and economic development.

In partnership with the City of Trenton, and residents, the East Trenton Collaborative has been connecting neighbors, building resident power, and improving homes, businesses, and public spaces since 2008. Isles completed an EPA Brownfields Area-Wide Planning Process in 2020 in East Trenton and is working to clean up contaminated sites left behind by vacant factories — and working with the City to redevelop those sites as new recreational space for public benefit.

Isles’ Extended Evening Programming, an OTARY affiliate through the Division of Family and Children, is open to all Trenton youth and provides educational and recreational activities during the high-risk hours of 3 to 7 pm and on select weekends. Programming includes life skills training, cultural enrichment, and service learning opportunities. Past activities include theater trips, college tours, etiquette classes, art classes, and more. More than 100 youth participate annually, forming a community of engaged young people with a stake in their own futures.

The Trenton Re-engagement Center works one-on-one with youth who have left the public school system, or are court involved, to help them get back on track toward a high school diploma. Staff develop individualized plans for each participant’s future education and training, connect them with resources and opportunities to meet their goals, and follow up to support long-term success. Whether the right path is Isles Youth Institute, Mercer County Community College, vocational training, or career opportunities, the Re-engagement Center helps young people find it.

Created in 2016, the Leadership Academy provides structured lessons focused on character, community, and team development for youth from across Trenton. Participants have presented artwork at Bryant Park in New York City, served as panelists at the New Jersey Black Issues Convention, participated in the Trenton Youth Violence Prevention Symposium at The College of New Jersey, and hosted podcasts and radio shows with local community leaders. The Leadership Academy does not just develop individual skills — it develops young people who see themselves as agents of change.

Isles addresses the factors that contribute to violence — environment and safety, education, economic pressure, family relationships, and community engagement — through programming, advocacy, and coalition work. We are an active participant in the Capital City Youth Violence Coalition and work with community partners to develop anti-violence initiatives for youth and adults alike. Our current anti-violence campaign, Increase the Peace, reflects our belief that lasting safety comes from community investment, not enforcement alone.

Trenton Community Street Team in partnership with the Mercer County Juvenile Courts, provides structured virtual engagement and mentorship for court involved youth at critical moments in their lives. Led by trained professionals who understand the challenges many young people face, the program offers guidance, accountability, and support designed to interrupt negative cycles and encourage better decision making. By meeting youth where they are, both relationally and technologically, the program works to reduce the likelihood of further justice involvement while strengthening resilience, responsibility, and opportunity, with the goal of helping young people move toward a safer, more stable future.

T-Recs, our mobile recreation unit housed in a converted bread truck, continues to bring joy and engagement to Trenton neighborhoods where recreational programming and open space may be limited. Since its launch in 2015, T-Recs has been activating underutilized public spaces throughout the city, providing supervised activities that foster positive social interactions and support the academic, social, physical, and emotional needs of Trenton’s youth.

The colorful T-Recs truck arrives at community spaces and events loaded with a variety of interactive games, art supplies, and recreational equipment—from giant Connect 4 and cornhole to stilts and creative art projects. Each activity is supported by dedicated Isles staff who ensure safe, engaging experiences for children and adults alike.

T-Recs’ presence at community gatherings doesn’t just provide fun activities; it creates opportunities for community members to connect with each other and with Isles’ broader services. Through recreation and play, T-Recs continues to be a vital part of our mission to build healthy, sustainable communities in Trenton.