About: 

The Interactive Poetry Garden 

​

A REED Community Project at The Reservoir

​

What if a walk through the park could also be a journey through poetry?

​

The Interactive Poetry Garden at The Reservoir transforms a public park into a living landscape of words, creativity, and discovery. Visitors will encounter poems along walking paths and gathering spaces—short pieces written by students, poets, and community members that invite moments of reflection, curiosity, and wonder.

​

The project is a special collaboration with poet and educator Melida Rodas, the City of Jersey City Department of Parks and Recreation, Dawn Giambalvo, the Reservoir Youth Advisory Board from McNair High School, and students from local elementary schools.

​

Each poetry display is designed to be accessible and interactive, including braille for visually impaired visitors and QR codes that connect the physical park to the digital pages of REED.

​

Poetry You Can Walk Through

Visitors can scan a QR code beside each poem to unlock more content online, including:

• Audio recordings by poets and students

• Extended poems and stories

• Visual art and multimedia responses

• Opportunities to submit your own work

Together, the park and the website create an interactive outdoor magazine rooted in place—where nature, technology, and creativity meet.

​

Youth Voices at the Center

Young people are at the heart of this project.

Members of the Reservoir Youth Advisory Board from McNair High School and students from local elementary schools will contribute poems, artwork, and ideas inspired by their experiences and their hopes for the future.

​

By sharing youth voices alongside those of educators, artists, and community members, the Poetry Garden celebrates creativity across generations.

​

What We Focus On

• REED welcomes creative work connected to:

• Climate change and caring for our planet

• Innovation and creative problem-solving

• The arts — writing, poetry, visual art, music, and multimedia

• Wildlife, conservation, and the natural world

• Resilience, imagination, and community

• Every voice matters. Stories spark courage, connection, and positive change.

​

What You Can Share

We welcome many kinds of creative work:

• Stories and articles

• Poetry (any style)

• Art and photography

• Video and music

• Interviews and profiles

• Creative projects about nature, resilience, and the future

​​

Submission Guidelines

• Stories, Memoirs & Articles

• Up to 1,000 words - (Includes comics, reviews, and 6-word memoirs)

• Poetry - Up to 2 poems (400 words total)

• Short poems—including 100-word poems—are welcome

• Fiction - Up to 900 words

• Art & Multimedia

• Images or links to video/music

• Include a 100–300 word artist statement

• Interviews & Profiles

• Written or audio, up to 1,000 words

​

Who Can Submit?

Anyone with a story to tell, including:

• Students and young creators (with permission from a parent or guardian)

• Teachers, parents, and guardians submitting student work

• Senior citizens sharing wisdom and lived experience

• Community members with good news to share

• Educators sharing lesson plans and creative teaching ideas

We especially welcome voices that are often unheard.

​

Original Work Only

Accepted

• Original work

• Collaborative projects

• Student work

Not accepted

• Plagiarism

• AI-generated work

• Uncredited media

• Harmful or offensive language

​

Be Honest. Be Creative. Be Brave.

Your work doesn’t need to be perfect—just genuine.

Share your perspective, your creativity, and your story. Together we can imagine a more hopeful future for our communities and our planet.

​

How to Submit

Send your submission by email and include:

• Name and age

• Short bio

• Pronouns (optional)

• Instagram link (optional)

Response time: 2–4 weeks

​

Rights & Permissions

When you submit your work to REED, you retain full copyright ownership.

If your work is selected for publication, you grant REED a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to publish, display, and promote the work in connection with the magazine and the Interactive Poetry Garden.

Because this license is non-exclusive, you remain free to publish your work elsewhere. We simply ask that you acknowledge its first appearance in REED when possible.

​

A Message from Poet Laureate Melida Rodas

“As a teacher and Poet Laureate, I believe poetry belongs in the spaces where life unfolds—along walking paths, beneath open skies, and in the quiet corners of our parks. Through this initiative, the voices of our youth and our community will become part of the landscape of The Reservoir and NJ Parks. By merging technology, the arts, and the environment, the Interactive Poetry Garden will create a living archive that grows with each new visitor and poet. My hope is that every walk through the park becomes an encounter with art, culture, and shared imagination.”

— Melida Rodas 🌿

​

Follow us on Instagram: @JCPOFEST
Join our newsletter for new themes, contests, and published work.

​

​