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San Antonio, Texas - How Does Your Garden Grow? At IDEA Eastside, In A Freight Container
(from left) IDEA Farm Coordinator Cecile Parrish; students Briana Perez, David Jones, and Laila Rodriguez; and IDEA Child Nutrition Program Farm Manager Hernan Colmenero stand outside the shipping container that houses a hydroponic garden. SCOTT BALL / RIVARD REPORT
How Does Your Garden Grow? At IDEA Eastside, In A Freight Container
EMILY DONALDSON May 13, 2018
SCOTT BALL / RIVARD REPORT
(from left) IDEA Farm Coordinator Cecile Parrish; students Briana Perez, David Jones, and Laila Rodriguez; and IDEA Child Nutrition Program Farm Manager Hernan Colmenero stand outside the shipping container that houses a hydroponic garden.
With purple LED lights, a sound system that blasts music, and vertical crop columns, the hydroponic shipping container that arrived at IDEA Public Schools’ Eastside campus about three months ago isn’t what most people picture when they think of a farm.
The 40-foot shipping container – what IDEA Farm Coordinator Cecile Parrish calls “an acre in a box” – will grow 500 heads of lettuce, about 50 pounds of greens, and just under 45 pounds of herbs a week at full capacity. The produce will go directly into the kitchens of the charter-school operator’s 11 San Antonio campuses and onto students’ lunch plates.
A shipping container on the campus of IDEA Eastside is used to grow lettuce and other crops hydroponically. SCOTT BALL / RIVARD REPORT
Hydroponic farming is a cultivation method by which plants grow without any soil, instead obtaining needed nutrients from the water. At IDEA Eastside, plants grow inside an industrial shipping container that mainly uses water to grow produce such as kale, lettuce, spinach, basil, cilantro, thyme, and mint.
The container is water-efficient, using 10 gallons of water a day, or about as much as is used during a five- to 10-minute shower, Parrish said. Caring for the container’s crops is less labor-intensive than an open acre of land, she said, requiring just 20 hours a week.
While many schools use gardens both for producing food for their lunchrooms and as an educational tool, IDEA Eastside is one of fewer than 10 K-12 schools nationwide to use a freight farming system. Parrish pitched the idea to students as a “high-tech computer that grows salad.”
It took three months to get what the school calls the Leafy Green Machine up and running and get water and power to the container, which is air-conditioned. Four students, who last year were certified as Junior Master Gardeners through an educational program on best practices of gardening, started cultivating the container crops, and Parrish said that she plans on teaching others about sustainable food growth in the next school year.
Related: LocalSprout: Inside an Urban Farm on San Antonio’s Eastside
Students can change the internal temperature of the container, adjust carbon dioxide levels to optimize growth, and select a music playlist through an application on their phones. The music, however, is more for the students than for the plants.
Eighth-grader Laila Rodriguez said she works in the container on free periods and after school, and she loves it because it reminds her of her grandfather’s garden.
“Ever since I was little, I would like helping my grandpa in his garden because he has one, so that’s kind of what got me into it,” she said. “I had never seen anything like this. … [my grandpa] is happy and he thinks it’s cool.”
David Jones, eighth-grade student, stands inside the hydroponic shipping container at IDEA Public Schools’ Eastside campus.
SCOTT BALL / RIVARD REPORT
Eighth-grade student David Jones didn’t have much experience gardening before attending IDEA Eastside, but he said he was excited to get involved with an after-school activity.
Parrish said her goal is for students to learn the entire process of growing food: planting the seeds in coconut coir, which is used in hydroponic gardening as an alternative to soil; taking care of the seedlings; and transferring them into vertical columns to grow until harvest.
“Schools go through tons of lettuce, [and] in South Texas we are really limited seasonally for when we can grow [it],” Parrish said. “So this is kind of our answer for how we can sustainably provide a large, significant amount of the lettuce that IDEA uses.”
The herbs also will be used to support IDEA’s efforts to serve healthier lunches to its students. In IDEA cafeterias, Parrish said, students don’t have access to salt or pepper. The school plans to use the container-grown herbs to make a seasoning mix that provides a healthier alternative to salt.
Jones, whom Parrish calls the official taste tester for the freight farm’s products, said so far, the produce has been “pretty good.”
The first crop from the container will be delivered to IDEA kitchens in about two weeks, just in time for the end of the school year. Over the summer, Parrish plans to streamline the growing process so students can eat the Leafy Green Machine’s produce on the first day of school.
The container will be able to produce crops year-round, regardless of outdoor weather conditions.
Parrish said IDEA plans to add a second freight farm unit to another campus, although timing and location haven’t yet been determined.
ABOUT EMILY DONALDSON
Emily Donaldson reports on education for the Rivard Report.
Mill Creek, NJ Urban Farm Expands Greenhouses, Community Spirit
Mill Creek, NJ Urban Farm Expands Greenhouses, Community Spirit
May 24, 2018
Gateway Community Action Partnership Director of Agriculture and Food Initiatives Marcus Weaver, at left, with Bridgeton Mayor Albert B. Kelly, in front of two new greenhouses at Mill Creek Urban Farm Wednesday, May 23, 2018. The greenhouses were built with a $250,000 grant from the TD Charitable Foundation.
BRIDGETON — Two new greenhouses at the nonprofit Mill Creek Urban Farm will soon be filled with towering tomato and cucumber plants, grown hydroponically to provide year-round produce to food pantries, senior centers, restaurants and schools.
Built with a $250,000 grant from the TD Charitable Foundation, they were open for a tour and ribbon-cutting Wednesday. The farm is on the five-acre site of a former public housing project on Ronald Bowman Way, which used to be called Mill Street.
“I grew up here. My father and grandfather grew up on this street,” said Bridgeton Mayor Albert B. Kelly, president and CEO of the Gateway Community Action Partnership that runs the farm, now in its ninth season. “It’s a personal triumph to me to be able to utilize the street I once played on and lived on for something positive and productive for our community.”
Gateway CAP runs daycare, housing, family support and other programs for much of South Jersey and Philadelphia.
The farm started as a way to address food insecurity in the area, Kelly said. About 30 percent of the 24,505 people who live in Bridgeton live in poverty, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. That means they live on less than about $25,000 per year for a family of four.
Bridgeton's median household income was $35,417 in 2016.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture lists Bridgeton as a food desert, in spite of being located in a rural county with many farms. Being a food desert means at least 33 percent of the population has low access to a supermarket or large grocery store.
Some of what the farm grows is donated to CAP's emergency food pantry, senior centers, and soup kitchens, and some are sold to support the farm, said Marcus Weaver, Gateway CAP director of agriculture and food initiatives. The farm sells to the Bridgeton School District, local farm markets, and others.
“Our biggest customer is a broker supplying the North Jersey restaurant market,” Weaver said. “The farm is not set up as a farm stand or for retail. But a few people show up at the farm and ask, ‘What do you have today?’ We are happy to sell them whatever we have.”
The new greenhouses add 5,376 square feet of new growing space, Weaver said.
The farm previously had just three greenhouses, where it has grown lettuces and other salad greens, shiitake mushrooms, tomatoes, eggplants, broccoli, squash, green beans and melons. It also grows in about 1,300 EarthBoxes, an outdoor container gardening system that increases yield over conventional methods.
Weaver said produce grown hydroponically develop roots in a medium that includes ground-up coconut hulls. But the plants take all their nutrients from a solution in water.
Compared to traditional growing methods, hydroponic growing produces 8 to 15 times more product and takes one-tenth of the water, Weaver said. And it produces all year, rather than in a compact growing season.
The housing project was torn down about 30 years ago because the houses were sinking, Kelly said.
“(The land) laid vacant for 20 years, until we developed a relationship with the housing authority, started a container garden that’s now grown to greenhouses,” Kelly said.
Three-quarters of the new space will be used to produce tomatoes, and the rest will produce seedless cucumbers, Weaver said.
Warren DeShields, director of food services for Bridgeton Public Schools, said the district prepares 4,000 meals a day and buys produce from the farm.
Weaver said the farm is about more than just growing food.
“This work provides an opportunity for education, to be able to demonstrate how food grows,” he said, for visiting students and the general public.
The new production capacity will allow the farm to hire three new full-time workers, Kelly said.
“No previous farming experience necessary,” Kelly said. Applications are available on the website at www.gatewaycap.org.
Contact: 609-272-7219
Twitter @MichelleBPost
In my first job after college got paid to read the New York Times and summarize articles for an early online database. First reporting job was with The Daily Record in Parsippany. I have also worked in nonprofits, and have been with The Press since 1990.
Fulton, Indiana - Caston High School Students Build Aquaponics Lab
Fulton, Indiana - Caston High School Students Build Aquaponics Lab
- Ben Middelkamp Staff reporter
-
- May 11, 2018
Noah Rushinsky, 18, and Colton Welker, 19 demonstrate their senior project on aquaponics at Caston High School. The project involves raising plants and fish in a closed system where the water is fertilized by the fish and the nutrient-rich water is used to grow the plants. Fran Ruchalski | Pharos-Tribune
FULTON — Two Caston High School seniors have spent much of their final semester in school creating and cultivating a sustainable ecosystem to grow fish and food year-round.
Colton Welker, 19, and Noah Rushinsky, 18, assembled an aquaponics lab in the school's agriculture room earlier this year for their senior projects. Caston's FFA program received a $6,100 grant for the lab in 2017 from the Cass County Community Foundation. The Cass County 4-H Association also sponsored the grant.
Aquaponics combines aquaculture — the raising of fish — and hydroponics — cultivating plants in water. As the fish inside a water tank are fed, their waste creates nutrient-rich water that gets pumped through a filter and into the plant beds, supplying the crops with food. The plants, in turn, clean the water that gets sent back to the fish tank.
“It’s just a cycle that keeps repeating itself," Colton said, adding that the plants will grow faster with the constant nutrients from the temperature-controlled water during any season.
The lab is also equipped with lights above the plant beds that are attached to a wood frame.
Colton and Noah bought banana pepper and patio tomato plants and also bibb lettuce seeds from D&R Fruit Market in Logansport for the lab, and obtained 70-plus Tilapia fish from farmers in Plymouth. Half of the plants grow on lava rocks and the other are secured in Styrofoam.
Caston's agriculture teacher Nick Korniak said the lab lets students learn about sustainable agriculture. Scientists, he said, have predicted as the world's population continues to increase, land will become scarce for crop growth. Aquaponics is a viable alternative, he said.
“We need to look at ways to produce food that maybe doesn’t require the land area or the amount of rainfall that you would normally need," Korniak said.
The school purchased the pieces for the lab in February, Korniak said, and the students started building it in March. The water tank's heater broke a few weeks later, he said which set them back on the project. They were able to plant the crops about two weeks ago.
During those several weeks of setting up the lab, Colton said they learned much about how to configure the plumbing and filtration system so the water can flow to each section.
“It was an experience," Colton said. "We had some fun times and some frustrating times.”
Noah said when he and Colton graduate in a few weeks, they'll have to pass the baton to other students in the FFA program to tend to the plants and feed the fish each day. The school's agriculture program has more than 100 students, Korniak said, and 52 are FFA members.
“It’s really good for all of the core subjects because you have math, engineering, science, all of those things combined into one," Noah added.
Korniak said he wants to invite the high school's biology students to help care for and learn about the lab in the coming years. He also hopes the produce harvested from the lab could get served in the school's cafeteria and that they can hatch their own fish to repopulate the tank.
“As long as you can control the environment, you can grow," he said.
Reach Ben Middelkamp at ben.middelkamp@pharostribune.com or 574-732-5117.
Princeton University’s Vertical Farming Project Partners With Hopewell Elementary
Princeton University’s Vertical Farming Project Partners With Hopewell Elementary
By MercerMe May 23, 2018
Vertical Farming at HES
Princeton University’s Vertical Farming Project announced they will partner with Hopewell Elementary School in Hopewell, New Jersey to develop their vertical farm-to-cafeteria program.
Fifth grade teacher at Hopewell Elementary, Helen Corveleyn, oversees the school’s outdoor garden beds, six indoor vertical hydroponics towers, and has been instrumental in their new vertical farming initiative partnership with Princeton. Corveleyn will work closely with Princeton University’s Dr. Paul Gauthier, founder and director of the Princeton Vertical Farming Project to develop the program at the elementary school. The on-site, indoor classroom will be fully functioning in September 2018 and will allow preschool through fifth grade kids to mirror Princeton’s program while providing kids with fresh, organic produce for lunch and an invaluable introduction to hands on, cutting edge scientific development.
The Princeton Vertical Farming Project focuses on the sustainability and energy efficiency of vertical farming as they study production rates of hydroponic engineering systems along with marketing and economic feasibility. Gauthier says, “Two of the main challenges that vertical farms are facing revolve around awareness and data sharing. Through establishing a resonant collaboration with the Hopewell Elementary School, the Princeton Vertical Farming Project hopes to educate new generations about the benefits of vertical farming, and to inspire them to expand their knowledge through the application of new, groundbreaking research and technologies, which the farm has been producing. Furthermore, this collaboration will create citizen science datasets, which will contribute to the improvement of the vertical farming field as a whole. By inspiring students today, we hope to shape the future of farming and reduce human impacts on the environment.”
Room to Grow–Princeton Vertical Farming Project Video:
Elementary students and teachers have embraced the homemade, nutritious lunch options infused with organic ingredients served in Hopewell Elementary’s cafeteria. Their community is excited for the new vertical farming initiative with the goal of featuring 100% of the lettuce in the cafeteria grown at the school. Additional vegetables and herbs will be grown, harvested and featured as well.
Principal David Friedrich’s passion for locally sourced, homemade, organic food for his students is evident in the Organic Menu offered at Hopewell. The menu is now in its third year and has seen a 50% increase in participation from the start.
Principal Friedrich said, “At Hopewell Elementary School, we are thrilled to expand the vertical farming initiative which reinforces our commitment to sustainability. As the first public school in New Jersey to offer an organic menu featuring homemade entrees, we will now be able to prepare more nutritious meals infused with our own vegetables and herbs grown and harvested by students. The project also supports hands-on, relevant and high-quality science instruction aligned to Next Generation Science Standards.”
Dr. Thomas Smith, Superintendent of Schools, said, “Lead by Mrs. Corveleyn and Principal David Friedrich, the Hopewell Elementary School has been a driving force in our district-wide sustainability efforts. The vertical farming project has captivated the interest of students and staff. By bridging the gap between science and nature, students can observe the real-life connection between farming and food by seeing what is necessary to grow and produce the food we eat. An important part of this project is that virtually all of the food grown in the vertical farm will be used in our school lunches.”
Children respond to living organisms in the classroom with excitement and passion. Typically in an elementary setting, animals and insects are a wonderful way to promote living organism studies, but at Hopewell Elementary School, they have captured a unique Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)–aligned curriculum that is plant-based and integrates both life science and chemistry.
Corveleyn remarked, “No child is too young to understand hydroponics. The bottom line is, kids love planting something they know they can eat! Creating an opportunity for sustainable gardening for the future at a young age makes hydroponics not just a buzzword, but a way of life.”
Hopewell Elementary secured several grants to sustain the vertical farming project (click links for articles):
Key Factors For Optimal Crop Production In Greenhouses And Vertical Farms By Professor Leo Marcelis of Wageningen University
Key Factors For Optimal Crop Production In Greenhouses And Vertical Farms By Professor Leo Marcelis of Wageningen University
By urbanagnews
April 16, 2018
Greenhouses and vertical farms around the world are faced with many of the same questions and obstacles when learning to manage crop production in controlled environment agriculture systems. Listen to Professor Leo Marcelis discuss trends, opportunities and other key factors in creating optimal crop production systems for greenhouses and vertical farms.
Lawrenceville, NJ - Lawrence H.S. Freshman Wins International Video Contest
A freshman from Lawrence High School was a first place winner from among 5,000 students participating in the international video contest, Population Connection's "World of 7 Billion".
Lawrenceville, NJ - Lawrence H.S. Freshman Wins International Video Contest
May 18, 2018
By Michelle Dryden mdryden@themediapub.com,
For NJ Advance Media
A freshman from Lawrence High School was a first place winner from among 5,000 students participating in the international video contest, Population Connection's "World of 7 Billion".
Arjun Agarwal was among just 18 first or second place winners. He competed in the Feeding 10 Billion People category that addressed sustainable ideas for feeding a growing population, while educating viewers about the topic.
Arjun Agarwal
He also won a $1,000 prize.
"I didn't expect to win because I knew it was a big contest that thousands of other students entered," said Arjun "I just wanted to create a fun video."
Arjun's one-minute winning video is called "Eating Up By Thinking Up," where he tries to persuade populations to think about transitioning from eating meat to a more sustainable plant-based diet.
"It's a very pressing concern that the meat industry has. There simply won't be enough land, water, and energy for animals," Arjun said. "We need a slow transition from meat to plants, because plants use less land, water, and energy. The statistics are in my video," he added.
Arjun's video suggests that designing vertical farms for growing the plants would help to provide more food for a growing population in a sustainable manner. Later he talked about examples of plants such as "fruits, vegetables, lentils, and beans."
He also said that he is not sure that vertical farms are the same as greenhouses and if they would have an undesirable effect on the ozone.
"These aren't just great young filmmakers," said John Seager, president of Population Connection. "All of the winners are inspirational voices for a sustainable and compassionate future."
Arjun found out about the contest through involvement in his school's STEM club. He felt inspired to tackle the challenge because he saw hunger firsthand while traveling in India with his parents who are in the food industry and teach nutrition.
He also said being a vegetarian himself was also an inspiration.
Other winning students hail from the U.S., Canada, Belgium, and Slovenia.
The contest was organized and promoted during the 2017-18 school year by Population Education, a program of Population Connection.
"We select themes each year that not only address timely global issues but also dovetail nicely with the content in many middle and high school social studies and science classes," said Pam Wasserman, senior vice president for education at Population Connection.
Other winning videos and student bios are available here: worldof7billion.org/student-video-contest
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Netherlands: Students To Turn Former Prison Into Urban Greenhouse
Netherlands: Students To Turn Former Prison Into Urban Greenhouse
Twenty-three student teams from around the world have taken up the challenge to transform the former Amsterdam Bijlmerbajes prison and its surrounding area into an urban greenhouse. This innovation competition is a perfect match for the plans for this area as the prison district is earmarked to become a green, healthy and pleasant neighbourhood in which to live.
The renovation of this Bijlmertoren is part of a general repurposing of the entire prison complex, which envisages 1,350 private residences, art studios and start-up offices. The new tower is to provide a green touch to the area, possibly in the form of a vertical urban greenhouse.
WUR is organising the design challenge in the context of this year’s centennial. Whether the architect will incorporate the winning design in his renovation plans will be announced at the prize ceremony, which will be held on 28 August.
Source: Wageningen University & Research
Publication date: 5/7/2018
Startup Founder Demonstrates Importance of STEM Entrepreneurship to Elementary Students
Media Manager for Purdue@WestGate | Founder of Lodgepole Pine Productions
May 15, 2018
Startup Founder Demonstrates Importance of STEM Entrepreneurship to Elementary Students
“Not many careers give you the freedom to unleash your creative potential.” -Scott Massey, CEO and Co-founder of Heliponix
Scott Massey performs STEM demonstration to fourth through sixth grade STEM Club members at Our Lady of Providence Junior/Senior High School late March. (Image courtesy of Laura Swessel and Our Lady of Providence Jr./Sr. High School)
Scott Massey was introduced to science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) at a young age.
“My grandfather was an electrical engineering professor at Notre Dame and MIT,” Massey said. “He was a cryptologist who studied information theory for NASA.”
Like many kids, he often played with Legos, building planes and ships while developing an early interest in mechanical engineering.
Through his relationship with his grandfather, Massey was exposed to being creative with STEM.
“I built a radio with basic electrical components from a kit he had bought when I was younger,” Massey said. “I really enjoyed piecing together the radio, turning it on, and hearing the radio work.”
Scott Massey and his grandfather pictured in 2010. (Image courtesy of Scott Massey)
Massey continued to pursue his love of STEM at Purdue University, where he studied mechanical engineering technology. He then explored entrepreneurship as a viable career path and enrolled in the Entrepreneurship and Innovation Certificate Program.
It wasn’t until he discovered his passion for hydroponics that he had the idea to start his own venture. Massey and Ivan Ball co-founded Heliponix their senior year at Purdue and built the GroPod to solve the global food crisis.
“I was originally introduced to the technology of hydroponics and indoor agriculture while working on NASA-funded research at Purdue to develop their own life support systems. As amazing as the introduction to the technology was, it left me really disappointed that there weren’t any jobs in this industry yet because these giant, commercial farming factories you see in media, aren’t that viable.”
“Energy can be one of the most expensive components, if not the most expensive, of a completely indoor growing operation. This is a large part of the input costs of a labor efficient, completely indoor, growing operation,” from ‘How to Invest in Leafy-Green Indoor Agriculture.’
“They consume so much energy it becomes very expensive to operate. So, I realized the final frontier for agriculture was not farm-to-table, but farm-and-table, through hydroponic food computers you can have in your home. This way, you can grow all of the food you need in-house.”
“…I realized the final frontier for agriculture was not farm-to-table, but farm-and-table…”
The Industrial Roundtable at Purdue University is one of the largest career fairs in the country, with more than 400 recruiters last year and attracting around 12,000 students. Though these career fairs offer diverse employment opportunities, Massey didn’t find careers where he was able to prototype his own technological theories with hydroponics.
Massey started filing for patents for the GroPod his senior year. He and the Heliponix (formerly Hydro Grow LLC) team created their first prototype and built a company around the technology.
The Heliponix, formerly Hydro Grow, team winning the 30th Annual Burton D. Morgan Business Plan Competition February 28, 2017. (Image courtesy of Scott Massey)
“Although I was required to work 100 hours a week as a student to generate enough funds to cover just our patent expenses, I felt more free than any of my classmates.”
Massey in college with one of the original GroPods. (Image courtesy of Scott Massey)
Though the path of entrepreneurship hasn’t necessarily been easy, Massey said it is rewarding to be able to follow his passion for solving a real, global problem.
“Not many careers give you the freedom to unleash your creative potential. What’s unique about entrepreneurship is that it gives an innovator the rare opportunity to incubate new technological leaps that existing companies may not be able to envision or fear would challenge their status quo. For those willing to take that leap, they can make disruptions profitable enough to continue funding their initial ideas into established companies.”
This summer, the ag-tech startup company turns two. Through his journey with his STEM business, Massey said he understands the value of educating the next generation.
“It’s important that kids understand they have the power to solve problems their communities face; they don’t have to follow a traditional professional path to find success and better society. They have options. In fact, the tech-enabled world is changing so rapidly, it is not only important to be able to think about entrepreneurship, but it’s also critical if we are going to creatively solve global issues.”
Laura Swessel, a physics and earth/space teacher at Our Lady of Providence Junior/Senior High School in Clarksville, Indiana, organizes the STEM clubs at the school. Swessel said that since she started her 20-year career as a mechanical systems engineer, she believes it is important to expose young children to all aspects of STEM, including careers.
“I asked Scott to come talk about Heliponix because we have been stressing the entrepreneur side of careers this semester,” Swessel said. “I was very eager to have him explain the units and how they work, because it is my hope to purchase a unit to use with the club members and high school students next year.”
Students listen to Scott Massey during STEM Demo Day at Our Lady of Providence Jr./Sr. High School. (Image courtesy of Laura Swessel and Our Lady of Providence Jr./Sr. High School)
Massey held a STEM demonstration for the fourth through sixth grade STEM Club students about indoor agriculture technology. Massey also discussed the tech behind the Heliponix GroPod and the importance of the self-sustaining unit capable of growing fresh produce in a consumer’s home.
“There will be an additional 3 billion people on this planet by the year 2050,” Massey said. “We need to increase our global food output by 70 percent if we are going to avoid a global food crisis, according to the United Nations. However, this will be very difficult to achieve considering agriculture already accounts for 50 percent of our land use and 80 percent of our freshwater consumption in the U.S.”
Indiana as a state has become increasingly invested in STEM education as well as supporting entrepreneurs, like Massey.
In 2012, the Indiana Department of Education began a statewide STEM education plan, identifying the need for ‘rigorous and engaging’ STEM education in schools. The plan includes resources, funding, and information so local schools may better implement STEM education into curriculum and provide options to become further involved in STEM focused, extracurricular activities. The STEM Teacher Recruitment Fund, a $10 million grant program, has also been initiated to grow the number of STEM teachers in classrooms across the state. Applications for the 2018 Governor’s STEM Team are open, honoring four high school students for their exemplary performance in a STEM subject, where winning students receive a $1,000 college scholarship.
The I-STEM Resource Network is a partnership of public and private higher education institutions, K-12 schools, businesses, and government, hosted by Purdue University. Learn more at www.istemnetwork.org
TechPoint Foundation for Youth ensures Indiana’s underserved K-12 students
have access to experiential learning opportunities
that inspire the pursuit of STEM careers. Learn more at www.techpointyouth.org
Indiana has also recognized the importance of supporting entrepreneurship and the important role it plays in economic development.
The Indiana Economic Development Corporation organizes several programs and consolidates resources that support businesses and entrepreneurs, such as Elevate Ventures, the Indiana Small Business Development Center, as well as the state’s network of more than 150 coworking spaces, incubators, accelerators, and maker spaces. Across the state are seven different coworking ecosystems through Purdue Research Foundation’s park locations. The state also supports the Battery Innovation Center, a WestGate@Crane Technology Park tenant, which leverages Indiana’s public and private-sector assets in advanced technologies, Elevate Ventures Kinetic Conference which showcases Indiana’s high growth business, as well as the Next Level Fund which supports innovation in Indiana by making strategic investments in high-growth, high-potential companies.
Entrepreneurship education has been a focus at the university level, such as the Burton D. Morgan Business Model Competition at Purdue University and the Clapp IDEA Competition at Indiana University Kelley School of Business. Together, these competitions alone award more than $50,000 each year to student entrepreneurs.
This year, the first statewide student pitch competition for high school students, the Innovate WithIN 2018 Pitch Competition, awarded prizes totaling $100,000 and will expand in 2019. The inaugural competition drew 86 applicants from nearly 300 students at 65 high schools.
Startup activity is a ‘vital indicator of economic growth’ and having entrepreneurs demonstrate their ideas and businesses enhances Indiana’s entrepreneurial ecosystem, as expressed in “The long view: Fostering Indiana’s innovation and entrepreneurship.”
As a young entrepreneur, Massey believes in the value of STEM entrepreneurial education.
“Being introduced to hydroponic technology as a Purdue University student engineer on a NASA funded research study motivated me to create the original designs that became Heliponix,” Massey said. “Through events such as STEM Demo Day at Our Lady of Providence, I hope that we can continue to demonstrate the importance of STEM and entrepreneurial education to enrich our future workforce. As these events are replicated, the quality of life and career opportunities across Indiana will continue to grow.”
(Image courtesy of Laura Swessel and Our Lady of Providence Jr./Sr. High School)
Thank you to the resources and staff at the Indiana State Library, the Office of Governor Eric J. Holcomb, and the Indiana Economic Development Corporation for their help in researching information for this article. A special thank you to Laura Swessel and the students at Our Lady of Providence Jr./Sr. High School for allowing us to share their entrepreneurial education story.
Sarah Miller
Media Manager for Purdue@WestGate | Founder of Lodgepole Pine Productions
Purdue@WestGate
Purdue@WestGate offers tools for startups, entrepreneurial experts, programs, educational opportunities and workforce development to help southern Indiana businesses grow and thrive.
A Crack In The Pavement: Growing Dreams
A Crack In The Pavement: Growing Dreams
New Stories From 'Urban Agriculture Notes'
Linked by Michael Levenston
A Crack in the Pavement: Growing Dreams, Gwynne Basen & Jane Churchill, provided by the National Film Board of Canada
A Crack in the Pavement is a two-part video set that shows children, teachers, and parents how they can work together to ‘green’ their school grounds and make positive changes in their communities.
Gwynne Basen & Jane Churchill
2000 | 19 min
This short documentary shows initiatives kids take to transform bare pavement into dream schoolyards. Some grow trees for shade, and vegetables for a food bank. Others build a greenhouse or a rooftop garden, while others yet construct a courtyard pond as an outdoor classroom and refuge for wildlife.
A Crack in the Pavement: Digging In
A Crack in the Pavement: Digging In, Gwynne Basen & Jane Churchill, provided by the National Film Board of Canada
Gwynne Basen & Jane Churchill
2000 | 18 min
This short documentary follows students from Toronto’s Jesse Ketchum School as they take steps towards the greening of their schoolyard. Along the way they get how-to advice and inspiration from kids across the country; from Pauline Public School, where students raised $10,000, to Broadacres School, where a family of wild ducks found a home in their pond.
San Antonio, Texas - Idea Public Schools Program Shows Middle School Students Hydroponic Farming
Idea Public Schools Program Shows Middle School Students Hydroponic Farming
Idea East Side is the first K-12 school in the nation to have the program
Posted: May 03, 2018
SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS - Idea Public Schools unveiled its first “Leafy Green Machine” on Thursday in an effort to connect school cafeterias and students with local farmers and ranchers.
The modified shipping container grows various kinds of crops using minimal electricity and water. All the produce goes to the school cafeteria.
The machine is part of a pilot program for hydroponic farming. Officials said the technology will engage students, especially those in sixth, seventh and eighth grades.
The program goes hand-in-hand with classes such as biology, chemistry and math.
“It’s a great addition to our program because it's showing students the tech side of agriculture, fully automated. Students are able to see firsthand how tech plays a role in agriculture by using computers (and) chemistry of chemicals,” said Hernan Colmemero, CNP farm manager for Idea Public Schools.
Idea East Side is the first K-12 school in the nation to have this kind of program
India - June 4-8, Pune: 3rd Greenhouse & Hydroponic Technical Management Course
India - June 4-8, Pune: 3rd Greenhouse & Hydroponic Technical Management Course
Delish Veggies, Graeme Smith Consulting and Future Farms have announced the 3rd Greenhouse and Hydroponic Training Program in Pune, India, after their two training courses in 2017.
The course will again be conducted by two highly experienced Australian industry presenters – Graeme Smith and Rick Donnan. Graeme consults throughout the world, Chairs the ISHS Working Group – Hydroponics and Aquaponics – and is a past Chairman of Protected Cropping Australia. Recent international greenhouse projects include Hyderabad, Abu Dhabi, China and Rajasthan. Rick is the co-principal of Growool Horticultural Systems and is the Q&A columnist for Practical Hydroponics & Greenhouses magazine and provides consultancy services.
Hands-on training at the first training course held in Pune, India
The course assists participants to improve their ability to understand the key principles in a commercial greenhouse and hydroponic production by:
- understanding the principles of controlled production systems
- using correct strategies and technologies to manage greenhouse climates and irrigation
- understanding plant growing requirements and plant production techniques
- developing new strategies for plant protection and integrated pest and disease management
- understanding plant nutrition and fertigation programs
- identifying the risks and opportunities of climate change.
Topics include:
- Media types and characteristics
- Nutrition and nutrient management
- Water quality and treatment
- Environmental management
- Greenhouse business and marketing plan
- Greenhouse design and layout
- Plant structure
- EC and pH
- Plant physiology
- Irrigation management
- Plant health
- Pest and disease control.
The location for the 3rd training course is again Pune, India, to be held from 4-8 June 2018. The course cost is Rs 50,000 excluding 18% GST. Lunch, morning and afternoon tea will be provided throughout the course.
To register your interest, contact the Course Coordinator:
Uday Mathapati on +61 9130098714
or email udaymathapati@gmail.com
or visit www.delishveggies.com for further information.
Publication date: 3/22/2018
NatureFresh™ Farms Introduces the 2018 Greenhouse Education Center Team!
NatureFresh™ Farms Introduces the 2018 Greenhouse Education Center Team!
Leamington, ON (May 7th, 2018) – The Greenhouse Education Center is a greenhouse on wheels – and it may be coming to a city near you! NatureFresh™ Farms is on the road again with the Greenhouse Education Center program, taking part in events at retail stores, schools, and fairs all summer long. A brand-new crew of passionate student leaders have also joined the ranks to spread the word about greenhouse-grown produce and share why eating fresh every day is so important!
The NatureFresh™ Farms team created the Greenhouse Education Center in 2015 to show consumers exactly how they grow in their greenhouses. Many people don’t fully understand their food’s journey from the farm to their table, and this lack of knowledge can often lead to unhealthy eating choices. The NatureFresh™ Farms team recognized this disconnect, and the Greenhouse Education Center was born.
The Greenhouse Education Center is a 38-foot-long mobile greenhouse unit equipped with vibrant plants, innovative growing technology, and a busy Bumble Bee ecosystem. Visitors to the unit can physically touch the plants and see exactly how they are grown in NatureFresh™ Farms greenhouses. They can see the drippers, the ventilation system, the heating rails – everything! This behind-the-scenes look at greenhouse growing allows consumers to gain a greater understanding about how their food is grown and get enthusiastic about healthy eating.
A brand-new team of passionate students will also be traveling with the mobile greenhouse all summer long to answer questions about NatureFresh™ Farms, greenhouse growing, and all things fresh. This year’s students have backgrounds ranging from Business to Agriculture to Health Sciences, which means that they bring a diverse set of perspectives to the greenhouse farming industry. Although they come from different life experiences, they are all passionate about the future of fresh!
This year, the Greenhouse Education Center will be taking part in over 70 different events across eastern North America. The team will be visiting retail locations, schools, and fairs across Ontario and throughout states including Ohio, New York, and Pennsylvania.
The NatureFresh™ Farms team encourages all those interested in attending an event to visit their website for further details about dates and locations: http://www.natureefresh.ca/gec.
Key Factors For Optimal Crop Production In Greenhouses And Vertical Farms By Professor Leo Marcelis of Wageningen University
Key Factors For Optimal Crop Production In Greenhouses And Vertical Farms By Professor Leo Marcelis of Wageningen University
April 16, 2018
Greenhouses and vertical farms around the world are faced with many of the same questions and obstacles when learning to manage crop production in controlled environment agriculture systems. Listen to Professor Leo Marcelis discuss trends, opportunities and other key factors in creating optimal crop production systems for greenhouses and vertical farms.
Urban Agriculture 2018 - 1st International Conference On Urban Agriculture And City Sustainability
Urban Agriculture 2018
1st International Conference On Urban Agriculture And City Sustainability
9 - 11 October, 2018
New Forest, UK
View Call For Papers Introduction and Topics Benefits of AttendingAbstract Submission Registration Publication of Papers Location Travel Venue and Accommodation Additional Information Delegate Comments
Introduction
The aim of the Conference is to review and discuss ways in which urban agriculture can contribute to achieving sustainable cities.
As urban populations continue to increase it is essential to consider ways of reducing their impact in terms of use of natural resources, waste production, and climate change.
The increasing number of people in cities requires new strategies to supply the necessary food with limited provision of land and decreasing resources. This will become more challenging unless innovative solutions for growing and distributing food in urban environments are considered.
The scale of modern food production has created and exacerbated many vulnerabilities and the feeding of cities is now infinitely more complex. As such the food system cannot be considered secure, ethical or sustainable.
In the last few years, there has been a rapid expansion in initiatives and projects exploring innovative methods and processes for sustainable food production. The majority of these projects are focused on providing alternative models that shift the power back from the global food system to communities and farmers improving social cohesion, health, and wellbeing. It is therefore not surprising that more people are looking towards urban farming initiatives as a potential solution.
These initiatives have demonstrated that urban agriculture has the potential to transform our living environment towards ecologically sustainable and healthy cities. Urban agriculture can also contribute to energy, natural resources, land and water savings, ecological diversity and urban management cost reductions.
The impact urban agriculture can have on the shape and form of our cities has never been fully addressed. How cities embed these new approaches and initiatives, as part of new urban developments and a city regeneration strategy is critical.
The Urban Agriculture conference will address these challenges and search for new solutions.
Conference Topics
The following list covers some of the topics to be presented at Urban Agriculture. Papers on other subjects related to the objectives of the conference are also welcome.
Development and Planning
- Urban metabolism
- History of urban agriculture
- Integrated urbanism
- Sustainable land use
- Urban and peri-urban enterprises
- Green infrastructures and sustainable urbanism
- Continuous productive urban landscaping
- City food chains
- Food sovereignty
- Urban distribution and processing systems
- Market gardens
- Sustainable urban drainage
- Water resources and irrigation systems
- Sustainable food systems
- Organic farming
- Food security
Urban Farms
- Patchwork farms
- Pop-up farms
- Roof top farms
- Green roofs
- Vertical greening and farms
- Hydroponics, aquaponics and aeroponics
- Hydrogardens
- Composting in cities
- Allotment systems
- Permaculture and agricultural forestry
- Urban animal farms and bee-keeping
- Greenhouses
- Food networks
Socio-Economic Aspects
- Community supported agriculture
- Community cohesion and job creation
- Community gardens
- Communities as co-producers
- School and young urban farmers
- Education and training
Innovation and Benefits
- Closed loops systems
- Transport and distribution
- Waste food recovery and recycling
- Renewable energy resources
- Healthy cities
- Care farming
- Ecological water systems
- Biofuel production in cities
- Quality of streets and urban environment
- Reduction of Urban Heat Island
- Farm to fork
- Eco-cities and eco-villaging
- Show cities
- Air pollution reductions
- Organic farming
Pesticides And Produce
This week, the Environmental Working Group (EWG) released an update to their annual Dirty Dozen and Clean 15 lists. These lists reveal produce with both the highest and lowest levels of pesticide residue, according to their methodology.
Pesticides And Produce
The biggest risk to your health is not eating fruits and vegetables at all.
by Samantha Cassetty, RD / Apr.14.201
Fresh vegetables being sold at farmers marketGetty Images
This week, the Environmental Working Group (EWG) released an update to their annual Dirty Dozen and Clean 15 lists. These lists reveal produce with both the highest and lowest levels of pesticide residue, according to their methodology. The report looks more or less the same as last year’s guide, with strawberries claiming the unfortunate number one spot, edging out spinach and nectarines.
Here's the 2018 Dirty Dozen:
- Strawberries
- Spinach
- Nectarines
- Apples
- Grapes
- Peaches
- Cherries
- Pears
- Tomatoes
- Celery
- Potatoes
- Sweet Bell Peppers
Many of these fruits and vegetables are probably some of your favorites, often ending up on your family's shopping list and dinner table each week. As a parent, I find this information troubling. I certainly don’t want to feed my son a pesticide-laced smoothie or salad. But, as a health professional, I know how to put this information in perspective, and I’m hoping to help you do the same.
WHAT THE 'DIRTY DOZEN' TELLS YOU
The EWG analyzes data on fruits and vegetables to quantify the chemical residue from pesticides, noting things like the average number of pesticides found on a single sample and the maximum number detected. Their analysis is not designed to offer specifics about the chemical or dose. That means it doesn’t say which substance was found on the food, nor does it tell you what amount was found.
The shopper’s guide is meant to provide advice so that consumers who want to limit pesticide exposure can either choose varieties with low scores (their Clean 15 list) or substitute organic produce for foods that are listed on the Dirty Dozen.
Despite the key findings and concerns, the EWG raises about pesticides, they also say eating conventionally grown produce is far better than skipping fruits and vegetables. More on this shortly, but first, let’s talk about organic farming practices.
ORGANICS IN A NUTSHELL
Organic food is regulated by the USDA and is a designation that refers to a system of food production and processing designed to protect and improve the environment. There are also regulations around animal welfare. These practices have many benefits and are designed to preserve our resources, like water and land.
But let’s get one thing clear: Organic produce is not pesticide-free. There are pesticides used in organic farming, but they’re derived from natural substances rather than synthetic ones, And as Carl Winter, Ph.D., Extension Food Toxicologist and Vice Chair, Food Science and Technology at University of California, Davis puts it, in either case, “the dose makes the poison.”
HOW CONCERNED SHOULD WE BE ABOUT PESTICIDES?
There are theoretical concerns about pesticides, which, as a parent, worry me. Winter doesn't think we should and says “these concerns are based on values, not science.”
His research, published in the Journal of Toxicology, found that consuming foods on the EWG’s Dirty Dozen list didn’t pose a real threat, and substituting the so-called worst ones for organic versions didn’t result in any appreciable reduction in risk. “The actual risk is tiny,” he says.
Toxicologists like Winter are looking at three pillars of risk: How much of this stuff are we really getting on our food, how much of the food are we eating and just how bad is the amount we’re ingesting? Recall that the Dirty Dozen isn’t designed to answer any of these questions, and therefore, Winter says, can’t provide valuable insights to shoppers. If you don’t know the levels of pesticides in strawberries and spinach, how do you know they pose any problems? Winter, along with other scientists, say they don’t.
And while natural pesticides certainly sound healthier, it again boils down to how much of a specific substance you’re ingesting. A derivative of copper, for instance, is used as a fungicide in organic farming. If ingested at inappropriate levels, it can be toxic. However, in amounts detected on food, Winter’s point is that in the amounts we’re consuming them, neither natural nor synthetic pesticides present any cause for concern.
Pesticide science is a tricky thing. Studies showing harm often look at correlations rather than causation, meaning that they don’t prove that pesticide exposure causes the health outcome detected. Some are done in agricultural workers and/or their children — people who would be exposed at much higher doses than those of us who are ingesting residue from food. (It remains on their shoes, for example, so these chemicals can contaminate their home environments.)
Still, it’s worrisome to read headlines raising concerns around pesticide risk, such as the recent study linking pesticide exposure with poorer pregnancy outcomes among women being treated for infertility. Though this may raise some red flags, Winter again takes a more scientific view. The researchers used a similar system of identifying pesticide residue as the EWG — a system that many scientists call into question because it doesn’t address actual amounts of chemicals detected. And though it didn’t make headlines, he points out that women who consumed more high-pesticide residue produce were also more likely to eat organic produce. In other words, they were eating lots of fruits and vegetables on both sides of the aisle.
If the scientific explanation isn’t reassuring enough, and if you’re among populations that may be most vulnerable to pesticide exposure (such as pregnant women, couples trying to get pregnant and very young children), some added precautions might buy you some peace of mind. The money-saving tips below can help you shop for organics.
FOOD PRODUCTION IS CHANGING FOR THE BETTER IN SOME CASES
I’m in favor of organic farming practices and I’m encouraged that through advancements in understanding and technology, certain food production methods are being used outside of traditional organic farms. Mary Ellen Camire, Ph.D., CFS, Fellow, Institute of Food Technologists, Professor of Food Science & Human Nutrition, School of Food & Agriculture at the University of Maine explains that many small local farms reduce the use of synthetic pesticides by applying similar practices, like using protective insects to help control for critters that are harmful or destructive. She also points out that with urban farms use hydroponic technology to produce food in greenhouses with little, if any, pesticide use.
And there has been an appropriate movement to minimize the use of pesticides in conventional farms across the United States, according to Roger Clemens, Adjunct Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Associate Director, Regulatory Science program at the University of Southern California. This is all welcome news.
Winter worries about what he calls ‘shopping cart shaming’ — or making families feel guilty or stressed out because they’re buying ordinary produce.
Winter worries about what he calls ‘shopping cart shaming’ — or making families feel guilty or stressed out because they’re buying ordinary produce.
THE REAL RISK IS NOT EATING YOUR FRUITS AND VEGGIES
All three experts say the real risk isn’t pesticide exposure, but not eating enough produce. Solid evidence points to the fact that the vast majority of Americans aren’t meeting their fruit and veggie needs. Winter worries about what he calls ‘shopping cart shaming’ — or making families feel guilty or stressed out because they’re buying ordinary produce. Or worse, steering families away from these beneficial foods. He’s right to worry: A 2016 study found that among low-income individuals, messaging about pesticide residue in fruits and veggies made them less likely to buy these nutritional powerhouses, regardless of whether they were conventional or organic.
And the EWG agrees, saying "The health benefits of a diet rich in fruits and vegetables outweigh the risks of pesticide exposure. Eating conventionally grown produce is far better than skipping fruits and vegetables."
A 2016 study found that among low-income individuals, messaging about pesticide residue in fruits and veggies made them less likely to buy these nutritional powerhouses, regardless of whether they were conventional or organic.
A 2016 study found that among low-income individuals, messaging about pesticide residue in fruits and veggies made them less likely to buy these nutritional powerhouses, regardless of whether they were conventional or organic.
WHAT SHOULD A CONCERNED CONSUMER DO?
It’s unrealistic for many (if not most) Americans to consume strictly organic food. So first and foremost, eat more vegetables and fruits! Whether organic or not, these foods protect you from chronic and costly conditions, like diabetes, heart disease, and certain forms of cancer.
And feel confident that no matter what type of produce you’re selecting, your food is safe. Though Camire grows some of her own produce in her organic garden in Maine, the mother and grandmother admitted that “it [organic] has not been a driving force in feeding my family over the years.”
The health benefits of a diet rich in fruits and vegetables outweigh the risks of pesticide exposure.
The health benefits of a diet rich in fruits and vegetables outweigh the risks of pesticide exposure.
HOW TO SHOP ORGANIC ON A BUDGET
If you’re in a position of choice and want to include organic foods, here are some ways you can get the most bang for your buck:
- Start with produce and other foods your family eats most often. For example, if you’re daily milk drinkers and spinach eaters, go organic for those foods. For foods you eat far less frequently, you might be more relaxed.
- Shop for frozen, organic produce, which often comes with a lower price point, but is just as nutritious. (The same holds true for conventional produce; frozen fruits and veggeis are a good bargain!) This tactic has an additional advantage. A 2017 studyfound that people who eat frozen produce eat more produce in general.
- Buy organic foods in bulk. Costco and other big box stores offer great organic finds for cost-conscious shoppers who want to stock up.
- Opt for private label goods. Most supermarket chains — from Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods to Kroger and Safeway—have store brand organic offerings that are less expensive than the brand name versions they sit alongside on the shelf.
- Find more ways to save. Your supermarket’s weekly circular and social media platforms can alert you to sales so you can be on the lookout for organic price drops
India: Intensive Five Day Workshop in Controlled Environment Horticulture
AGGRAGANNYA SKILLS PRIVATE LIMITED is a leader in Horticultural skills training programs and workshops in India.
INTENSIVE 5-DAY WORKSHOP IN CONTROLLED ENVIRONMENT HORTICULTURE WITH SPECIAL EMPHASIS ON COMMERICAL HYDROPONICS- AN EVENT SERIOUS GROWERS, NEO-FARMERS AND POTENTIAL FARMERS, AGRONOMISTS, AGRI-CONSULTANTS AND EVEN AGRI STUDENTS MUST NOT MISS.
The dates are now fixed for the two five-day workshops on Controlled Environment Horticulture being conducted in North and South India back to back. Venue in both parts is being worked out.
- South India Workshop 28 May to 01 June 2018
- South India Workshop 04 June to 08 Jun 2018
The workshop will be conducted by Mr Tony Bundock from Australia, who has several years of experience in Controlled Environment Horticulture among other subjects. He is also a Director on the panel of Protected Cropping Australia and reigning Secretary of the Hydroponics Farmers Federation of Australia. Tony also has worked as a senior instructor at The Chisholm TAFE Victoria and as is a Certified Master Trainer for world leader Priva Holland climate control and irrigation systems. Tony also has been involved in retractable greenhouse systems. He is the Founder and Director of Genesis Horticulture based in Narre Warren Melbourne, Australia. His last stint was with Australia's numero uno company Powerplants Australia.
Those who wish to register their interest or seek further details may please do so by sending an email to emeritus@hortiskillsindia.co.in along with their WhatsApp nos.
LAST DATES FOR REGISTRATION IS 30TH APRIL 2018. 40 students per workshop
Link to 5 Day Workshop Brochure
Scientists Discover Hormone That Helps Plants Sense Drought
Wonderful weed: Scientists at the Riken Center for Sustainable Resource Science in Tsukuba, Ibaraki Prefecture, have detected a hormone that senses drought in thale cress. | GETTY IMAGES
Scientists Discover Hormone That Helps Plants Sense Drought
BY ROWAN HOOPER
SPECIAL TO THE JAPAN TIMES
- APR 26, 2018
Plants deserve more credit. They can’t move to find food or water or to escape a predator. But that doesn’t mean they are helpless — far from it. They don’t have eyes, ears, a nose or mouth, but they can sense the world remarkably well — in some cases better than we can.
For example, as you might expect, plants are highly sensitive to light. Humans have three different kinds of light-receptors in their eyes to sense light; plants have 15. Plants can monitor light levels very precisely, from the ultraviolet to the infrared.
Plants’ powers of communication are also extraordinary. A plant being eaten by a predator such as a caterpillar will release ethylene, and this warns other plants that there is a threat nearby. If you look at a tree infested by herbivores and nearby trees that are untouched, you’ll find that the uneaten trees have produced protective chemicals that render them unpalatable to predators.
Ethylene is also produced as fruit ripens, and the gas is sensed by other plants and promotes ripening in them, too. It means fruits ripen at the same time, which attracts the animals needed to eat them and disperse the seeds.
If you cut a tomato plant, proteins are produced in response in many distant parts of the plant. There is also evidence of electrical processing of information in the roots of plants that is analogous to what we see in the animal brain.
Now, from the Riken Center for Sustainable Resource Science (CSRS) in Tsukuba, Ibaraki Prefecture, comes the discovery of a hormone that helps plants sense drought. It’s a reminder that plants are far more sophisticated than we often give them credit for.
“People think that plants are static because they do not move,” says Fuminori Takahashi, of CSRS. “However, in plants there is close and active communication between tissues separated by large distances.” The root can tell the shoot what is going on in the soil, and the information allows the plants to adapt when environmental conditions turn stressful. Plant scientists suspected this communication was going on but, until Takahashi’s discovery, they didn’t know how.
A lack of water is one of the most important factors that limits plant growth. The hormone identified by Takahashi and colleagues helps plants retain water when none is available in the soil.
The hormone moves through the plant circulatory system in an analogous way to how animal hormones move through the body. For example, if you have low blood pressure, your body produces the hormone vasopressin. The hormone circulates through the body in the blood and causes your arteries to constrict, which increases your blood pressure back to normal levels. Takahashi’s study shows, for the first time, that plants have a similar mobile hormone that can travel through the plant’s body.
“The hormone modulates root-to-shoot communications in response to drought stress conditions,” says Takahashi, “and transmits information about the lack of water in soil from root to leaves, to prevent water loss.”
Now they have identified the hormone, the team plans to modify it.
“We are working on modified peptides that are more effective for stress resistance than the natural ones,” Takahashi says. The team is also working on ways to mix hormones into fertilizer to enhance drought and salt resistance of crops in the field.
Scientists have shown in the past that communication goes on between plants. If plants are subjected to drought conditions, those that are in contact via the root system close the stomata, the holes on the leaves that let the plants breathe but which also allow water vapor to escape. The plants are basically shutting up shop in preparation for drought. Perhaps the signal is a hormone such as the one discovered by Takahashi — but this remains to be discovered.
The Tsukuba scientists use a plant called Arabidopsis, which is more commonly known as thale cress. It’s a weed; you might see it growing in a crack in the road and think nothing of it. But it was the first plant to have its complete genome sequenced and is grown in labs all over the world. That such a humble and boring-looking plant can yield such deep discoveries is a reminder of how much we still have to learn about the living world.
Rowan Hooper is managing editor of New Scientist magazine. He tweets at @rowhoop and his new book, “Superhuman: Life at the Extremes of Mental and Physical Ability,” is out in May.
NATIONAL / SCIENCE & HEALTH | NATURAL SELECTIONS ARTICLE HISTORY
THE FARMORY Has Announced The Hiring of Claire Thompson As The New Executive Director
Green Bay, Wisconsin
THE FARMORY Has Announced The Hiring of Claire Thompson As The New Executive Director
Former Director, Alex Smith, led efforts for the formation of The Farmory project from 2015 through April of 2018. After a decision to relocate outside the state of Wisconsin with her significant other, recruitment efforts led to Claire Thompson’s selection. Claire has a rich history of involvement in local food initiatives and leadership roles within different local organizations.
Her most recent employment was with UW Extension as the Community Development Educator in Kewaunee County where she worked with non-profit organizations and local entrepreneurs in a variety of capacities. With over fifteen years of experience in program development, capital campaign fundraising, volunteer management, and strategic business planning, Claire’s skillset perfectly lends itself to The Farmory. Claire has a Master’s in Public Administration from the University of Delaware and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Claire and her husband are owners of a non-certified organic farm that continually strives to bring soil fertility, plant growth, and livestock care into balance since 2005. They participate in local markets and sell their diversified vegetable products, eggs, livestock, and artisanal pasta products.
“My decision to leave The Farmory was not an easy one,” explained Program Director, Alex Smith. “I will be forever grateful to everyone who helped nurture The Farmory project as well as my personal and professional growth. I am confident in Claire’s talents and qualifications. The project will grow to new heights under her leadership and expertise!”
“I am very honored to work on this project,” said newly hired Executive Director, Claire Thompson. “The most exciting aspect is that it expands access to locally grown food and to anyone who seeks it. Aquaponics is a growing opportunity for farmers and eaters alike, and Green Bay will be at the center of this budding industry.”
Smith’s last day of work at The Farmory will be Friday, April 28th.
# # #
The Farmory is an urban farming project that utilizes innovative aquaponics technology year round. This indoor farm will grow job and entrepreneurial opportunities as well as increase access to locally grown food. The Farmory is driven by dedicated volunteers and supportive Green Bay area residents. It is a project of the Urban Partnership Community Development Corporation in collaboration with NeighborWorks Green Bay. If you are interested in learning more about the developing project or are interested in becoming involved, please call Alex Smith at (920) 593-3708 or email her at alex@nwgreenbay.org. Visit our website at www.farmory.org.
Urban Farming Campuses To Bring Food Closer To Consumers
Ambitious plan: Nuffield Scholar Jan Vydra hopes a planned urban farming campus in Melbourne will be followed by others in Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide and Sydney. Picture: David Geraghty
Urban Farming Campuses To Bring Food Closer To Consumers
BETHANY GRIFFITHS, The Weekly Times
April 12, 2018
FIRST-generation Melbourne farmer wants to share his knowledge on urban farming by building a university-like campus in every major Australian city.
Jan Vydra, from Australian Fresh Leaf Herbs, is drawing on his 2016 Nuffield Scholarship research to develop spaces where other farmers and growers can learn about urban farming and see how it works in a real-life setting.
“What we really want to do now is take that concept and build a campus in each capital city, so we can localise produce and provide jobs to people in the industry that’s in a different format,” Mr Vydra said.
Each facility will include vertical farms, teaching spaces and commercial production sites. The Victorian “campus”, which has been designed and already attracted investors, will be the first with plans for others in Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide and Sydney to follow.
Mr Vydra is hoping to break ground at the end of this year.
“We really want to leave a legacy. As much as we want to run a great company and we want to keep our investors happy, we also want to give back to the industry and I think we’re positioned well because we’ve gone through all the trial and error of the technology over 10 years,” he said.
Mr Vydra is the co-founder of Australian Fresh Leaf Herbs, a 3.5ha farm producing $14 million turnover annually across 60 different products.
The business was founded in 2008 with William Pham growing 2000 bunches of basil.
Two years ago Mr Vydra completed a Nuffield Scholarship funded study tour. “I was looking at how we can cultivate more horticulture produce per square metre with less natural inputs,” Mr Vydra said.
“I also picked up a lot of different things about agriculture and how we could actually do it better in Australia and not just about urban farming.”
Visiting Indonesia, Japan, Israel, Holland and the US, Mr Vydra took away lessons on the community and cultural impact of urban farming, as well as how purchasing habits of consumers have changed.
“Something I’m focusing on is how can I get really close to my consumer and how can I get what they need, and how can I be that authentic and trusted producer,” Mr Vydra said.