ABBY MACKEY

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

July 10, 2022

When students at Elizabeth Forward High School choose their senior year science course, Environmental Science doesn’t draw much excitement.

It’s the last man left standing, the utilitarian choice, the one that seems “easier” for students uninterested in advanced biology, chemistry, or physics.

Or, that used to be the case.

Environmental Science is suddenly a destination course now that Elizabeth Forward High School is the proud owner of a Freight Farm, thanks to a $140,000 grant from the Hillman Foundation.

The high-tech hydroponic garden, seated inside an upcycled shipping container, can grow up to 13,000 plants at once in its modest 320-square-foot space. Using less than 5 gallons of water per day, it can support more than 300 varieties of edible plants, and that list is ever-expanding. The self-contained ecosystem grows crops in any climate, at any time of year, with its high-powered LED lights, internal temperature and humidity gauges, all of which are controllable and monitored through an app.

And the person at the helm of those controls is Environmental Science teacher Nolan Larry.

“It’ll get them moving and out of the building, get their hands on things, and they’re things they can actually see happen rather than ‘We’re going to learn this material and take a test on it later,’ ” he said.

The cost of the Freight Farm and associated incidentals was covered by a $140,000 grant through the Hillman Foundation, but the success of the project will come from the ambition of district leaders and Mr. Larry.

The idea first came from neighboring Trinity School District, which has a Freight Farm of its own.

“They said, ‘It’s a farm in a box.’ We were like, ‘Oh my God, that sounds awesome,’ ” Principal Mike Routh said. “To be honest, we’ve been kind of struggling with our science curriculum to find more hands-on opportunities, real-world experiences for kids.”

Really, it’s hands-on for everyone involved.

A few weeks ago, Mr. Routh, Mr. Larry and assistant superintendent Keith Konyk traveled to Freight Farms headquarters in Boston for in-person training on maintenance and farming practices. And throughout the summer, Mr. Larry will experiment with germinating seeds and, hopefully, seeing them flourish before Environmental Science students join the effort this fall.

Freight Farms has gained national and international attention for its unique food system problem-solving abilities. The shipping containers can grow food in areas where that’s difficult because of soil quality or annual rainfall. Freight Farms’ relatively small footprint — and ability to be stacked — make fresh local produce practical in urban areas and food deserts and even for restaurants and individuals. And there’s no possibility of supply chain interruption when the source is in your backyard or around the corner.

Although Elizabeth Forward School District sits in an area with plenty of countryside, those lessons still have a place. The Freight Farm’s bounty will be used in the district’s lunch rooms, distributed to local food banks and also serve as bragging rights for Environmental Science students engaged in science with a cutting edge educational tool.

“With the Freight Farm, kids can see from beginning to end how this process works and how it helps the environment,” Mr. Larry said. “I get to learn, too, which after doing this for 15 years, isn’t something you get to do very often. It’s like I’m a student again, too.”

Abby Mackey: amackey@post-gazette.com, Twitter @AnthroAbbyRN and IG @abbymackeywrites.