Press

The first of four new green classrooms coming to the Bronx was officially launched today with a ribbon-cutting at PS 25 The Bilingual School on 149th Street. The hydroponic lab, which grows crops indoors without soil, will teach students agricultural skills, environmental science and other sustainability-based programming.

P.S. 25 Bilingual School launched a new green classroom Monday where education officials say the joy of learning meets the science of sustainability.

El congresista Ritchie Torres (NY-15) otorgó hoy $800,000 en fondos para proyectos comunitarios a New York Sun Works, una organización local sin fines de lucro dedicada a integrar la ciencia de la sostenibilidad y la educación climática en las escuelas urbanas K-12.

New York Sun Works teaches K-12 students across the five boroughs the science of sustainability through hands-on urban farming.

NY Sun Works was initiated after the success of the Science Barge project in 2008, which was the first hydroponic installation in New York City. Over the years, it has transformed from a humble greenhouse experiment into a full-fledged organization committed to promoting sustainable urban farming. Since its establishment in 2010, NY Sun Works has developed an impressive portfolio of urban farms, educated young minds, and championed sustainable and local food production in all five boroughs of New York City.

There was a lot of excitement on the first day of school at Junior High School 218 in East New York. "I'm happy to see all my teachers, new teachers, old teachers," said eighth grader Jessica McAllister. Especially one classroom in particular, where yellow peppers, ripe tomatoes, and fragrant basil greeted students on their first day. "Did not expect this, but is very interesting to be here. It's very innovative as well, and I'm just excited to learn about it," says Ahnaf Ishrar, also in 8th grade.

Kingsborough Community College of the City University of New York (KCC) has received a grant of $250,000 to launch a groundbreaking two-year initiative to equip New Yorkers with the knowledge and skills needed to excel in the emerging hydroponic farming sector. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) awarded the grant as part of a $4.7 million investment in agricultural workforce training at community colleges.

 New York Sun Works Director Manuela Zamora today announced Liz McKoy to fill the new role of Education Director. As well as addition 11 more hydroponic specialists will join the nonprofit organization.

Manuela Zamora, Executive Director of NY Sun Works, and Congresswoman Yvette Clarke (NY-09) announced a significant advancement in climate and sustainability education. The expansion involves installing state-of-the-art hydroponic farms and introducing a high school-level agriculture workforce development program in 20 Brooklyn schools. The unveiling of this $800,000 investment took place at Edward R. Murrow High School and was realized through the Community Project Funding initiative.

NY Sun Works hosted 900 young people from Harlem to The Hudson yesterday at their 12th Annual Discovering Sustainability Science Youth Conference. The event took place at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York City.

On Friday, May 5, Launch Expeditionary Learning Charter School (Launch), its nonprofit partners, and elected officials unveiled for a seven-acre experiential learning campus with a new high school and world-class facilities where students and community members will build pathways to green jobs and develop solutions to climate change, food injustice, and systemic racism.

 New York Sun Works is a non-profit that builds state-of-the-art hydroponic labs in New York City schools. Their sustainability science and climate education program combines indoor farming with classroom instruction in order to engage children in grades K through 12 in hands-on learning while growing hundreds of pounds of vegetables year round.

Celebrating Women's Month, we met Bolivian immigrant Manuela Zamora, director of NY Sun Works, which aims to help change school classrooms and has started classes in NYC, where her children studied. This program is already present in more than 200 schools between New York City and some in the Hudson Valley.