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Fox5NY: Hands-on Hydroponic Farming Taught in NYC Special Education High Schools
Jarule Boapeah is one of 16 special-needs students at Q721 public high school in Elmhurst, Queens, learning all about hydroponic farming — right inside the classroom. “I love to see plants growing — I feel proud,” the 12th grader said through a special communication device.
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Honoring Girls in STEM!
Science and gender equality are both vital for the achievement of global development goals, as outlined in the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Yet while the global community has made progress in engaging women and girls in science, there is still a great deal of work to be done to eliminate the gender gap in STEM education and careers. To recognize and publicize these important goals, the United Nations General Assembly declared February 11th as the International Day of Women and Girls in Science.
In honor of this special day, NY Sun Works asked teachers from our partner schools to nominate girls who have demonstrated significant achievements in their science classes. We received 15 nominations, ranging from elementary to high school students, all of whom are passionate and dedicated scientists! The students were featured in a series of social media posts, along with our own NY Sun Works scientist, Becky Higgins, and April Contreras, an engineer at the NY Power Authority, one of our biggest partners.
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PS 158 in Brooklyn Unveils NY Sun Works Hydroponic Farm Classroom with Local Leaders
A NY Sun Works Hydroponic Farm Classroom is officially open at PS 158 Warwick Elementary School in Brooklyn! Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso, City Council Member Sandy Nurse, and District Superintendent Tamra Collins, joined Principal Towles and partner NY Sun Works, to unveil the hydroponic classroom.
The PS 158 NY Sun Works farm classroom was funded by former Brooklyn Borough President, and now NYC Mayor, Eric Adams as part of his initiative to improve STEM education and access to nutritious food by investing in the next generation of scientists, climate leaders and farmers of the future. Throughout his tenure as borough president, Eric Adams funded a total of 74 hydroponic classrooms in Brooklyn public schools.
Rep. Hakeem Jeffries stated, “What a blessing to be able to see this combination of understanding the importance of our climate and of nature, but also of…healthy eating. I look forward to doing everything I can in my capacity as your representative in Washington to make sure that all children get the highest quality of education possible so that they can be anything and everything that they want to be.”
While emphasizing the value of a true partnership, Manuela Zamora, Executive Director of NY Sun Works added, “We are honored to work with Principal Towles and her team at PS 158 to bring 21st century science and sustainability education into the public school classroom. The hydroponic lab will provide students with the opportunity to grow food while learning hands-on about science and climate education as well as nutrition, food justice and community service.”
“The mission of P.S. 158K is to provide a collaborative environment between school, home and the community that will develop rigorous academic achievement, promoting critical thinking and supporting the social and emotional needs of our students to become global thinkers of the
future. Aligning with District 19’s commitment to STEM education, the Hydroponic Lab opens the door for our students to explore, create and develop innovative ideas to develop solutions around providing healthy food choices for students and families in our community.
Thank you, Mayor Adams, for your support to ensure our students at PS158K and District 19 have the STEM resources they need to become global thinkers of the future. The seed you have sown in their lives today will bear much fruit for their future. Thank you NY Sunworks for
your partnership to support our Hydroponic Lab,” added Principal Towles.
D19 Superintendent Dr. Tamra Collins stated, “District 19 is committed to ensuring its students are provided with all the real world experiences and opportunities that STEM education has to offer. Our district acknowledges the importance of tapping into a child’s natural curiosity, creativity and innovation in order to ensure the development of their critical thinking skills. We work collaboratively across the district to make it a reality. Thank you, Mayor Adams for your continued support in ensuring District 19 students have access to state of the art STEM tools and resources. Your efforts ensure that these children will be the generation of innovators
equipped with the skills, passion, and opportunities to change the world!”
The hydroponic classroom at PS 158 is more than an urban farm as it brings the Pre-K through 5th grade community together. Students in Pre-K – 5th grade will explore Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) + sustainability topics while growing food with cutting-edge technology. The average NY Sun Works hydroponic classroom produces more than 500 pounds of vegetables per school year!
“A hydroponics garden is going to be familiar to these young kids forever in their lives, something that I had never seen or thought of in my time. What we need to do is continue to do that work. … I’m just so grateful that Eric Adams as borough president helped do this – I hope that I can match that type of energy and that effort and that investment, and that I continue to
help. … You will have a partner in me, and I’m looking forward to this long-term relationship where, again, we expect more of our children and we get more from our children,” stated Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso.
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MENAFN: PS 158 Warwick in Brooklyn Celebrates the Official Opening of their Hydroponic Classroom with Rep. Jeffries
PS 158 staff, elected officials, NY Sun Works staff, and students Rep. Hakeem Jeffries and first grade students. We harvested 14 lbs of vegetables for students to take home! A NY Sun Works Hydroponic Farm Classroom is officially open at PS 158 Warwick Elementary School in Brooklyn, NYC.
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NY Sun Works Announces Partnership with Green Mountain Energy Sun Club
NY Sun Works is thrilled to partner with Green Mountain Energy Sun Club to bring our hydroponic classrooms and Discovering Sustainability Science program to South Bronx Early College Academy and the Longwood Academy of Discovery in 2022!
The Sun Club, the non-profit branch of Green Mountain Energy, supports renewable energy, energy efficiency, resource conservation, and environmental stewardship – all with the goal of helping communities achieve long-term sustainability. Our deep thanks to Green Mountain Energy Sun Club for their support.
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NY Sun Works Joins Eric Adams’ Food Policy Transition Team
NY Sun Works Executive Director, Manuela Zamora, has been appointed to Eric Adams’ Food Policy Transition Team! The Food Policy Transition team is one of several committees Adams has convened on key policy issues to help prepare him for Day 1 as NYC’s new mayor. Joining Manuela on the Food Policy team are food policy and nutrition experts, policy-makers, non-profit leaders, and representatives from community gardens and commercial farms who are sharing their guidance and expertise. The committee is currently focusing on recommendations for improving urban agriculture in the city and we are thrilled to be working with this exciting group to map out the next administration’s priorities.
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US House of Representatives Presentation: NY Sun Works Goes to Washington
Last week, NY Sun Works presented before the U.S. House of Representatives Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition (SEEC). SEEC, which is made up of approximately 70 Congress members working to address climate change, met on Dec. 9 to discuss issues related to urban agriculture. Manuela Zamora and Megan Nordgrén were excited to share how NY Sun Works is bringing science, sustainability and climate education through hydroponic farming to 180 NYC schools, and growing. Thank you to Rep. Yvette Clarke of Brooklyn for inviting us to participate in this informative and important conversation. While in DC, NY Sun Works met with several other local members of the House of Representatives and their staffs, including Rep. Grace Meng of Queens, Rep. Gregory Meeks of Queens and Rep. Adriano Espaillat of Northern Manhattan, to discuss our program and the impacts we are having in schools throughout the NYC region. Special thanks to Rep. Rosa DeLauro, Chair of the House Appropriations Committee, for hosting our team for an instructive and worthwhile meeting.
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PS 9 Lab Dedication in Honor of Beloved Teacher
On December 7th, NY Sun Works joined students, teachers, and local community members at P.S. 9 in Brooklyn for their official ribbon-cutting ceremony and the first harvest of their hydroponic farm-classroom. The classroom was made possible by Participatory Budgeting funding from City Council Member Laurie Cumbo, and is named after Sandra Santos-Vizcaino, the beloved science teacher who sadly passed away from complications due to Covid last March.
Principal Ali started by giving a heart-felt welcome to Ms. Santos-Vizcaino’s family, saying, “Your mother, sister, daughter and friend touched so many hearts and this lab will forever hold her spirit and her passion for science and for students. We’re so blessed to be able to share this space with you and to celebrate this with you. You have an open invitation, this is your home.”
Second grade students Roman and Jane shared their experiences in the new lab. “I’ve learned that you can use nutrients to grow plants and put them in ‘fake’ soil to make real soil! I’m most excited about tasting the strawberries when they are ready in the next few weeks!”
The last activity of the day was harvesting. NY Sun Works staff led a tasting for all the guests and students. Some of the produce harvested was purple kale, lettuce, basil, and spearmint. Students loved the tasting and many came up for seconds and thirds – one of them even exclaimed, “This is SO good!”
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NY1: Family Day at NY Sun Works Pop-Up at Astor Place!
NY1 Visited the wonderful and green NY Sun Works Pop-Up at Astor Place!
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Transforming Food Systems Through Education: NY Sun Works & Global Partners Develop EPIC Solution
NY Sun Works was selected to join the Food Systems Game Changers Lab, a global solutions accelerator organized by the Rockefeller Foundation, EAT, IDEO, and Thought for Food. The Lab tapped an international coalition of educators, entrepreneurs, and innovators to answer this question: How might we build a better food future for everyone, everywhere?
Over the 13 weeks Solutions Accelerator, the 505 participants from 85 countries came together, in cohorts organized by policy specialty, to create action agendas designed to build a healthier, more sustainable, and more equitable global food system. NY Sun Works’ cohort, Building Food Literacy through Education, comprised of professors, advocates, and nonprofit leaders across the world, developed, literally, an EPIC solution. Education = Power in Choice, or EPIC, will use transformative education to engage children, their advocates (such as families, teachers, elders, and health practitioners), and their communities in sustainable, ecological and healthy food systems practices. EPIC’s goal: to empower a generation of highly-literate food citizens through school and community-based programming. View the final report and our solution here.
Our group is now speaking with regional, national, and global policy-makers, including the U.N. Food Programme, to explore how our solution can be scaled and developed. It’s been an honor to collaborate with this dynamic international group of innovators and we’re excited to see what comes next in this very important undertaking. As the final report states, “As we look to 2050, the mounting pressures to deliver affordable, available, accessible, nourishing, regeneratively and humanely produced diets will take unparalleled levels of global collaboration, agenda-setting, and innovation. To rectify these multiple and quickly expanding crises, we need much more than change – we need transformation.”
