TESTING donation page

Parent Coordinator Information Session

Please join us for a tailored information session about our program and how we can support you in uplifting the fantastic work of your students in their Hydroponic Classroom and engaging families.

Check back later for upcoming sessions.

(ONLY OPEN TO PARTNER SCHOOL PARENT COORDINATORS)

Blah

CBS42: New Initiative Brings Hydroponic Farming to 8 Birmingham chools

A first-of-its-kind program in the nation is introducing hydroponic farming technology to eight schools across the district, giving nearly 4,000 students a hands-on way to learn science.

The initiative is a partnership between Birmingham City Schools, Jones Valley Teaching Farm and New York Sun Works. They’ve created classroom greenhouses where students can grow plants and harvest vegetables.

Blah

THE STORY EXCHANGE: Meet the Nonprofit Leader Who’s Teaching Kids About Hydroponic Farming

At NY Sun Works, Bolivia-born Manuela Zamora has pioneered a hands-on approach to train the next generation of climate scientists and farmers.

Blah

CUNY TV: NY Sun Works Executive Director Manuela Features in ‘Sustainability Matters’ episode

In this episode of Sustainability Matters, we shine a light on NY Sun Works, a nonprofit organization transforming the way science and sustainability are taught in urban schools. Mariève Amy sits down with Manuela Zamora, Executive Director of NY Sun Works, to explore how the organization brings hydroponic farming into New York City classrooms—empowering students to grow food, understand climate challenges, and become environmental stewards from a young age.

Blah

QNS: Queens Families Harvest over 50 Pounds of Produce at NYSCI’s Hydroponics Lab

The New York Hall of Science (NYSCI) teamed up with sustainability nonprofit New York Sun Works to welcome Queens families to NYSCI on July 11 to harvest over 50 pounds of produce grown at a hydroponics lab at the Queens-based science museum. 

Blah

Where Can a Degree in Indoor Agriculture Get You?

Sage Cormier was finishing her junior year of college in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula when the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Almost overnight, the supply chains stalled, putting a great strain on food access for Sage’s community. For Sage, this crisis revealed all too clearly the risks of relying on outsourced food production and served as a wake up call that inspired her next move into indoor agriculture.

During the first phase of lockdown, Sage closely followed local media coverage of events as they unfolded, growing increasingly concerned about the situation in her surrounding communities in the Upper Peninsula. “With the growing social unrest during the pandemic and supply chain issues directly affecting our food access, I found myself thinking: How can I help my community?” 

Happily for Sage, in 2020, with the support of NY Sun Works, Marquette’s NMU launched its inaugural indoor agriculture associate’s degree. This was the first associate’s degree of its type in the country, providing education and certification for people wanting to enter the burgeoning world of Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA). Branching out from its K-12 specialization, NY Sun Works helped launch the program, providing the curriculum, teacher training, and hydroponic and aquaponic systems. 

Around that time, Sage received an email from NMU notifying her about the new associates degree, and ideas started forming. “I began having a lot of crazy ideas to bring people together by providing food through hydroponic installations in abandoned buildings in Marquette.” The degree seemed like a great opportunity to turn her food justice ambitions into concrete and meaningful work. Sage decided to enroll.

Initial impressions were fantastic. “I really loved the program from the start. The work I was doing and the information I was learning felt rigorous – I felt like a scientist.” More importantly, Sage felt the course nurtured and supported her passion for food justice. 

NYSW welcomed representatives from Northern Michigan University at a networking side event during our 14th Annual Youth Conference at the Javits Center

When Sage graduated in 2021, she knew she wanted tactile work with plants, especially as a means to tackle issues around food equity. Naturally, through an interest both in hydroponics and education, NYSW began to feel like a good fit. At NYSW, Sage could work physically with hydroponics but also help develop an indoor agriculture curriculum that benefited student development and contributed to various food justice-related issues.

Thanks in part to her experiences at NMU, it wasn’t long before Sage stepped  into the role of instructor on the NYSW Urban Agriculture Workforce Development Program. NYSW launched this workforce readiness training in 2022 with the support of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. In brief, the program equips high school students with technical skills and environmental science knowledge to help streamline them into green jobs upon certification. Sage’s role is to train teachers, maintain systems and supervise the rigorous theoretical and practical tests which students must complete before graduating.  

“It’s funny, because a lot of the work I do now feels directly related to the work I did at NMU.  My degree prepared me really well.” For Sage, the transition into the professional world from the associate’s degree was seamless. It provided her with foundational skills and paired well with other interests, like education, to work in more specialized sectors of the indoor agriculture world.

Sage gives resumé writing advice to two students during the CEA Networking Fair at the 14th Annual Youth Conference

Blah

What did our Youth Press Teams Discover at our 14th Youth Conference?

We just completed our 14th Annual Discovering Sustainability Science Youth Conference and now it’s time to hear from our Youth Press Team! 

This year, 16 students ranging from 8 to 18 years old took on the role of junior reporters, interviewing both their student peers and guest speakers. As each team of student presenters took their bow, our Youth Press Team was there ready to delve deeper into the topics of climate education and sustainability science.

Those interviewed included: Joyce Leveston, CEO of the Javits Center, and Alexis Harley, Chief Risk and Resilience Officer for the New York Power Authority (NYPA). 

Thank you to Aloysius, Lily, Aiden, Ayden, Sam, Israel, Daniel, Mee’ah, Darlene, Zoe, Chloe, Marcus, Sebastian, Paloma and Karun for all your hard work on the articles! Click on each student’s name to check out their final works. A special thank you to Gina Marmol, Isabelle Giannella, JoEllen Schuleman, Valeria Bell, Jessica Casimir, Lindsey Bair, Neril Sandeep, and Jennifer Donnely for all the support along the way!

Blah

MAKING JEWELLERY WITH USED PLANTS BY CHLOE CAPERS

My favorite group was Andrea, Freya and Isabella from West End Secondary School. Their presentation was interesting because they used leftover plants to make stylish jewelry. I liked their Hydro-Craftism project because they used plants that would have otherwise been wasted to make something new that you can wear every day.

I learned they used resin, molds and leftover plants from their garden to craft bangles, rings and other fun jewelry out of resin kits. It is extremely cool considering that those plants would have died or been trashed.

Andrea, Freya and Isabella from West End Secondary School delivering their presentation

Blah

IN SEARCH OF THE PERFECT PEPPER BY DANIEL MAYEN

As a Youth Press Conference member, I had the privilege of talking to a group of inspirational elementary school students about their search for the perfect pepper. 

In their experiment, Rex, Kali, and Nahuel from The Brooklyn Brownstone School sought to crossbreed plants like jalapeños and bell peppers to examine the impact on the spice level of the hybrid peppers. Interestingly, the students found that the taste profiles of the hybrid peppers gravitated towards extremes: The hybrid bell pepper was sweeter than the control bell pepper and the hybrid jalapeño was spicier than the control jalapeño.

Moving onto the next group of presenters, I spoke to Joseph, Jocelyn and Yaretz from Middle College High School in Queens. Their presentation “Hydroponic vs Soil Plant Growth” explored the pros and cons of growing plants in sand, gravel or liquid with added nutrients but without soil. The team concluded that hydroponic farming is more expensive than traditional agriculture, however hydroponics plants grow faster and in a more sustainable way. 

I also had the honor of meeting Alexis Harley, the Chief Risk and Resilience Officer at the New York Power Authority (NYPA). During the interview, I asked Alexis about the link between hydroponics and energy generation. In reply, Alexis highlighted how NYPA also looks for ways to lower carbon emissions and promote sustainability.

This conference opened my eyes to the creativity of people of all ages when it comes to hydroponic farming and how we can actively seek ways to sustain a better future for generations to come.

Rex, Kali, and Nahuel from The Brooklyn Brownstone School waiting to present

Blah

AN INTERVIEW WITH JAVITS CENTER CEO JOYCE LEVESTON BY DARLENE CAMAC

Every year, the annual New York Sun Works Conference invites students to come together and present their findings in Sustainability Science and contribute to the advancement of solutions to the world’s most pressing climate challenges. As a member of the Youth Press Team, I had the honor of interviewing the first female CEO of the Javits Center, Joyce Leveston.

“I hope to be the representation for women in leadership,” said Joyce.

Joyce spoke about how much pride she takes in maintaining the Javits Center’s rooftop farm, the largest of its kind in New York. The view over the New York cityscape from the rooftop farm is, for Joyce, the best that the city offers. Joyce’s participation in the conference itself stems from her desire to encourage students to get active in environmental projects. She deliberately kept her own opening presentation extra short to make sure the student presenters had more time to present their own projects. 

Moving on to talk about the student presenters, I had the pleasure of interviewing Elena, Lilly and Angel from JHS 218 James P. Sinnott about their presentation on aquaponic farming. The group’s experiment sought to find out if their aquaponic system containing Tilapia fish could outgrow a regular hydroponic tower system.

In their aquaponic system, waste from the fish is turned into nutrients with the help of bacteria, allowing plants to thrive through this underwater ecosystem. Fish waste was the only source of nutrients for the plants. Although both systems allowed plants to flourish, the hydroponic tower system was able to outgrow the aquaponic system, most likely due to the potency of the nutrients used.

For me, this annual conference illuminated the importance of science and experimentation to help build a greener future, not just for New York City, but for the world.

Javits Center CEO Joyce Leveston opens the 14th Annual Youth Conference

Blah