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A Message from Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams to Students and Teachers
“This is a tough time in New York’s history. But today I’m feeling hope for our city after watching the incredible student scientists share their hard work [and] innovative research projects that will help New York be greener and healthier in the long term. […] I celebrate the teachers who are inspiring these students to continue their exploration and guide them through their learning. Now, more than ever, we need to make sure that our students understand science, as well as how to improve their health with a good diet of fruits and vegetables. I stand with you in the fight for a healthy future.”
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Students Share Science Research and Message of Resilience in NY Sun Works 9th Annual Discovering Sustainability Science Conference
COVID-19 school closures didn’t stop these young farmer-scientists! On Monday, May 18th, students from public schools around NYC came together virtually to share their research and celebrate their scientific accomplishments at NY Sun Works’ 9th Annual Discovering Sustainability Science Youth Conference.
The Conference, typically hosted at Symphony Space to accommodate the large audience, pivoted to an online format this year due to COVID-19. But the switch to virtual didn’t tamp down the enthusiasm or energy of the students, all of whom showed impressive perseverance in shifting gears and continuing their months-long research projects from home after schools closed, under the remote guidance of their teachers.
“The whole conference was amazing!” said Wendy Rodriguez, a teacher at P.S. 176. “All of the kids . . . wow! They did a fantastic job!”
The 25 student speakers, who ranged from 5th to 12th grade, presented on an array of science and sustainability topics, including designing at-home hydroponic systems, the environmental hazards of microplastics, and the role of the Doomsday Vault in seed preservation. Students examined the impact of environmental factors like temperature changes, flooding, and music on plant growth and how plants could be used in environmental and medical applications, such as for bioremediation of Brooklyn’s Gowanus Canal and the use of Mimosa pudica as a spinal cord stimulator.
The students were joined remotely by actress Stephanie Hsu, AKA Mei in Amazon’s The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, who returned for a second year to emcee and cheer on the students, and special guests Dr. Gioia Massa, a plant space scientist at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center; Jenn Frymark, plant biologist and Chief Greenhouse Officer at Gotham Greens; and Phil Vos and Kyle Jeremiah, biogas experts at Energy Vision. Fifth grader Rohan Gibr Rao-Fernandez succinctly summarized the experience when he said,
“I learned about all of the jobs involving how we, people, work with plant life including growing plants in space that are edible. WOW! And I saw that we have so much science that we have not learned yet.”
In what’s been a very difficult time for all, these students sent an inspiring message of resilience and determination. As Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams shared in his post-conference message,
“This is a tough time in New York’s history. But today I’m feeling hope for our city after watching the incredible student scientists share their hard work [and] innovative research projects that will help New York be greener and healthier in the long term.”
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NY Sun Works Hosts Virtual Science and Sustainability Youth Conference for 2020
Check out the amazing presentations from this year’s students and guest speakers!
Let’s Flood Freddie! – PS 333 Manhattan School for Children
Does Mulch Color Really Have A Beneficial Effect On Bean Plant Growth? – St. Saviour High School
DIY Hydroponics – West End Secondary School
Brassica Oleracea: The Vegetable Miracle – PS 199 Jesse Isidor Straus
Gotham Greens – Jenn Frymark: Chief Greenhouse Officer
The Steer of Sustainability in School Communities – Edward R. Murrow High School
Doomsday Vault – PS 333 Manhattan School for Children
Creating the Optimum Environment for Thalissia Testudinum Growth – Edward R. Murrow High School
The Effect of Temperature on Plant Growth – St. Saviour High School
Hydroponics at Home – West End Secondary school
Why Grow Plants in Space? – Gioia Massa, NASA
Terracycling: Recycling the Non-recyclable at MSC – PS 333 Manhattan School for Children
Bioremediation of Gowanus Canal Water: A Riparian Buffer Approach – Edward R Murrow High School
Microplastics: Small Things Big Problems – PS 199 Jesse Isidor Straus
The Story of My Plastic – PS 333 Manhattan School for Children
Creating a Hydroponics System from Recycled Materials – St. Saviour High School
Organic “Wastes”: A Valuable Resource for a Sustainable Energy Future – Kyle Jeremiah and Phil Vos, Energy Vision
The Effect of Music on Plants – St. Saviour High School
Science At Home – K377 Alejandrina B. De Gautier
Mimosa Pudica As a Plant-based Sensor for Spinal Cord Stimulator – Edward R Murrow High School
Recycling Rockwool – K176 The Ovington School
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NY Sun Works Learning Center Updated for Remote Learning
Our NYC teachers have done incredible work to quickly move our students to remote learning following the sudden schools closure last month. To help teachers adjust to this new reality and to continue the science and sustainability education of the hydroponic classroom, NY Sun Works has updated the online Learning Center to include a new section, Lessons for Remote Learning. We have pulled from our entire curriculum, lessons for grades K-8, that do not require direct interaction with the hydroponic systems, but connect with them through concepts, images, NY Sun Works reports, and exciting videos of our maintenance team conducting investigations at home. The lessons are available through the NY Sun Works Learning Center, our online teacher hub. Our initial focus has been on K-5th and 6-8th grade lessons, which are now available. Work on High school learning options is underway.
The remote learning lessons have been designed to give teachers immediate tools to continue the science and sustainability lessons they started in their greenhouse classrooms, and can easily be shared with students through the Google Classroom platform. The lessons can easily be student-driven, or facilitated by a parent, and do not require the virtual presence of the teacher. Resources such as NYSW Reports are included in the lessons, as well as easy instructions for downloading and sharing with your students.
To further bring the hands-on science lessons home, our maintenance team is currently conducting a selection of investigations in their own homes! They are doing the experiments the same way that the teachers would have done in their hydroponic classrooms, and sharing their results via video. But they are also adapting the experiments so that students can replicate them in their own homes with items they have on hand. For example, instead of using rockwool, students can use cotton. Each video will be accompanied by a lesson that can be shared through the Google Classroom platform. These videos, which will be available on the Learning Center soon, will be a great way to help students navigate the experiments at home, but also have a chance to “see” their NY Sun Works maintenance staff! New investigation videos will be uploaded weekly, so be sure to continue checking the Learning Center.
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NY Sun Works COVID-19 Update
Dear Friends of NY Sun Works,
We hope you’re staying healthy, active, and safe. With NYC schools closing this past week, the NY Sun Works crew has been working hard to support our partner schools, in particular our teachers, to temporarily close their Greenhouse Classroom systems and to prepare to teach remotely.
Following DOE and CDC recommendations, our maintenance team acted on a school-by-school basis to either close down labs (remotely or in person), coordinate support with volunteer teachers and custodial staff, or plan for future access to keep labs running, particularly in schools with aquaponic systems/fish-farms in operation.
Our Education team is working diligently to prepare Distance Learning Units for every grade. This includes a selection of lessons from our Discovering Sustainability Science curriculum that do not require interaction with the hydroponic systems installed in the classroom, but connect with them through concepts, images, videos, and NY Sun Works reports. The lessons will be available through the NY Sun Works Learning Center, our online teacher hub. We are initially focusing on K-5th and 6-8th grade lessons, which will be available this week. High school learning options also will be available at the Learning Center soon.
This is “business unusual” and we are here to support our teachers every step of the way.
Times like this underscore the critical need for our students – and our policymakers – to understand and respect science. A solid science education will allow our students to make informed decisions in the future that impact their lives and the community around them. We hope that our hands-on program will help to inspire today’s students so that they may one day become farmers with technical skills to feed our growing urban population, or the doctors and scientists finding the vaccines and cures for future crises.
From all of us at NY Sun Works, we thank you for your continued support.
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NMUNews: Northern Michigan University Launches Indoor Agriculture Program with NY Sun Works
Northern Michigan University will launch a new, multidisciplinary indoor agriculture associate degree this fall. The program will prepare students for careers in medicinal plant and agricultural food production, as well as the indoor growing system industry. It will also empower them to grow plants year-round in northern climates, addressing potential food insecurity issues.
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NationalHerald: PS 85 Queens Judge Charles J. Vallone School Opens New Hydroponic Science Lab
A new hydroponic science lab is officially open at P.S. 85 Queens- The Judge Charles J. Vallone School- as educators, elected officials, leadership from the New York Power Authority, and the team at New York Sun Works unveiled the state-of-the-art educational tool on March 10.
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SAVE THE DATE: 5.18.20 – NY Sun Works Youth Conference: Discovering Sustainability Science
The ninth annual NY Sun Works Discovering Sustainability Science Youth Conference offers a platform for students to share their scientific creativity while celebrating their
accomplishments as a part of The Greenhouse Project this school year.
We bring together 5th – 12th grade students, educators, innovators, and political figures to explore the interaction between humans, technology and the environment.
As we prepare for this year’s conference, we invite you to take a closer look at the amazing student work from the 2019 conference:
Ocean Acidity: A Global Problem – PS 333 Manhattan School for Children
Actress Stephanie Hsu at the NY Sun Works Youth Conference
Lt. Governor Kathy Hochul: A message to the students participating in the Youth Conference
NYPA CEO Gil Quinones: Leading the Effort in Responding to Climate Change
Re-Nuble CEO Tinia Pina: Reducing the Gap Between Organic and Inorganic Fertilizers
If You Love the Ocean Make a Commotion! – PS 199 Jessie Isador Straus
The Effect of Carbonic Acid on Blue Mussel Shells – PS 333 Manhattan School for Children
Trash Clean Up & Ocean Protection: Student-made Sustainability Apps – Edward R. Murrow HS
PS199 Recycling Rebels: Putting Plastic In Its Place – PS 199 Jessie Isador Straus
The Sustainable Benefits of Growing Your Own Food – Edward R. Murrow High School
Carbonic Acid Impact On Mussells’ Mass – PS 333 Manhattan School for Children
The Wick Hydroponic Growing System – PS 84 Jose de Diego
Sustainability at CAS: Our Earth, Our Communities – City-As-School High School
No Rockwool? No Problem! – PS 377 Alejandrina B. De Gautier
Using Science To Make Our World A Better Place – PS 121 Nelson A. Rockefeller
Bioplastics From Organic Waste: Replace Petroleum-based Plastics – Edward R. Murrow High School
Draughts: Causes And Effects – PS 333 Manhattan School for Children
Making Our Own NFT System: Challenges and Solutions – PS 84 Jose de Diego
Effect of Thermotherapy on the Shelf-Life of Strawberries! – St. Saviour High School
Growing Vegetables in Our Classroom: Sharing with Our Community – PS 233 Langston Hughes
Magnetism And Its Effects On Plant Growth – St. Saviour High School
Sustainable Materials: A Guide for Sustainable Building – PS 333 Manhattan School for Children
Natural And Effective Ways to Absorb Contaminants From Water – Edward R. Murrow High School
Our Path to A Zero Waste School – Thomas A. Edison Career and Technical Education High School
Hope For Our Planet, A Poem by Mary Israel – St. Saviour High School
Kenji Williams, Founder, Director, Composer and Violinist – BELLA GAIA: Beautiful Earth
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Bregal/COFRA Foundation funds another NY Sun Works Hydroponic Classroom
On Saturday January 11, 2020, volunteers from the Bregal/COFRA Foundation, NY Sun Works, and P.S. 59 William Floyd came together to build a Hydroponic Greenhouse Classroom…in just ONE day! The Principal and Assistant Principal expressed warm words of gratitude: “Our job is not just about teaching how to achieve on the state exams. We want to help our students unearth their passions. Having a cutting edge hydroponics lab from NY Sun Works here at P.S. 59 will help us provide a fantastic group of deserving students the kind of immersive, hands on learning experiences they need to do just that. We are grateful for the generous donation and volunteer support from the Bregal/COFRA Foundation. From the hydroponic lab they purchased and built for us at P.S. 59, we plan to grow flowers, vegetables, herbs, and a love of science. Thank you!”
NY Sun Works team was on hand to support and guide the build out, which included several hydroponic systems including buckets systems for Vines, NFT and Tower Gardens for leafy greens, as well as a compost and IPM corner for beneficial insects. NY Sun Works is grateful to Bregal/COFRA for their tremendous and ongoing support, and is so excited to welcome P.S. 59 William Floyd to the Greenhouse Project family!
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AstoriaPost: Astoria Public School PS 17 Henry David Thoreau Gets New Hydroponic Lab
Students and teachers at an Astoria elementary school celebrated the opening of the school’s brand new hydroponic lab at a ribbon-cutting ceremony yesterday. P.S. 17 Henry David Thoreau, located at 28-37 29th St., became the fifth school to install a hydroponic lab as part of Council Member Costa Constantinides’ Science 2050 budget initiative.
