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Students Grow Hydro Lettuce for Rescued Manatees
A group of manatees received some help from the EcoClub at Orlando’s Millennia
Gardens Elementary School. The 45 third-, fourth- and fifth-grade students built
a 50-tower hydroponic garden, in which they grew over 1,000 heads of romaine
lettuce. They then donated the lettuce to the Manatee Rescue and Rehabilitation
program at SeaWorld. The students also got to sleep at SeaWorld and help staff
members feed the lettuce to the manatees in the morning. “We’re not trying to
find that, ‘Oh, it was a cutesy little thing to do.’ There has to be an actionable
result in the end,” says Gr. 5 teacher Joshua Garrett. He adds that many more
real-world projects are in the pipeline for the EcoClub, including inventing a
non-metal cage to transport sea turtle eggs.
- orlandosentinel.com
Growing Plants and Scientists: Hydroponic
Gardening Wins Over Students
Hands-on science lessons in a greenhouse can grow more than
fruits and vegetables. They also nurture a love of science
among youths in student populations long
underrepresented in the sciences, according
to a new report by researchers at Boston
College’s Lynch School of Education.
Elementary-age students—primarily
African-American, Hispanic, and English
Language Learners— developed positive
attitudes toward science, less anxiety, and
greater self-confidence after participating
in an after-school program where they
grew fruits and vegetables using soilless,
hydroponic methods, the researchers
report in the current edition of the Journal
of Science Education and Technology.
“Engaging youth in learning to grow and
care for their plants serves as both a way
Brooklyn’s Newest Condo Amenity: Rooftop Agricultural Plots
to spark interest and curiosity in science
and offers an easy way for after-school
New condo buildings in New York City, especially ones in trendier
instructors to support their students in
neighborhoods, have to include some amenities. But here’s a feature we haven’t
learning science,” says Lynch School of
seen much of: Rooftop gardens. One new construction condominium building
Education Professor of Science Education
in the heart of Brooklyn is making urban agriculture a fundamental part of its
Michael Barnett, the project leader.
pitch. 550 Vanderbilt is a huge 278-unit building in what was formerly called,
and probably still best known as, the Atlantic Yards, a massive public works
- sciencedaily.com
project to transform a defunct train terminal into a commercial and residential
zone anchored by the Barclays Center, home of the NBA-worst Brooklyn Nets.
Urban gardening is big in Brooklyn; fire escapes and rooftops host (illegal,
but cheerful) gardens during the summer, and any tiny swatch of land that
a Brooklynite can snag is treasured as if it’s a National Park. Enterprising
farmers have reclaimed the tops of buildings for farms.
- modernfarmer.com
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