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Way to Grow!

School:: Deltona Middle School
Subject:: Other
Teacher:: Denise Hulette
Students Impacted:: 300
Grade:: 6-8
Date:: September 15, 2023

Investor

Thank you to the following investor for funding this grant.

Anonymous Family Foundation - $1,000.00

Impact to My Classroom

# of Students Impacted: 150

I can't begin to express how much fun my students had learning about hydroponics with this project! My students truly enjoyed learning how to grow plants in a nutrient solution instead of soil. They also learned how to test for and adjust the water and light parameters of a hydroponics system, including pH, temperature, and electroconductivity levels. We learned about water conservation and water management and the affects humans have on the environment when water resources are not maintained properly. My students were amazed to learn about the water that is wasted in traditional gardening and how hydroponics conserves both water and space as opposed to traditional gardening methods. We also learned how hydroponics can eliminate the need for manufactured fertilizers and create efficient, eco-friendly, and highly productive gardens that are free of pesticides and herbicides.

The best part of our project is that this is just the beginning! This year our project was a small-scale hydroponics system that allowed us to explore and learn more about this sustainable form of gardening. Students are currently researching how we can build larger hydroponics systems and how we can expand this project into a much larger production next year. We are excited to build a wall-type system that can produce fresh fruits and vegetables on a much larger scale. With the help of Futures next year, we hope we can continue to expand this project into something much greater! On behalf of all my students, we want to thank you for setting us up on this awesome journey to discover!

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Building Our Hydroponics Tower

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Finished Product

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Plants Beginning to Grow

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Three of Our Five Towers

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Adding Our Seeds

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Transplanting some of Our Vegetables

Original Grant Overview

Goal

My goal for this hydroponic garden unit is to have an interactive long-term investigation that will teach students in 6th - 8th grade Agricultural Science classes the importance of water conservation in a real-world situation. Students will understand the benefits of an alternative method to the traditional gardening when water resources are limited and soil is contaminated. This project This project will address CTE standards 02.02 - Discuss the technology involved in the development of improved crops and CTE standard 02.03 - Identify agribusinesses that provide supplies and services to plant science industries in the state.

What will be done with my students

This project will focus on the benefits of growing plants hydroponically. Students will research hydroponic growing and how it benefits the environment. We will focus on water quality, water conservation and the affects humans have on the environment when water resources are not managed properly. Students will maintain all aspects of the garden and educate their families and local community about the benefits of hydroponics.

Benefits to my students

My 6th - 8th grade Agricultural Science students will first learn about the importance of water conservation. Students will use a "water-recording" sheet to see how much water they use in 24 hours. Through that activity, students will see how much water the entire class uses in 24 hours. This will get them thinking about how much water they actually consume. We will begin to talk about farming and water usage. Students will research hydroponic gardening for a possible solution to water conservation. Students will construct, plant, and monitor the growth of the plants and make any adjustments to the system as the year progresses. The students will record water usage, plant growth and the production of produce. We will compare the water usage of a traditional garden and a hydroponics garden. We are going to install a rain barrel in efforts of conserving the most water. They will record all the water uses, both rain and city, through the entire grow project. We will try to schedule a local hydroponic farmer to speak about their experience with this alternative form of farming. The long-term investigation they select will also be observed and monitored throughout the year. After the plants have grown and ripened, we will share our produce with the culinary science classes to create delicious and healthy meals that we can all enjoy.

Budget Narrative

We will purchase five hydroponic towers at a cost of $170/tower. We will also purchase liquid nutrients for the towers, as well as the growth medium and seeds. This will supply enough materials for each student to grow their own plant hydroponically.

Items

#	Item	Cost
1	5 Tower Garden Hydroponics Growing System @$170/tower	$850.00
2	AeroGarden Liquid Nutrients	$25.00
3	Shipping	$50.00
4	Seeds	$50.00
5	AeroGarden Grow Sponges	$25.00
	Total:	$1,000.00