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Thank you once again to APEGA for providing generous grant funding for this project. Our grade 8 students will be working to design, build and grow indoor hydroponic gardens. They will be working in Health class to partner with community groups who may like an indoor hydroponic garden, designing to their specifications and, eventually, rebuilding a garden for the group!
This is a monster of a project that will span learning outcomes from three different units of study from the Science 8 Program of Studies:
Cells and Systems
Mix and Flow of Matter
Mechanical Systems
Click on the plan to the right to take you to the planning document which will be updated as more pieces to the puzzle are put together!
The plan:
students will be put into groups to plan, design, build and plant a garden that will be placed in different locations around our school.
groups will meet with teachers in the school locations to measure space and discuss requirements for the gardens.
students will design and build gardens within the specifications and according to a budget provided.
community groups will be invited to tour our school to see the multiple garden samples and discuss which best suits their needs. Students from said garden groups will then work with the community group to design and build their garden.
Student Planning Sheets:
Planning information for teachers:
To introduce the project, we watched this video about growing food underground and discuss the basics of hydroponic growing.
Students brainstormed what we will need to know in order to move forward with the project. They also did some basic research about different kinds of hydroponic growth systems.
Connecting to the Cells and Systems unit, we will be learning about plant structure and function including:
characteristics of living things
comparing plant and animal cells
unicellular vs multicellular organisms
cell specialization and organization
hierarchy of organization
osmosis and diffusion
We welcomed indigenous Knowledge Keeper, George Desjarlais to our class to share his wisdom about plants as medicine. Students were enthralled as he spoke about traditional uses of all parts of plants and honouring the life given for our benefit.
Students are asked to consider how we might include plants for purposes other than food for their hydroponic gardens.
We have started to learn about different methods of hydroponic growth so students can start making informed decisions about the types of gardens that might be most suited for the kinds of plants they hope to grow.
In Health classes, students brainstormed about which type of community groups would benefit from a community garden. A sample of their brainstorming can be found here.
Students then researched where different locations for groups are in our community and wrote addressed letters approaching them to see if they would like a garden. Responses will be evaluated based on criteria developed by students and each class will work with a different group to provide a working garden.
It has been fun using this project as the vehicle for learning curricular outcomes from various units in the science 8 program of studies. Here we take what we are learning about how the systems work to outline how we will connect to outcomes in Mix and Flow of Matter and Mechanical Systems.
How have machines changed through history in order to meet a need (i.e. water movement)
Fluid movement, including force, work and pressure.
Fluids used to do work - hydraulics and pneumatics.
Force and Work:
Students review what forces are and how work is done in the scientific sense.
Hydroponic gardening involves using force to move water a certain distance.
Force and Work in Hydroponics worksheet used for practicing calculations.
The Process:
Students were divided into 5 groups per class and provided a budget of $150 per group to design and build their gardens. They were given a cost sheet that included the majority of materials that they might use and they were assigned a specific space within the school. The groups brainstormed ideas and questions for their teacher 'supervisor' (the staff member in charge of the space the garden would be in. They then met with the teachers in the space and took down measurements and information that was pertinent to the design process. From here, students completed their initial planning and budget proposal.
Once materials had been ordered and purchased, students got busy! They had mini lessons on how to safely use a power drill by Mr. Bigney and Mr. Patterson, were provided multiple opportunities in Construction and Design option classes, as well as at breaks to meet with Mr. Patterson in order to use equipment and receive guidance from him and the older, more experienced construction students.
These students have worked SO hard to build these gardens and have gained far more than just the skills needed for construction or gardening. We have had to problem-solve and trouble-shoot every step of the way. When bins were different sizes than expected or mistakes were made in measurement, etc. students had to come up with solutions and it has been remarkable to watch them work together during class, at breaks, any spare moment they've had has been spent trying to get their gardens ready to go.
Launch Into Hydroponics Scavenger Hunt Showcase Day!
One by one the gardens were completed and installed into different spaces throughout out school. On February 5 we unveiled them all to our school population and community with a School-Wide Scavenger Hunt and Media Event!
For 45 minutes we had 800 students milling about the building searching out the various gardens and learning about how hydroponics works from our grade 8 students. The best part was seeing how the students were able to discuss the PROCESS of the project. Several gardens still had a few leaks and other problems to be worked out - but this is such an authentic part of the process it was great for all to see.
Students are still responsible for all maintenance of the gardens throughout the school year, checking pH and nutrient levels, fixing leaks and ensuring reservoirs are always topped up!
Community Connections - Launching Hydroponics Out of MSS!
We are excited to connect with three groups outside of our school to design and build hydroponic gardens in our greater community! Each class will be partnered with one of the following groups:
Seeds and Sprouts Daycare and Out of School Care, Summerside location.
Corpus Christie School
Chartwelll Wescott Retirement Residence
Unfortunately, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, our community connection component of the project has been postponed until further notice. Once we are able to resume normal operations, we will connect with our partners and continue the project.
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