Aquaponics
Aquaponics
Embedded Files
Have you heard about all the schools in the Archer cluster having an Aquaponics System? What is that you ask? AgSTEM incorporates Agriculture with Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math. What does one have to do with the other? Aquaponics is a farming method that connects aquaculture (i.e. fish production) to hydroponic plant growth in a circulating system that utilizes 90% less water than traditional growing methods. The fish provide water and nutrients to feed the growth of plants.
Thanks to a partnership with Mercer University’s STEM Education Innovation (SEI) Lab, Gwinnett’s Soil and Water Conservation District, and the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Lawrenceville District office, and the University of Georgia's Warnell College of Forestry, these systems will engage Archer’s elementary, middle, and high school students in cross-curricular learning that supports grade-level academic standards while deepening students' understanding of the science behind growing food. By building upon this experience all the way through high school, Archer educators envision a rich learning experience that connects academics to real, global issues like food security, resource conservation and human impacts on the natural environment.
And now, the Archer cluster is "growing" even more! Thanks to a generous donation from Grace New Hope Church, we now have a greenhouse - complete with an aquaponics system. Our goal is to produce enough vegetables to host a cluster-wide farmers' market. This would not be possible without the collaborative efforts and support of all our partners mentioned above. Thank you for helping us grow!Â
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Click here for an article about the Archer School Clusters' AgStem program: Gwinnett Teachers Embrace Innovative Approach to Urban Conservation Education
Archer AgSTEM (ES).mp4AquaponicsatLovin.mp4Copy of PassthePlateAquaponics.mp4Copy of TemperaturePhAmmoniaInfo.pdfCompost Connectors
Compost Connectors
Through the Food Waste Warriors program, Gwinnett Clean & Beautiful and Gwinnett County Public Schools assisted Lovin Elementary School in 2019 with STEM problem-based learning to measure and reduce wasted food while helping relieve student hunger. After the Food Waste Warrior program, Lovin implemented a share table along with spreading food waste awareness. Compost Connectors was the next step as a solution to building scalable and actionable interventions that can be expanded across the metro Atlanta area.Â
The purpose of the Compost Connectors program is to expose students & families to growing, eating and cooking local food through hands-on experiences with the compost cycle. Students will gain an understanding that food comes from the soil before it hits the grocery store or the market - and that healthy food requires healthy soil. Students and families may use this new knowledge to change their behavior and preferences. Students have the potential to carry their knowledge to the next level and pursue careers in sustainable food systems. Regardless of whether these things happen, we are changing lives.
Lovin Elementary School was one of six metro Atlanta schools to receive this amazing three-year grant. They will gradually be implementing a sustainable school-wide composting program. Ultimately, students will be learning the how’s and why’s of composting to build healthier communities through increased access to locally grown food.
Food Waste Warriors
Food Waste Warriors
Through the Food Waste Warriors program, Gwinnett Clean & Beautiful and Gwinnett County Public Schools assisted Lovin Elementary School in 2019 with STEM problem-based learning to measure and reduce wasted food, while helping relieve student hunger. After the Food Waste Warrior program, Lovin implemented a share table along with spreading food waste awareness.
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Lovin Ladies
Lovin Ladies
Lovin has ten hens who are lovingly referred to as our “Lovin Ladies.” Students care for our hens, and collect eggs, which are donated, (with our Tower Garden salads) to families in the Archer community. The “Ladies” also have lunch every day provided by the leftover salad from the teacher bar instead of the food waste going into the trash.
STEAM Garden
STEAM Garden
Lovin’s STEAM Garden is the hub of all things environmental! In Lovin’s STEAM Garden you will find vegetable garden beds, a rain barrel, composting, chickens, community garden beds, a musical garden, and students! Lovin students spend time in the garden learning and exploring. In the STEAM Garden you will see student lessons in literacy, math, science, and even social studies!
Tower Gardens
Tower Gardens
Lovin has nine Tower Gardens throughout the school. Students grow seedlings to learn about plant parts and the needs of plants. Students then harvest the vegetables to send home with families in the Archer community to supplement meals. Students also measure, weigh, and graph what they grow.
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