When I went to the Island School in the Bahamas a few summers ago, a portion of the food we consumed was produced in a massive aquaponic farm.  I was captivated by this low-cost, eco-friendly approach to food production that simultaneously produced fish and greens for consumption. When I arrived at Cate School the summer after, I was thrilled with the prospect of starting a similar aquaponic system at Cate School. I stumbled across hydroponic towers during my research, which generated similarly large amounts of produce but cost less and was easier to manage. They were also easy to scale as each individual tower could be managed separately and new towers could be bought to expand the size of the project. As California experiences water shortages, hydroponic gardens that consume 90% less water than traditional gardens would greatly benefit the environment.

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Together Angie and I pitched the idea to the Cate School Board of Trustees, who granted me a budget of $5000 dollars. However, last year, we experienced numerous delays due to construction issues, which caused the project to grind to a halt. Thankfully, the system is now thriving and providing greens for both the local community and our school community. From there, our hydroponics garden will eventually be large enough to completely cover the demand for greens and fruits in the Cate School Dining Hall.