The first harvest is expected to occur in November. (Derek Cornet/larongeNOW Staff)

By Derek Cornet

plant-based diets

Churchill receives grant to build hydroponics system

Sep 22, 2020 | 5:18 PM

A $2,000 community grant has been awarded to Churchill Community High School to build a hydroponics system to grow plants.

The grant was awarded by Earth’s Own inaugural Plant Project designed to fund and support individuals, groups and organizations working to fight climate change by sparking a shift to plant-based eating. Teacher Cruise Slater applied for the grant and was ultimately one in four recipients chosen from throughout the country.

“We’re going to use the hydroponics system to grow lettuce and herbs year around,” Slater said. “We’re going to have an indoor farm that can grow 365 days per year. We’re going to use that from a science-based classroom approach and merge it with our technology and have it automated, so the system pretty much runs itself.”

Slater explained the project will benefit several classes of students at the school, particularly robotics, Science 10, Chemistry 30 and Environmental Science. The robotics class will be responsible for setting up the hydroponics system, while other students will collect and examine data generated by the project. Slater would like the growing system automated to a point where it only needs water, fertilizer and seeds to function.

Over the next week, Slater will order all the parts needed and he plans on those pieces will begin arriving at the school in October. By the end of November, he’s hopeful students will be able to start harvesting heads of lettuce.

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“It will grow lettuce on a pretty regular basis,” Slater said, adding there will be room for nearly 50 plants. “Those plants that are harvested will be used in the classroom by students if they are making salads or they will go home with students to be used in at-home cooking.”

Based on previous students, Slater mentioned there’s a large interest about where food comes from and how it is made. He noted the whole idea is about how humans can increase plants in our diet to not only be healthier people, but to have a healthier environment to live in.

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derek.cornet@jpbg.ca

Twitter: @saskjourno