Wade Elementary gets eco-friendly Garden Tower
First school in Charles County to receive aeroponic device
Imagine being able to grow fruits and vegetables without digging, weeding or having to buy and prepare soil for planting. Sounds too good to be true, perhaps? Well, there’s a new sheriff in town who isn’t taking any mess or fuss from nobody. Standing 62 inches tall with the capability of extending up to 81 inches, this silent yet powerful figure is a force to be reckoned with. The name is Garden, Tower Garden. “We wanted to start a Tower Garden in an elementary school in each of the tri-county areas [which include] Calvert, Charles and St. Mary’s [counties],” said Bernie Fowler Jr., founder of the Farming 4 Hunger nonprofit based at Serenity Farm in Benedict. “The whole concept is for educational purposes, but to also start teaching about healthy choices and what that looks like, [as well as] building relationships with the kids.”
Fowler, who partnered with Juice Plus+ to present the Tower Garden on June 6 at William B. Wade Elementary in Waldorf, said the idea derived from personal experience as he realized that local farmers were struggling to make ends meet.
Fowler was also baffled by the ongoing struggle with childhood obesity and diabetes, which he believes is a byproduct of canned and boxed goods. Having a desire to help others gain better access to fresh fruits and vegetables, Fowler realized that communities must do better.
“We’re proposing to the school system to have a follow-up field trip [when the kids are in] middle school,” Fowler added. “That conversation will change and be more about the social-emotional challenges that our kids are faced with today. But we’re building relationships with them now as elementary school children. It’s a long-term approach.”
In terms of change, build and approach, Fowler said the Tower Garden is an invaluable teaching tool that brings science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics (STEAM) to life through engaging opportunities.
Compared to the STEAM educational approach, the Tower Garden method is an unfamiliar concept that will intrigue and inspire students to learn more about its state-of-theart growing technology called aeroponics.
“We’re not going to change the mindset overnight,” Fowler said. “This is a long-term approach to [figuring out] how we can build a safer and healthier community for our region. It starts with educating [our kids] at a young age.”
“It’s science, mathematics, it’s art, it’s measurements, it’s graphing and [it entails building students’] vocabulary,” Fowler continued. “All of this is made available on the [Tower Garden] website and can be downloaded to include tests and quizzes. It’s a very teacher-friendly guide which does a lot of that work for them, or [teachers] can use [the Tower Garden model in conjunction] with the curriculum that they already have in place. It’s a tool for teaching children about life in general.”
How it works
According to the Tower Garden website, aeroponics is an advanced gardening practice that allows plants to thrive in an air or mist environment by simply using water, liquid nutrients and a soilless medium known as rockwool. Plants grow in the rockwool while a 20-gallon reservoir stores a nutrient solution containing water and an all-natural mineral blend.
Next, the nutrient solution cascades down the Tower Garden as “a low-wattage, submersible pump in the reservoir pushes the nutrient solution to the top through a small central pipe. The nutrient solution then drips down the inside of the Tower Garden, evenly cascading over the exposed plant roots,” the website noted.
The end result is aesthetically pleasing and healthier produce, thanks to the Tower Garden’s ability to expedite the growth process by 30 percent and use 98 percent less water.
“It’s kind of a neat thing when you see plants growing in water versus growing with just soil. The plants that grow in water can grow much, much faster,” said Leigh Ann Anderson, a K-8 science resource teacher for the Charles County Public Schools system. “They’re able to use the nutrients but they’re also recycling the water at the same time. So, you’re using less water in the long run. It’s pretty amazing.”
For Anderson, the Tower Garden model is a perfect fit when it comes to fulfilling both National Science Education Standards and Next Generation Science Standards. She said students will be more eager to learn about life science that involves thinking outside the box.
“It’s also is a great fit for third graders learning about life cycles and actually seeing how the plants change and grow from a seed all the way up to an adult plant,” she said. “It’s just a great opportunity for science in general.”
Why it matters
Wade Elementary is the first and only school in Charles County to receive the Tower Garden. School principal Kevin Jackson said he is honored as it fits right in with Wade’s commitment to going green and providing an eco-friendly environment for students.
“It’s a pleasure and a privilege. We feel fortunate because we are a green school and worked really, really hard to become practical in that sense,” Jackson said. “This technology helps them to realize that this is the reality [of] where the future is headed. We get a chance to conserve water, grow our own food that we can eat and that kind of thing. It’s just a very practical lesson for them.”
For Jackson, the Tower Garden is a sensible and realistic model for teaching self-esteem, responsibility and students’ ability to practice healthy eating habits.
“There’s also other places within the curriculum that will be very natural in the sense of just observing as a scientist — being able to understand the process of how seeds grow and what they go through,” he said. “We do have a green team that will help out with that. It helps, especially when we go to re-certify for the Green Schools [Initiative], that we were able to have a discussion and incorporate all of the things that we’ve learned as a team.”
Special education teacher Taylor Barney, a Farming 4 Hunger volunteer
who encouraged Fowler to donate the Tower Garden to her school, said she wouldn’t have it any other way. It’s a great opportunity to relay the curriculum with the school’s Go Green Club.
“It’s really cool and I’m excited to see [the Tower Garden] next year once it gets up and growing. The kids are going to love it,” said Barney. “I’m just really proud to be a part of both Wade Elementary and Farming 4 Hunger. It’s very near and dear to my heart so to be able to bring it to my kids as well is amazing. I can’t wait to see how they react and respond to it.”
“For anybody who’s been to the farm, it’s always so fulfilling,” Barney added. “Our saying is, ‘All are fed at the farm.’ But this just goes to show that you don’t have to go to the farm to be fed. It’s now expanding.”
Fowler arrived to Barstow Elementary School last Thursday to present the first Tower Garden to the Calvert County Public School System.
After describing how to upkeep the tower garden, Fowler detailed how the device could be used to teach students life lessons as well as items on the curriculum. He grabbed some seeds out of his pocket and passed them out to attendees of the ceremony, indicating that each seed represents a Southern Marylander who lost their life to addiction.
Barstow Elementary School principal Michelle Ward said her building is a great location for the district’s first tower garden as it is a Maryland Sustainable Green School.
“We’re excited to be a part of this partnership. We, too, are looking to refine that piece that kids can connect with and they can watch things grow and seeing how far they’ve come,” Ward said.
Calvert County Public Schools Superintedent Dan Curry said this is the beginning stages of the school system’s partnership with Farming 4 Hunger.
“We are continuing to explore other ways where we can combine their goals with schools’ goals as well to be mutually beneficial,” Curry explained.
To learn more about Farming 4 Hunger, go to http://www.farming4hunger.com/.