The journey to our newly created AgTech Lab at the high school has spanned over nearly a decade. What started out as a simple DIY setup in the back of a middle school science lab, has now become a one of a kind research space. STEM is now viewed through the lens of controlled environment agriculture, or CEA. This state-of-the-art indoor farm hosts our high school engineering classes and is the home to our middle school STEM enrichment program. The site also allows for independent research projects and lab extensions for all students and teachers to leverage.

The AgTech lab goes beyond a simple introduction to indoor farming. Students are able to leverage computer science and environmental robotics to design and implement automated monitoring systems that allows the crops to be fully cared for 24/7/365. The two vertical NFT towers that sit in the heart of the space serve as the farm’s production units. Students take what they learn in the lab and bring it to scale. The lab is capable of produces 250 heads of leafy greens every three weeks. There is so much food production that comes from the lab that Half Hollow Hills has partnered with Island Harvest, a local food bank. The food grown in the AgTech lab is donated into our community to help those struggling with food insecurity. We are also looking to upstart a Farm to School program in which some of the food served in our cafeteria will have been grown and harvested right down the hall from where it is being consumed.