Earlier this month, Presidio Elementary School students taking summer classes in cooking and hydroponic gardening joined forces to prepare traditional Filipino dishes. Along the way, they practiced sustainable gardening practices, tried new foods, and learned about the culture of their friends and neighbors from the Philippines.
Presidio Elementary’s summer school kids have been experimenting with a hydroponic gardening unit referred to as the Flex Farm, a hydroponic growing tower installed at the school last summer.
The tower — funded by Amerigroup — is used throughout the school year by Johnery Estolloso’s fifth-grade students. The kids typically grow varieties of leafy greens — at this year’s municipal Fourth of July bash, the community got to sample the Flex Farm’s bright, crunchy lettuce.
During the summer, kids of all ages get to experiment with the unit. During this year’s summer school, Ruby Hermosillo’s enrichment students got to plant the seeds, and other campers helped track their progress.
This year, the summer school staff wanted to try something new. Big Bend Conservation Alliance (BBCA) community liaison Elvira Hermosillo approached Glenda Morales, a Presidio Elementary School teacher leading a culinary enrichment program at summer school.
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