Millersville University recently received a $7,500 grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture for the second year to support the Farm in the Classroom competition.
For the competition this year, teams of middle and high school students and their teachers will be challenged to submit designs for a hydroponics or aquaponics system. Hydroponics is a soil–less gardening method that supports the growth of plants through nutrient-rich water. Aquaponics extends the hydroponics concept by using living fish and their waste to provide mineral nutrition for the plants, thereby omitting the need for synthetic fertilizers. An added benefit of aquaponics is the addition of fish as one of the harvestable products in addition to the plant produce. The winning teams in each category will receive up to $2,000 to build their system.
The elementary school-age division will task student teams and their teachers to identify factors that affect plant and fish life, explore how their food is produced in sustainable ways, develop an appreciation for the community significance of agriculture, and use creativity to create ways for aquaponics to promote community involvement. The winning team will receive an aquaponics system valued at $3,000 from competition partner INTAG Aquaponics.
The grant is a collaboration between the technology & engineering education program in the applied engineering, safety & technology department, and the plant sciences program in the biology department.
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