The students at 176X have been pickling! They recently wrote us… “thought you might appreciate a pic of our first attempt at pickling. It is so simple and they came out great!” Thanks for sharing!
Pickles
How do you like your eggs? I like mine fresh from the chicken coop at 754X, prepared in a deviled egg salad and wrapped in a fresh lettuce leaf that I cut myself from the NFT hydroponic system in Mr. Masefield’s classroom.
Seem like a school-yard to plate dream? This is what a group of D75 teachers got to do at this week’s Hydroponics PD at the J.M. Rapport School for Career Development in the Bronx. They also learned about different kinds of hydroponic systems like Nutrient Film Technique (NFT); Ebb and Flow; Wick; Water Culture; Drip; and Aeroponic, and learned how to take care of them. Thank you Mr. Masefield and Principal Daniel Hoehn for hosting us!
Read all about it below in an excerpt from urban ag news!
Press Release – NEW YORK – Green Bronx Machine (GBM), a nationally recognized non-profit organization dedicated to helping students live happier and healthier lives, is partnering with Empire BlueCross BlueShield (Empire) to launch [a fully] wheelchair accessible farm and teaching kitchen in America at P.S. 721x, a District 75 school in the Bronx dedicated to educating students living with disabilities.
“Our students and faculty are so excited and so grateful to Empire and Green Bronx Machine for this classroom makeover that inspires healthy living, healthy learning, and creates 21st century career and college readiness.”
~ Frank Degennaro, Principal, P.S. 721x
On Wednesday, February 13th, GBM and Empire will host a ribbon-cutting event at the school to unveil the new, in-school farm. In addition to the wheelchair accessible farm and teaching kitchen, P.S. 721x teachers and students will receive GBMs fully integrated health and wellness curriculum, a GBM Mobile Classroom Kitchen—a fully portable “indoor food truck” complete with sink, refrigerator, convection oven and food warmer and a media studio where students can participate in video conferences with other schools and organizations, post updates to social media, live stream educational programming and older students can record practice interview sessions.
Our own Bed Stuy Fresh garden at 373K got some love on Grow to Learn’s instagram page this week. Check it out!
Congratulations to all of the D75 schools that were chosen for the Grow to Learn and Office of Sustainability grants! This year 14 school gardens were funded through Grow to Learn and another 9 schools received Sustainability funds for projects including water bottle refill stations and environmental education programs. Way to go, D75!
Here is a photo of a flourishing indoor soil grow lab at 721Q. As you can see, they are growing both food and flowers- and the hyacinths smell amazing! This classroom also has a series of aquaponics stations with individual beta fish. Thank you teacher Julie Tuifel for the mini tour. We didn’t want to leave!
The Grow to Learn Mini Grant deadline is approaching. October 26 is the last day to submit your garden grant for $500-$2000. Don’t miss out!
Our first official PLG workshop of the year happened last Friday at our very own BedStuy Fresh Garden at 373K. Do we even need to say that the harvest season is on and popping at our favorite Brooklyn oasis? I spy… the first D75 ginger crop, a giant red okra, a new lemon tree, swiss chard, squash, corn, tomatoes, peppers, collard greens, and pounds and pounds of callaloo.