Vertical Farming for Big Bend Classrooms
Students at Presidio ISD with the Flex Farm growing in their classroom.
Students in Alpine, Fort Davis, Marfa, Presidio, and Terlingua are learning about indoor hydroponic gardening using the “Flex Farm,” a stand-alone vertical farm from Fork Farms.
The unit has the ability to grow greens year round producing over 25 pounds in each 4-week growing cycle. Students are learning about hydroponic growing through the Fork Farm curriculum and tend to the system, which includes balancing the water's pH, adding nutrients, sprouting the seeds, transferring them to the Flex Farm, and installing the UV light.
Students with the fifth grade science teacher, Mr. Estolloso, growing lettuce with the Flex Farm at the Presidio Elementary School. Photo: Sam Karas
Each Flex Farm is used to grow more than 394 pounds of produce annually. One benefit to the fast crop cycle is that multiple groups of students can be engaged with the unit throughout the year.
Teachers are incorporating other learning objectives including using the produce in culinary classes; donating the veggies to food pantries for community service; and selling the lettuce at the farmers’ markets to work on math and business practice skills.
Students with their Flex Farm harvest at Presidio ISD.
As part of the program, students at each school get the opportunity to tour Marfa’s Village Farms greenhouse to see a real-world operation larger in scale that is similar in principle to the hydroponic farm students have been cultivating in their science classroom.
Students at Fort Davis ISD on their tour of Village Farms in Marfa.
Students get to meet Village Farm staff, understand how tomatoes are grown in the greenhouse, and learn about packaging and distribution.
Press
Big Bend Sentinel, “Marfa students cultivate vertical farming skills with classroom lessons, Village Farms tour” by Mary Cantrell. February 7, 2024.
Big Bend Sentinel, “Presidio Elementary Flex Farm students get a taste of the Philippines” by Sam Karas. July 19, 2023.
Big Bend Sentinel, “Big Bend Conservation Alliance program teaches youth about hydroponic gardening” by Sam Karas. June 22, 2022.
The Vertical Farming for Big Bend Classrooms program—with Flex Farms in Alpine, Fort Davis, Marfa, Presidio and Terlingua ISDs—is generously funded by Wellpoint.