San Miguel First School in Washington, DC to Receive Green Machine & Implement Project Sprout Sustainable Education
Washington, DC – Thursday, September 17 at 1:30pm, Acopia Harvest, a sustainable technology company specializing in hydroponics, will launch Project Sprout Sustainability Program and Green Machine® hydroponic growing kit at San Miguel School Washington, a middle school for low-income and at-risk boys.
San Miguel will be the first in Washington, DC and the very first De La Salle Christian Brothers school in the country to receive the Green Machine® hydroponic indoor growing kit. The Green Machine has a minimal footprint, but grows 64 plants such as basil and lettuce right in the classroom. The RI-based urban farm organization uses its Green Machine® as a vehicle to promote sustainability, self-sufficiency & healthy eating at an early age. As part of their Project Sprout program, Acopia Harvest has been visiting schools across Southern New England and offering interactive presentations to students from pre-k to college level on how to grow food sustainably, indoors year-round using hydroponics.
As part of their mission to bring the program nationally, the Acopia Harvest team is working closely with San Miguel School students and staff to implement comprehensive lesson plans with applications to STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) curriculum, further enhancing San Miguel’s STEM program. Acopia Harvest Director of Operations, Amy Chauvin adds, “Since the inception of Project Sprout two years ago, we are now in six states and three countries with our program. The students are so often engrossed by The Green Machine’s coolness factor that they never realize they have crossed the threshold from playing to actually being educated in nutrition, biology, and plumbing just to name a few.”
Lead science teacher Terese Falabella will be leading “The Green Team” of San Miguel students using the Green Machine daily as part of their Life Science course. Falabella, in addition to her experience teaching middle school science, spent three summers working on an organic, sustainable farm and is enthusiastic about the new initiative. “I’m looking forward to drawing parallels between our eighth grade Life Science curriculum and their hands-on experiences with hydroponic gardening,” Falabella said, “The generosity of Acopia Harvest will provide our students with the opportunity to apply STEM concepts and the exposure to additional STEM career possibilities.”