Students from The Sustainability Workshop, an alternative senior year program for Philadelphia high schoolers located at the Navy Yard, are engaged in a friendly competition with students from John V. Lindsay Wildcat Charter School in the Bronx to see who can produce better produce.
Other than defeating Philly's northern, well-heeled neighbors, the prize offered to both schools is a $10,000 grant to fund student-led sustainability initiatives. Last week, the students presented their proposal for their hydroponic garden, and received a giant check in order to fund it.
Both groups of highschoolers will be designing hydroponic gardens for the competition, which is sponsored by online grocer, Fresh Direct. The students have visited farmers and greenhouses that supply Fresh Direct in order to gather ideas to help them build their hydroponic gardens.
The competition will be judged on June 11th: criteria include yield/square foot, cost and sustainable design. Catharsis of the Philly vs. NYC rivalry, usually played out in arenas, courts, and playing fields, might actually be productive (of produce!) this time.
· Why 4 Philly high schoolers turned a shipping container into a hydroponic garden [News Works]
· From fast cars to a boost for future urban farmers, with a stop for lunch along the way [Philadelphia Real Estate Blog]