On Thursday of this week, I had the opportunity to attend a code.org (www.code.org) activity with my son at his elementary school. His school was hosting a STEM night and this was one of the highlighted activities for parents and their children to be involved. The purpose or vision of code.org is that every student in every school should have the opportunity to learn computer science, just like biology, chemistry or algebra.
We have named this initiative #farmtocode. It will involve combining the activities in our hydroponics program with the computer technology related to programming. We discussed ideas of how to write computer code that monitors such things as water level, ph levels, the temperature in the greenhouses, and control of different pumps related to the hydroponic system. All of this would have the possibility of being connected to apps that could alert individuals of changes or needs in these environments.
You may be asking the following question at this point:
Why is all this important?
Under the leadership of Danny Montgomery and support of the Catawba County School’s CTE Director, Mark Story, Bunker Hill has created some cutting edge activities using hydroponics. We have been able to successfully use tanks of tilapia to feed and water two systems that grow lettuce and tomatoes. At present, Bunker Hill is working on completing GAP certification. Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) are voluntary audits that verify that fruits and vegetables are produced, packed, handled, and stored as safely as possible to minimize risks of microbial food safety hazards.
The purpose of completing GAP certification is to allow our greenhouses to produce food products that could be used in our own school nutrition operations to feed our students. In other words, we would be producing items on one side of the campus and consuming them on the other side of campus.
In addition to the creation of more sustainable operations, we are teaching students knowledge and skills that are much needed as we progress deeper into the 21st century. The future of agriculture around the globe depends on the next generation of professionals that can manage complex technological systems. Agriculture is changing faster than any time in history. In a 2015 article on CNBC related to agriculture and job growth, author Jeff Daniels wrote:
A new report finds there's high demand, at least for the foreseeable future, for college graduates with a degree in agricultural programs. An average of nearly 60,000 high-skilled ag and related job openings are expected annually in the United States over the next five years, with only about 35,000 grads in food, ag, renewable resources or the environment graduating each year to fill them, according to data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Purdue University. The study estimates that demand in agriculture and life science-related fields will be strongest for plant scientists, water-resource scientists and engineers, farm animal veterinarians, and precision ag and pest control specialists, among other positions.
Based on such reports, we are excited to be offering new opportunities for our students at Bunker Hill.
The combining of hands-on learning with high-tech can only provide more opportunities for our graduates in their futures to come.
The combining of hands-on learning with high-tech can only provide more opportunities for our graduates in their futures to come.
References:
Written by:
Dr. Jeff Isenhour @JeffIsenhour
Bunker Hill High School Principal
Contact Dr. Isenhour on Twitter @JeffIsenhour
Contact Dr. Isenhour by email Jeffrey_Isenhour@catawbaschools.net
Contact Dr. Isenhour on Twitter @JeffIsenhour
Contact Dr. Isenhour by email Jeffrey_Isenhour@catawbaschools.net
March 10, 2017
This sounds like a great innovation for farming in Catawba County.
ReplyDeleteOur program here is interesting. Would love for you to come by and see it sometime.
DeleteLove this. Sharon Jones is my hero. Way to Code.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the comment. We are excited about the opportunities. Stay tuned for more to come.
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