Grand Prize Winner
NY Sun Works Greenhouse Project
NY Sun Works' Greenhouse Project is an initiative in New York City that builds science labs in urban public schools using hydroponic farming technology to educate students and teachers about sustainability science and environmental education. The program engages students in hands-on, project based learning designing and engineering solutions to local urban food production challenges.
Judges Comment
“The judging panel was inspired by the SunWorks curriculum’s focus on issues directly experienced by your service population. The panel understands that programs like yours address real nutritional needs for communities living in areas considered to be food deserts and experiencing high rates of obesity and diabetes. Judges were very impressed by SunWork’s holistic, systems-thinking approach that richly illustrates the integrated nature of food systems, bodily health, and environmental health. Built on a strong foundation, the panel appreciated that the program can be scaled up by expanding to more schools, a variety of ages, and new teachers. One of the key innovations, judges said, was the use of applied engineering for E-STEM solutions in spaces familiar to youth: schools. The judges believe that this program is a shining example that engineering is vitally important to generating solutions to environmental challenges. Finally, judges appreciated that SunWorks empowers students with diverse levels of responsibility and accountability for seeing the success of their greenhouse and food-growing experiments.”