Chris Regini is a New York State Master Teacher that holds a degree in physics from the University of Connecticut. He has spent 20 years in the Half Hollow Hills school district, where he uses hydroponic farming to teach students about horticulture, AgTech, and engineering.

We recently spoke with Chris to learn about his journey with CEA and his experiences bringing AgTech into the classroom.

Based in New York, the company began with container retrofits and has since expanded into scalable panel rooms and full facility fitouts. To date, it has delivered more than 200 grow systems across North America.

"We design modular grow rooms that can be delivered and up and running in under 12 weeks," says Greg Payne, Founder of Box4Grow. "Whether it's a standalone grow room or a multi-room facility, we help you get growing faster and for less cost."

Lettuce grows in one of Auburn University's six AmplifiedAg vertical units. The university's FoodU program recently added four units to the two already in use. (contributed)

The Auburn University College of Agriculture and Campus Dining recently added four new container farms to its vertical farming operation. The four new farms, outfitted in shipping containers, are from AmplifiedAg, a leader in indoor agriculture.

College-in-the-Woods (CIW) Dining Hall is not only surrounded by greenery on the outside, but also grows fresh leafy greens inside the building. Throughout the dining area, glowing white columns sprout herbs, lettuce and more, giving diners a first-hand look at sustainability in action at Binghamton University.

Three Tower Gardens were planted at CIW in fall 2024 after the Binghamton University Dining Services (BUDS) team learned about the hydroponic towers and collaborated with the University to bring them on-site.

Interview explores how Joaquin Gonzalez Chilean ranch upbringing and agricultural engineering background led to a career focused on hydroponic fodder systems.

Eleusis Feed is targeting drought-prone regions and larger livestock operations with industrial-scale fodder production using significantly less water than conventional systems.

UW-Stevens Point at Marshfield has partnered with Fork Farms and Marshfield Clinic to provide healthy foods through hydroponic farming.

“It was a dream, but today the dream has come to fruition,” said Anthony Andrews, campus executive at UWSP at Marshfield.

Within one year, UWSP at Marshfield has turned one of its rooms into an indoor hydroponic garden. The plants grow with nutrient-rich water instead of soil.

For his next step in scaling up the operation, Sullivan got creative. He transformed a shipping container into a mushroom farm. He and a very small team spent four months adding insulation, drainage, lighting, humidification, environmental controls and HVAC.

The 40-foot container held a fruiting room, a packaging room and a mechanical room. The urban, vertical farm received USDA Organic certification and ramped up to produce about 500 pounds of hardwood mushrooms weekly. 

Students at a New Haven magnet school are learning more than just standard classroom lessons - they're getting hands-on business, science and agricultural experience through the Green Thumbs program at High School in the Community. 

Currently, students in the program are using their skills to grow a mushroom and lettuce farm in a 40-foot storage container. 

A company specializing in vertical farming was awarded the “2025 Coolest Thing Made in Colorado” by the Colorado Chamber of Commerce on Thursday.

The statewide business lobbying group celebrated the top inventions of the state for the past four years with this recognition aiming to highlight different locally-made products.

When Jort Maarseveen, CEO of Hippotainer, stepped onto the stage at StartLife’s Demo Day, he didn’t begin with technology or business models. He began with a number that made the audience pause. “More than 2.3 billion people are food insecure right now,” he said. “They either have no access to food, no availability, poor quality diets, or unstable food supplies.

Hello! My name is Kenzie Sandusky, and I’m a senior+ studying horticulture, (production and marketing ) at Purdue University! During my time at the container farms, I have several tasks to oversee in order to ensure a plentiful harvest for the CSA!

Inside Oak Meadows Elementary, school leaders have launched a program to hydroponically grow fresh lettuce and basil as part of the school district’s Farm to School initiative.

To grow vegetables hydroponically, plants grow in nutrient-rich water instead of soil.

When the first containers of Indoor Vertical.Farm's pilot system arrived in Bridgetown earlier this year, it marked the beginning of a new phase for controlled environment agriculture in the Caribbean. The project, in partnership with the Government of Barbados, introduces a fully off-grid, vertical farming installation designed for research, training, and education.

At Brookville Elementary, the freshest lettuce isn’t grown in a garden bed—it’s grown indoors, without even touching soil.

This innovative approach is thanks to a grant written by Kain Kennemuth, a second-year science teacher, who brought a fully functioning hydroponics system, called the Flex Farm, to the classroom.

In Connecticut’s most populated city, High Ridge Hydroponics has redefined what it means to eat locally.

Over the last six years, this urban hydroponic container farm has become a trusted source of fresh greens for the Fairfield County community—supplying more than 50 restaurants, local farmers’ markets, and a growing network of distributors, schools, and small businesses in the greater Bridgeport area.

Through the opening of Peace Produce at William Peace University, Pacer Dining is now serving lettuce grown right on campus.

Peace Produce, the campus’s new hydroponic farm, launched on Sept. 5 with a celebration that included samples of the farm’s fresh lettuce.

“The salads were served with two unique salad dressings prepared by Chef James Pelli,” Pacer Dining Marketing Coordinator Alex Strickler said.

A new kind of farm has sprouted at Cal Poly Pomona — one that grows upward and indoors. 

The first-ever vertical farming facility on campus is housed in a high-tech container built by Freight Farms that was donated to CPP through a partnership with the Electrical Power Research Institute (EPRI) and Southern California Edison (SCE). The project brings hands-on research and sustainable food production together in one compact, climate-controlled system. 

In a repurposed 40-ft. shipping container, High School in Community students, known as Harvest Scholars Company, created a mushroom farm.

Harvest Scholars Company represents a new vision for science education—one that is hands-on, community-focused, and forward-thinking. (NHPS)

Community members are encouraged to share their recipes and cultural food traditions, helping students learn how science, food, and culture intersect.