(Lander, WY) – Students in a freshman year agriculture class at Lander Valley High School harvested over 30 pounds of lettuce this week after growing it entirely inside their classroom.

The greens were delivered to the cafeteria and served in school lunches for teachers and students the following day.

The school’s child nutrition team recently started experimenting with two vertical hydroponic growing systems.

"It started as like kind of a pipe dream idea over the summer," said the school's child nutrition coordinator, Megan Grippa. "We had someone from Fork Farms, where we purchased our hydroponic farms from, speak at my conference and I heard a little bit of her speech and was kind of inspired."

A new pilot study suggests that engaging in indoor hydroponic gardening can improve mental well-being and quality of life for adults undergoing cancer treatment.

The findings indicate that this accessible form of nature-based intervention offers a practical strategy for reducing depression and boosting emotional functioning in patients.

Green Our Planet, the nation’s largest nonprofit provider of school garden and hydroponics STEM programs announced a major national partnership with Fork Farms today, the Wisconsin-based impact-tech company redefining indoor agriculture. Together, the two organizations will expand access to hydroponic laboratories and hands-on STEM learning for students across the United States.

Penn State Extension will offer a five-week webinar series titled Basics of Hydroponic Production every Wednesday from February 18 through March 18, 2026, from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. EST. This lunchtime series is designed to introduce participants to the core principles of growing vegetables without soil. Key topics include hydroponic systems, lighting, climate control, nutrient and water quality management, insect and disease management, microgreens, and food safety.

At Jacksonville Lighthouse Charter School, students are learning science beyond the textbook by growing plants indoors through a student-led hydroponic program, JR MANRRS Club, or Jr. Minorities in Agriculture, Natural Resources and Related Sciences Club, which also gives back to the community.

The soil-free growing system allows students to cultivate vegetables using water, light and carefully monitored nutrients.

Buckeye Local Jr./Sr. High School is taking the term “farm to table” to new heights by establishing its own sustainable venture to supply freshly grown produce through its new hydroponics system.

The BLHS FFA and junior high building are housing three commercial-grade hydroponics towers that were acquired in November with a $35,000 Grow Ohio Grant from the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce.

Kimbal Musk's journey encompasses school gardens, vertical farms in shipping containers, and educational projects that advocate for local cultivation, healthy consumption, and agriculture as a tool for continuous social transformation.

While Elon Musk dominates global debates about technology and transportation, his younger brother, Kimbal Musk, follows a different path because he sees food as a way to have a direct social impact.

Escalante Middle School students are running a warm and flourishing hydroponic indoor oasis for their hand-grown plants and herbs this winter – and their bounty is stocking the school cafeteria and shelves at Durango Natural Foods.

With farms across western Jamaica badly damaged after Hurricane Melissa and warnings of food shortages beginning to surface, Blueprint Farms is already seeing early signs of rising demand for its climate-resilient hydroponic systems.

Founder Jermaine Bryan says the surge in interest comes as households and businesses look for alternative ways to secure fresh produce amid supply disruptions.

A new partnership aims to bring fresh, local produce to those in need in central Wisconsin.

The Wisconsin PureGrow Project: A Sustainable Growth Initiative was launched at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point at Marshfield, according to a community announcement. The collaboration involves the university, Marshfield Clinic region of Sanford Health and Fork Farms.

Students at Oilfields High School in Diamond Valley, Alta., are getting their hands dirty learning about vertical farming.

“I enjoy the hands-on experience we get—a hands-on environment where we’re learning how to do stuff that we don’t get to learn everywhere else,” said Taeyo Shipman, a student working on the vertical farm.

By introducing students to hydroponics and aquaponics, the lab has the ability to teach that food production doesn’t have to rely on large carbon footprints associated with fuel and long-distance transportation.

Kassandra Clint, student lab manager, monitors the hydroponics system daily to ensure proper pH and nutrient levels.

Agrihome SG has partnered with The Eton Academy at Mountbatten to bring several aeroponic farms to their new center.

This partnership highlights how seamlessly sustainability and hands-on learning can blend. Students now get to enjoy fresh greens straight from the farm, with zero food waste and a fun way to learn about where their food comes from.

Hydroponics is a method for growing food in a water-based solution rich in nutrients, rather than using soil. This allows growers to plant more crops in a smaller area, saving land and water, and enabling plants to grow up to 50% faster than in traditional farming methods.

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.

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.

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.