USA - NEW YORK: Elmhurst’s PS 7 Gets New Hydroponics Lab
State-of-the-Art Classroom Teaches Kids How to Grow Their Own Produce
by Kristen Guglielmo, Editor
May 21, 2026
Students of PS 7, the Louis F. Simeone School, in Elmhurst on May 14 cut the ribbon on a new NY Sun Works hydroponic classroom, funded by Queens Borough President Donovan Richards Jr., center. Photo COURTESY QBP’S OFFICE
A new hydroponic classroom equipped with state-of-the-art growing systems was unveiled at PS 7, the Louis F. Simeone School, in Elmhurst May 14.
The classroom is one of 101 NY Sun Works labs in Queens, part of an investment by Queens Borough President Donovan Richards Jr.
The growing systems, combined with NY Sun Works’ curriculum, is meant to empower students to understand their connectivity to the planet while growing produce from seed-to-harvest during the school day.
According to NY Sun Works, a nonprofit and the largest provider of sustainability science and climate education to city public schools, its science curriculum meets and exceeds the recent state Regents requirements for climate education.
Growing produce hydroponically means using a controlled environment, 90 percent less water, energy from LED lighting instead of the sun and nutrients from soil-free growth mediums, resulting in greater yields than traditional farming.
NY Sun Works partner schools also receive ongoing resources and services to ensure the program and technology are running seamlessly. The organization provides professional development training for science educators in addition to weekly visits from greenhouse support teams to guide teachers in maintenance.
Manuela Zamora, executive director of NY Sun Works, in a statement said the group is committed to ensuring public school students receive a high quality science education.
“We are grateful to Queens Borough President Donovan Richards for supporting this new Hydroponic Classroom at PS7Q Louis F. Simeone,” Zamora said. “Such support ensures these students can experience the benefits of the hands-on learning approaches which make science accessible, while growing hundreds of pounds of vegetables all year round.”
“Ensuring our students receive a holistic, high-quality education means investing in their potential beyond the spectrum of what we’ve always believed education to involve” Richards said in a statement. “It means giving our kids direct, hands-on experience in subjects will not only guide them toward the careers of tomorrow but also instill in them the importance of public service.
“Hydroponics labs represent exactly that when it comes to not only agriculture and food science, but to feeding families in need in their communities. I’m proud to have worked with NY Sun Works to provide PS 7 with this lab, one of three dozen my office has funded in schools across the borough thus far.”
Richards allocated $325,000 in capital funding to build PS 7’s hydroponics lab, his office said. He has allocated $7.5 million in total to build hydroponics labs across 35 different schools throughout the borough during his tenure.
Robert Aiello, PS 7’s principal, said, “True wealth is the ability to provide for one’s community without depleting the Earth.”