Students in Mrs. Durbin’s Advanced Placement Environmental Science class at West Babylon Senior High School recently participated in a hands-on sustainability project as they worked alongside Alicia Cisek, school and community wellness coordinator for Western Suffolk BOCES, and Lety Algeri, founder and CEO of Plant Up, to construct at tower garden.

The school received the tower garden thanks to Western Suffolk BOCES and the Creating Healthy Schools and Communities grant. 

The tower garden project connects directly to topics students explored throughout the year, including sustainable farming, environmental conservation and healthy living through proper nutrition. Designed to address challenges such as increasing populations and decreasing farmable land, tower gardens are an innovative growing system currently used in locations such as Chicago’s O'Hare International Airport and neighboring school districts.

Completely automated and designed to use minimal water and electricity, the tower garden can grow up to 28 plants with very little maintenance. After assembling the structure, students planted a variety of organic vegetables including basil, chard, kale, arugula and lettuce. Students and staff can observe the plants’ growth in the coming weeks before the expected harvest at the end of the school year.