No soil required: New York program brings hydroponics to Birmingham students
City councilors, directors of Jones Valley Teaching Farm and NY Sun Works cut a ribbon with students, teachers and staff of the Bush Hills STEAM Academy.
“Welcome to the greenhouse,” said 8th grader Tyler Martin as she stepped inside a greenhouse at the Bush Hills STEAM Academy in Birmingham. She took a basil seedling from a growing tower, showing how its roots are tangled in a sponge-like pod of peat.
“The water soaks into that, and it helps the plant grow up,” Martin said. “See how it’s starting to grow?”

She is one of the students in eight Birmingham City Schools who will take part in a first of its kind hydroponics program in the city. The program aims to teach students about sustainable food practices and how to combat food deserts in their communities. It comes through a partnership with the New York-based non-profit New York Sun Works and Birmingham’s Jones Valley Teaching Farm. The project strives to create pathways to higher education and careers while growing thousands of pounds of fresh produce.
Hydroponics uses only water with powdered, dissolved electrolytes and nutrients to grow plants — no soil required. Martin’s classmate, Deandre Hall, explained that the irrigating growing tower is made for people who may not have much access to water.
“It reuses the water to water the plants,” he said, adding that hydroponics uses 90% less water than traditional irrigation.
The students later give a tour to Mayor Randall Woodfin, who tried, and apparently enjoyed, a cherry tomato already growing on a vine at the back of the greenhouse.

While hydroponics can’t be used to grow every kind of plant, Manuela Zamora, executive director of New York Sun Works said hydroponics is best used on leafy vegetables like lettuce, also peppers, cucumbers and cherry tomatoes. Students in Birmingham schools are now set to grow thousands of pounds of produce for their community.
“We’re connecting the students with a hands-on and project-based approach to learning science while they are growing plants from seed to harvest,” Zamora said.
Zamora said the students will learn about how hydroponics fits into the larger world of farming.
“Why are we doing this if we have traditional agriculture?” Zamora said. “Well, maybe because you want to maximize those leafy greens in hydroponic technology while leaving space for those other plants in soil.”
She added that the program represents the future of agriculture as a method of preserving both healthy soil and water while maximizing the growth of specific plants and vegetables.

Eighth grader Kierra Norris said even though hydroponics classes are just beginning, she and her classmates are already learning about how the world of sustainable food practices can be applied in their own lives.
“We live in a food desert,” Norris said. “It’s very useful to us to have something to grow without any soil available to us.”
Ex-NFL quarterback Mark Sanchez stabbed in altercation leading to charges against him
Ex-NFL quarterback Mark Sanchez was stabbed during an altercation with a truck driver in Indianapolis, which resulted in criminal charges against the Fox Sports analyst, according to court records.
Snowstorm traps hundreds of hikers on Mount Everest during China’s national holiday
Rescue workers were helping hundreds of hikers trapped by heavy snow at tourist campsites on a slope of Mount Everest in Tibet, Chinese state media said late Sunday.
Federal workers sue Education Department over partisan shutdown emails
Employees say their out-of-office messages were changed without their consent to include language blaming Democrats for the shutdown.
Trump federalizes the National Guard in Chicago, while troops arrive in Oregon
The White House said Trump "authorized" the deployment of 300 Illinois National Guard members, after vowing to send troops into Chicago. Meanwhile, Guard members arrived in Oregon from California.
SNL roasts Trump in season premiere, as Bad Bunny addresses Super Bowl criticism
Bad Bunny returned to SNL as a host for the second time, and the musician addressed criticism over his upcoming Super Bowl performance.
States are cutting Medicaid provider payments long before Trump cuts hit
North Carolina and Idaho have cut their Medicaid programs to bridge budget gaps, raising fears that providers will stop taking patients and that hospitals will close even before the brunt of a new federal tax-and-budget law takes effect.