Many of you probably have heard of our current situation in California- California is currently experiencing severe draught for three consecutive years. Drought has been part of California, but this drought is particularly bad. Generally speaking, Drought dries vegetable and decreases water/groundwater level. Due to this condition, our State Governor asked all the residents to reduce use of water (especially on gardening.) This condition has affected our daily lives- For instance, in my case, I saw the price of vegetables in our state increasing, the condition of farmers getting worse, and was no longer allowed to do car wash fundraisers in my community service club.  

South Bay Junior Academy, A private school in my hometown, wished to do something about this situation. With help of Mike Garcia, the environment expert from Enviroscape L.A., the school successfully adopted sustainable garden to use less water to grow healthy vegetables for its students. This garden will not only save water for gardening but also provide students organic food, thus increasing quality of the school as well as helping the environment.

The way the garden work is this: The school has set up four vertical towers, and each tower has several holes with plants. The recycled water is constantly provided to grow plants. Each garden tower has a reservoir at the bottom filled with 20 gallons of water. Seeds are planted in small cups which fit into the tower. Water is pumped from the reservoir to the top of the tower every 15 minutes and drops down to water the roots.

The teachers (in picture: Mrs. Sleeman, Mrs. Born, and Mr. Scarbrough) helped out planting the first towers with lettuce, cucumber, tomato, and other vegetables. The first fruits, 6 cucumbers, were harvested for first time. Each student was able to taste the mini-size cucumbers. Now, the school cafeteria is using the harvest in school lunches. Furthermore, the school plans to sell the organic, fresh vegetables to its school parents.

Thank you South Bay Junior Academy for kindly responding to my interview!