In this edition of Schools Rule, WILX News 10 is talking to a Mid-Michigan high school class that is tackling a major issue worldwide. Stockbridge High School’s InvenTeam class is researching bio-science and hydroponics to help address food insecurity.
“We thought, ‘Well, let’s look at farming.’ We’ve had a farming program in the past and there’s also agriculture as well around us,” explained Hythem Beydoun, a junior in the InvenTeam class at Stockbridge.
During a typical school year, the team would be working on their oceanic lander. Right now they are grounded because of the coronavirus pandemic so they are shifting their focus. The team bought and assembled a ‘Farmbot.’
“Cities like Detroit and certain areas that are considered food deserts really don’t have access to a lot of produce,” explained sophomore Brianna Polenz. “The Farmbot could be used in a community garden to grow a lot more food with less manpower for it.”
The Farmbot looks like a soil bed. It is automated and an electronic arm that plants seeds, turns the soil over and even waters plants. “STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) is all about problems and solutions,” said Beydoun. “So anytime you have an invention or project or anything like that your goal is to fix a problem or find a problem to fix.”
Read more at WILX (Julie Williams)