Hydroponic Vertical Planters Awarded to 20 Wyoming Schools

Twenty schools throughout Wyoming have been awarded a hydroponic, vertical growing planter, and accessories through the “From Seed to Plate” program. The planter, provided by the Wyoming Department of Education (WDE), will be delivered directly to each school no later than Nov. 20.

Funded by a grant awarded to the WDE Nutrition Department by the United States Department of Agriculture, the planters are to introduce schools to a school garden and are required to tie into the school’s wellness policy.

Schools have been awarded the planters based on applications detailing how they intend to use them. Some schools have developed entire curricula around the planters, others will develop extracurricular programs, some will apply it to their culinary arts programs, and one intends to use the vegetables they produce in an organic salad bar for school lunches.

Proposed lesson topics include the science of hydroponics, local and self sustainability, nutrition, biology, and biodiversity. Whatever the lesson, the planters will facilitate hands-on, inquiry-based learning.

The schools that have been awarded the grant funded planters are:

Central High - Cheyenne

Glendo Elementary - Glendo

Goins Elementary - Cheyenne

Greybull Middle - Greybull

Hanna Elementary - Hanna

Lakeview Elementary - Gillette

Lincoln Middle - Green River

Southeast High - Yoder

Sunset Elementary - Cody

Monroe Intermediate - Green River

Newcastle High - Newcastle