First, A Little Geography
Tucked away off the coast of Scotland is a little island called the Isle of Rum. Home to less than 50 people, the Isle of Rum is known for its stunning landscape, including vast beaches and mountainous regions. The Isle of Rum is also home to Rum Primary School, which hosts fewer than 10 kids per year.
Being a small Island, the people of the Isle of Rum have a very different way of living and heavily rely on imports to even get basic supplies. Needless to say, that midnight run to McDonald’s isn’t happening on the Isle of Rum. With that in mind, the knowledge of growing your own food becomes even more critical for areas like this that can’t rely on traditional supply chains.
Late last year, we had the pleasure of chatting with Andrew MacCullum, the head master of Rum Primary, where our ZipGarden would embark on its longest journey to date.
Photo Credit: Isle of Rum Webpage
Rum Primary School
Rum Primary School is home students in nursery (kindergarten) to grade 5. Because of it’s small size, students are provided a personalized and nurturing learning environment where they feel seen and valued. With small numbers, it also creates the perfect environment for hands-on learning, where students get to explore new concepts and ideas.
Photo Credit: Rum Primary School Homepage
Several boats, trucks and prayers later, our ZipGarden arrived safely at it’s new home at Rum Primary School. With their new system, the students of Rum Primary began their journey into the world of hydroponics.
Photo Credit: Rum Primary School
A Garden That Grows Without Soil. What Is a ZipGarden?
Our ZipGarden is one of our hydroponic growing systems designed for growing at school or at home. Our system features our signature ZipGrow Towers™, a built in seedling area, LED Lights, and irrigation. The removable ZipGrow Towers makes it easy for students to plant, seed, and harvest from a work station, while watching the plants grow from the sidelines of their desks. The ZipGarden was designed to be space-friendly, while allowing even beginner growers to understand the fundamentals of growing hydroponically.
Learning by Growing. Integrating STEM and Sustainability
With hydroponics, students get a hands-on experience for each science, technology, engineering and math
- Science: With hydroponics, students are able to explore topics like plant biology, nutrient cycles and photosynthesis. Students can see the entire growing process from seed to harvest, right from their seats!
- Technology: Indoor growing requires us to replicate the conditions of traditional growing processes. With ZipGrow, students explore different types of growing media while pairing it with the power of automation.
- Engineering: For engineering, students can get curious about the design needed to successfully make a hydroponic system. Bonus points if they can make it a closed-loop system to help reduce water waste.
- Math: Every plant is a little different and often requires a unique nutrient blend and light schedule to reach its full potential. With hydroponics, students are able to test theories and adjust conditions in real time.
From Seed to Harvest: Empowering Students to Grow Their Own Food
One of the main goals of this project was to teach students to grow their own food from seed to harvest, even if the growing conditions aren’t ideal outside. The students at Rum Primary got the full experience this school year with their ZipGarden system.
Photo Credit: Rum Primary School
Here, students are checking out the seedlings grown in their seedling area, and are preparing to transplant into the ZipGrow Towers!
Photo Credit: Rum Primary School
It’s time to mix! Students are adding their nutrient blend to a bucket to add to their ZipGarden.
Photo Credit: Rum Primary School
The best part, the harvest! You can see the incredible root development around the matrix media of the crops they grew. Time to enjoy the fruits of their labour!
Inspiring the Next Generation of Growers
Photo Credit: Rum Primary School
At ZipGrow, our goal is to reach even the most remote areas, like the Isle of Rum, to teach students of all ages the importance of growing their own food. When the ability to grow your own food becomes accessible, then we are one step closer to achieving true food security. Step one, creating the knowledge through the next generation on how to be successful.
To date, our ZipGrow systems have made their way into 100s of schools across North America and beyond, and we’ll continue to make hydroponic education accessible to everyone.
Growth Beyond the Garden
To our friends at Rum Primary School, we can’t wait to see what you grow next as you continue your learning journey. Thank you for sharing your experience with the ZipGrow community!
Where will we grow next?
Happy Growing,
The ZipGrow Team 🌱
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