SAN ANTONIO – Students at Price Elementary School in the South San Independent School District are learning how sustainability processes can feed their families and the world.
The World Changers after-school club is helping students embrace the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
The project has been teaching students how to grow organic food indoors and outdoors.
Counselor Ida Villavicencio said the club is inspiring students to look at problems and come up with solutions and giving them an option on how to make better food choices. But most importantly, it’s helping to empower them.
“It’s giving them a sense of confidence they didn’t have before, and it’s planting a seed of hope. That’s what we want to do,” Villavicencio said.
The club is also helping students with math and science.
The gardening class is teaching them about traditional soil gardening, as well as hydroponic and aquaponics gardening.
Student Diego Cruz said learning the methods was exciting.
“It’s a system where you can grow stuff without soil. You use mostly water and fish,” he said.
Student Ashley Vasquez was equally impressed.
“I’ve been able to grow lettuce, potatoes, plants, veggies, mints, all kinds (of plants) -- very awesome,” she said.
The students are taking their learning beyond the classroom. They can’t wait for their plants to yield food they can take it home and share with others.
“We’re going to try to give it to the food bank, maybe, and help the whole community,” Diego said.
Teachers hope to expand the program to other schools.
On Tuesday, the students will learn about a different type of gardening. It's a method that harvests water from the atmosphere and creates water to drink. Speaker Moses West, creator of the “water machine,” will be visiting the students.