Indoor Garden

Aglace Chapman Education Centre

Located in a remote fly-in community in northern Ontario, students and community members at Aglace Chapman Education Centre are revitalizing old hydroponics towers.

Aglace Chapman Education Centre

Located in a remote fly-in community in northern Ontario, students and community members at Aglace Chapman Education Centre are revitalizing old hydroponics towers.

The Problem

Aglace Chapman Education Centre is a small school located in a remote Indigenous community in northern Ontario. Most supplies and groceries are flown into the community, leading to high emissions, high prices, and lack of access to fresh produce. Their school faces two major challenges; one being lack of teachers and two being an education system that does not address the learning styles of children living on land. Both of these factors result in children dropping out of school and teachers stretched incredibly thin. Many years ago, the school was granted multiple hydroponics towers but they were never put to use. When the new principal found them, he knew they had to get them up and running but had no idea where he’d find the capacity to do so.

The Solution

With the N4NZ funding, ACEC hired a local community member to research hydroponics and figure out how to get the towers they have up and running. They will work with students and teachers to teach them how to operate the towers and how to integrate them into classroom learning so that the towers can continue to be maintained. The school hopes to use these towers to grow fresh produce to supply their students and improve sustainable food security in their larger community.

Lessons Learned

As a funder, we at N4NZ know how important it is to build trust with these schools and meet them where they are at. We trust them to know what is best for their community and want to support them in ways that actually help get these projects off the ground and maintained for years to come. For this school, the support they needed was local, on the ground capacity and we’re glad that we were able to provide flexible funding so they could get that.

Related Lesson Plan

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Related Resource Guide

Hydroponic Systems Resource Guide

A comprehensive guide to inspire, support, and fund your hydroponic journey, packed with resources, lessons, and funding opportunities tailored for schools and communities.

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