Editor’s Note: The following is an extended version of the story that appears in our latest print edition.

Congressman Ritchie Torres (NY-15) has awarded $800,000 in community project funding to New York Sun Works, a local nonprofit dedicated to integrating the science of sustainability and climate education into K-12 urban schools. Torres visited X225 Theatre Arts Production Company School in Fordham Heights on Monday, Oct. 30, to see the school’s hydroponic program in action and to formally make the check presentation.

 

Hydroponics is the technique of growing plants using a water-based nutrient solution, rather than soil. Principal Ron Link of X225 Theatre Arts Production Company School, Megan Nordgren, director of development and government relations at New York Sun Works, and students of the hydroponic program were present for the check presentation.

 

“The Bronx is the most resilient and resourceful county in the United States, and the students of The Bronx should have access to the same educational opportunities that are available to students elsewhere in the city,” said Torres, whose district covers a large section of the borough stretching from the northwest to the South Bronx, and is often cited as the poorest congressional district in the country.

 

“There is an urgent need to foster the next generation of leaders who have the capacity and will to confront the greatest challenge of our time – climate change,” the congressman said. “For me, this $800,000 is not an expenditure, it is an investment. We’re investing in our young people, we’re investing in their public education, and we’re investing in their leadership and environmental stewardship, which is needed now more than ever.”

 

The funding, secured in the final Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023, will provide new, state-of-the-art hydroponic classrooms at 20 additional Bronx public schools to teach science, sustainability, climate education, and nutrition, while students also grow food to share with their families and communities.

 

With the funding, partner schools will receive ongoing professional development training for science educators and weekly visits from a hydroponic specialist to guide teachers in hydroponic systems maintenance, provide planting, harvest, and produce distribution support. So far, 17 schools have received funding from Torres with three additional schools in progress.

During his remarks, Principal Ron Link said it was important to bridge to the next place in society’s development as a species in terms of climate action. “We’re running out of space,” he said. “We’re running out of resources, and so sunlight and water, which are still abundant, are something that we can harness, like we’re doing for our students here in the classroom.”

 

Link said the school was also involved with sustainability on the artistic side through its yearly collaboration with “Our Future,” which he said was an arm of the “Clean Green Music Machine” initiative, whereby the school’s technical students worked with media professionals to create videos around sustainability that were shown at the Lincoln Center yearly as part of regular sold-out events.

 

“They are also learning new skills to take themselves into careers that are of the future, so we’re very grateful,” he said. “I just want to say thank you again to Congressman Torres and NY Sun Works and my fellow principals [at other Bronx public schools], and I’m going to stop talking now so you can hear from my students, Christina and Myrie.”

 

Norwood News later spoke directly to the two 8^th Graders about the hydroponic program at the school, located at 2190 Folin Street next door to the now infamous Twin Parks towers, where an unrelenting fire tragically took the lives of 17 people, including 8 children, on Jan. 9 2022. Students at the adjacent school later donated some or all of the proceeds of their high school musical performance in March 2022 to the victims of the tragedy.

 

We asked Christina Sepulveda, 13, and Myrie Larry, 13, if it had been exciting to meet the congressman. “Yeah, it was pretty terrifying because he has such a high position and with our little e-grow, our little economy, it was kind of scary standing next to him,” one of them said.

We asked what they chatted about after the formal check presentation. “I was basically telling him that we give them [the plants] their vital vitamins which is like water and sunlight, and that tower right there, it turns off and on,” one of the students said. “We, basically, just water these daily and we try to keep these close to the window because…. I’m most likely assuming it’s not on a timer, so we would turn that off and hopefully by when we’re gone, the sunlight will reach the plants.”

 

One of the students said they try to water the plants as much as they can, adding that one didn’t need as much water because it was growing with humidity. Asked if they both were always into science, one said, “Well, this is a Regents class, so, we’re learning high school science, and we’re just learning about how these plants are growing without the soil. We’re just trying to see how big they can get without growing with soil, and I’m just really good at science!”

 

Asked if they preferred environmental science to other science areas, one of the two said, “I mean, it’s pretty cool, but I like doing chemical science as well.” Asked if they think they’d like to go on to study science in the future, one said, “Probably, yeah.” The other said, “I don’t know. I feel like I really enjoy it. I think that I would like to explore the subject more when I get older. I’m not sure if I would like 100 percent but it’s something that I have in mind because it’s really fun and I don’t know. I just really like it, and I feel like I’m really good at it as well!”

Megan Nordgren, director of development and government relations at NY Sun Works said the organization was delighted to be hosting the program across 20 Bronx schools and grateful to the congressman for funding the program. “There’s tremendous interest in The Bronx,” she said. “This is a neighborhood that has historically suffered from climate injustice and students have not always received the same resources as in other parts of the city.”

 

The Cross Bronx Expressway is one such project which is often cited as being a contributor to the high rates of asthma in the borough, especially among children. Having learned from that, as reported, government agencies ensured to complete an environmental review of the impact of the Metro North Penn Station access and the four new planned Bronx stations.

 

Nordgren continued, “So, we are absolutely thrilled to be able to bring our program where it’s most needed, so that students learn to grow food, learn about climate science, and learn to build a healthier and more resilient future for their communities and for the greater city.” She added that a Sun Works’ hydroponic college program was also offered at two community colleges in Queens and in Brooklyn, and that they hoped to bring it to colleges in The Bronx as well in the future.

 

Manuela Zamora is the NY Sun Works executive director and said, in part, of the program, “Yesterday [Oct. 22], was the 11th anniversary of Superstorm Sandy and this district is no stranger to the effects of climate change and environmental injustice.” Zamora said Torres understood the challenges climate change posed. “This investment is indicative of his commitment to bringing climate solutions to The Bronx,” she said.

 

According to NY Sun Works officials, their non-profit brings quality education to the communities where it’s most needed. They said through more than 300 partner schools, it is shaping the next generation of environmental innovators empowered to create solutions to global climate challenges. Its first hydroponic classroom opened in 2010. They said today it’s reaching more than 100,000 students annually across New York City and beyond.

According to Torres’ office, the congressman secured more than $16.2 million in funding for 15 community projects that he said will directly respond to the most pressing needs of The Bronx, including expanding opportunities for middle class families and small businesses, strengthening access to quality healthcare and education, and reversing decades of disinvestment.

 

On Sunday, Nov. 19, Northwest Bronx Indivisible hosted a virtual talk on how to fight climate change with Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz (A.D. 81), and environmentalist, Jessica Haller. As reported, the assemblyman was behind the passage of the Climate Change Superfund Act. Described as first-in-the-nation legislation, it will use the “polluter-pays model,” exemplified by existing federal and State superfund laws to collect $30 billion over ten years for climate change adaptation from the parties most responsible for causing the climate crisis, fossil fuel companies.

 

As reported, former State Sen. Alessandra Biaggi (S.D. 34) introduced legislation in 2022 which aimed to hold fashion houses accountable for their environmental and social impact. Meanwhile, in July, we reported that New York City Department of Transportation (DOT) launched an initiative to reduce package theft and the negative environmental impact of truck deliveries.

 

Back at X225 Theatre Arts Production Company School, we also asked Christina and Myrie if they felt urban farms were a fun way for people to learn about science. One said, “Yes, it definitely is, and I really liked the hands on, and because it’s more of a creative way to show kids how to treat living organisms and stuff.” The other said, Yeah, and we can take it home and eat it! It’s a really fun way for children to do something and then afterwards, be rewarded for it.”