You might confuse it with construction materials at first glance, but the 17,000-lb. container on the east side of Albany High School is actually a farm in a box that was delivered Friday.
To be precise, Freight Farm is a fully contained hydroponic farm in a shipping container. Hydroponic farming uses water enriched with minerals and nutrients to grow fruits, vegetables and plants, and it doesn’t require soil.
“We have two major goals for our Albany High Freight Farm: to escalate our students learning about hydroponics and to provide fresh produce to our cafeteria,” said Amanda Powers, academic supervisor for secondary science and technology for the City School District of Albany.
Many science classrooms already contain smaller hydroponic devices. Science and technology teachers will integrate Freight Farm into their courses in a variety of ways, Powers said, including data collection and analysis, cross-disciplinary projects and hydroponic skill-building.
There’s also a plan to offer a summer hydroponic course for student enrichment led by teacher-farmers at Albany High.
Freight Farm will begin operation after water and electrical hookups are complete, Powers said. At that time, teacher-farmers will complete a training with Freight Farm and begin growing.
Powers thanked Don Opperman, the district's director of facilities planning, and CSArch, the district’s architecture consultant, for their support.
Albany High’s new Freight Farm was donated by Barrington Irving of the Flying Classroom. It is supported by a two-year U.S. Department of Agriculture Farm-to-School grant.
