TVHS Biosustainability Club Receives $20K Grant

From TVHS: The newly launched Temecula Valley High School Biosustainability Club has been awarded a $20,000 Institute For Teaching Grant to help support the construction of an extensive on-campus aquaponics greenhouse that will be designed, built and maintained by students.

The project will give Temecula Valley High School students a unique opportunity to build and run a state-of-the art aquaponics system that will supply green produce and fish for the needs of the campus’ new Culinary Arts program and also provide donated food to the Temecula Food Pantry.

Aquaponics is a process that combines hydroponics and aquaculture to grow organic produce and farm fish with the use of only a small amount of soil, through a symbiotic relationship between the fish and plants being cultivated. Plans are for students to use the greenhouse to farm tilapia and grow and cultivate a range of vegetables and herbs.

Statewide, such grants are awarded to individuals and programs that exhibit innovation, with programs that tap into school and communities using a strength-based approach. TVHS Advanced Placement Biology teacher Tobin Brannon is spearheading the Biosustainability Club and applied for the grant earlier this year.

Brannon said he has been encouraged by the level of parent and student interest the concept has generated. To date, 79 students, most of whom have taken biology or AP biology at TVHS, have expressed interest in joining the club and working on the aquaponics greenhouse project during the 2017-2018 school year.

The Temecula Valley Unified School District and TVHS gave the club a plot of vacant land next to the baseball field on campus to build the greenhouse, which is envisioned to be about 30 feet by 55 feet once built. Work is already underway with the help of parent and school staff volunteers, with fencing going up over the summer. Design work, fundraising and planning will begin in earnest after students return to campus in the fall.

“We are so appreciative of the opportunity that the California Teachers Association and Institute For Teaching have afforded TVHS Biosustainability. Their belief and trust in the vision of our students is going to transform the educational experience of every student involved as well as affect positive change on our school campus and in our local community,” Brannon said. He said the $20,000 grant is the beginning of the club’s fundraising efforts, which will continue throughout the year with the help of parent volunteers.

TVHS Principal Allen Williams said, “Temecula Valley has been on the map for so many great reasons and this adds another piece to what we are offering our students. This project demonstrates how we are partnering with the community to fulfill our vision and mission of our school, which is to have our students thrive and contribute to their community and world.”

“This project extends the boundaries of TVHS’s influence in the community. It allows our students and school the opportunity to give and serve, not to mention the practical application of scientific inquiry and exploration,” Williams said.

The grant award letter from Dick Gale, manager and program director for the CTA Institute for Teaching, stated, in part, “We are pleased to inform you that your grant proposal was approved by the IFT Board of Directors on June 15.

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