Indoor Farming Innovation Zone Remote Learning Program

IFIZ Remote Learning Project will give students access to and awareness of innovative indoor food production techniques, experimental science methods, environmental sustainability issues and agricultural literacy by distributing comprehensive hands‐on activity kits and delivering online instruction. Boys & Girls Club of Pueblo, Colorado (BGCPC) will enlist commitment from Clubhouses in four surrounding counties, and will create and disseminate promotional materials appropriate to each regional clubhouse culture to insure the participation of 150 middle and high school youth over a 1‐year span. $174,999.50 All youth participants will receive a pre‐packaged kit including a 3‐gallon automated mini‐tank to grow edible plants, live fish, seeds, fish food, tools, worksheets, education supplies and more, to use at their home. Youth will emulate experiments that show how fresh food can be grown in space for astronauts, do research and conduct experiments on seed varieties, growing methods, water quality, do data collection and more. IFIZ Instructors, with help from BGC staff, will lead lessons and activities aligned to middle and high school Colorado Education Academic Standards and Next Generation Science Standards. IFIZ Remote Learning Project is designed to safely address current COVID‐19 restrictions required in schools and youth centers, by hosting live, online sessions. Sessions will be archived. New computer tablets with internet connections will be offered to bridge the digital divide. The BGCPC will disseminate the details of the IFIZ Remote Learning Project to other Boys & Girls Clubs of America’s 4,200 Clubs provide advice to others who chose to engage in aquaponics education.