How School Gardens & Hydroponics Can Change the Food System | Ciara Byrne | TEDxFremontEastDistrict

Summary

In this heartfelt and inspiring talk, the speaker reflects on their journey from emigrating to America in 1993 as a waitress to becoming a documentary filmmaker. Through their nonprofit, Green Our Planet, they helped schools create gardens and implement hydroponics programs to teach students about science, technology, nutrition, and conservation. The speaker highlights the issue of hunger in America, emphasizing the potential for school gardens to combat food insecurity and empower communities. The story also explores innovative solutions like hydroponics systems that enable students and communities to grow their own food and become self-sufficient.

Takeaways

• 😀 The speaker immigrated to America in 1993 with dreams of becoming a documentary filmmaker but had to start with a job as a waitress at a Mexican restaurant.
• 😀 As an immigrant from Ireland, the speaker initially struggled with cultural differences, including pronunciation of food names and the abundance of food in America.
• 😀 Despite working as a waitress in a restaurant that served large quantities of food, the speaker was shocked to discover that millions of Americans go hungry every day.
• 😀 34 million people in the United States face hunger daily, and 9 million of them are children, highlighting the severity of food insecurity.
• 😀 The speaker found it astonishing that while America excels in space exploration and technology, it cannot ensure that all its citizens have enough food to eat.
• 😀 The Green Our Planet initiative was created to address food insecurity by teaching students about science, technology, nutrition, and conservation through school gardens and hydroponics labs.
• 😀 The organization has helped build the largest school garden program in the U.S., with over 197 outdoor gardens and 300 hydroponics labs in schools across 31 states.
• 😀 In 2020, Green Our Planet expanded its efforts to the Arctic Circle, helping students in remote villages grow their own food in hydroponics systems due to limited access to fresh food.
• 😀 The Arctic Circle schools have empowered students to grow food for their communities, eliminating the need for expensive, poor-quality food flown in by plane.
• 😀 The success of the program in the Arctic Circle led to an expansion, where students now teach their families how to grow food at home, further enhancing community food security.
• 😀 The speaker envisions a future where food banks in America are transformed into farms, where people grow their own food and learn valuable skills while addressing hunger.

Q & A

What was the speaker's first job in America, and how did they feel about it?

The speaker's first job in America was as a waitress at a Mexican restaurant called Rio Grande in Arlington, Virginia. They felt out of place due to cultural and language barriers, such as mispronouncing food names, and struggled with the job's physical demands, ultimately being fired after two months.

How did the speaker's experience as a waitress relate to their larger view of food insecurity in the U.S.?

The speaker was surprised to learn that, despite the abundance of food in America, millions of people go hungry every day. This stark contrast between the wealth of food in restaurants and the hunger faced by many Americans led them to explore ways to address food insecurity.

What is the key statistic that shocked the speaker about hunger in America?

The speaker was shocked to learn that 34 million people in America, including 9 million children, experience hunger every day. This stark number emphasized the extent of food insecurity in the U.S.

How does the speaker envision food distribution in the future, and what role do schools play in that vision?

The speaker envisions a future where food banks operate like farms, with hydroponic systems in every school and food bank. Schools would not only teach children about growing food but would also provide fresh produce for their communities.

What is Green Our Planet, and how did it begin?

Green Our Planet is a non-profit created by the speaker and their partner, Kim McCrory. It started when they helped a school in Las Vegas raise money to build a garden, and soon other schools followed, leading to the creation of the organization.

What is the mission of Green Our Planet?

The mission of Green Our Planet is to teach students science, technology, engineering, math, nutrition, and conservation using outdoor gardens and hydroponic systems. The goal is to empower students to become the next generation of scientists, conservationists, engineers, and entrepreneurs.

How has Green Our Planet expanded its impact beyond Las Vegas?

Green Our Planet expanded beyond Las Vegas to over 300 schools in 31 states, building outdoor gardens and implementing hydroponics labs to teach students and support their communities.

How did Green Our Planet's program help schools in the Arctic Circle?

Green Our Planet's hydroponic program helped schools in the Arctic Circle, where fresh food is expensive and hard to access. Students in a village called Vini Thai grew their own food for their community, and the program expanded to other schools in the region.

What is the significance of the pilot program that started in the Arctic Circle?

The pilot program in the Arctic Circle empowered students to grow food for their villages and, eventually, expanded to involve families, teaching them how to grow food at home using hydroponic systems, alleviating the need for expensive, low-quality imported food.

What happened at the student farmers market, and what was its impact?

At the student farmers market, over 300 students from across Las Vegas sold fresh produce grown in their school gardens. The event showcased the success of Green Our Planet's program, with students gaining real-world experience in food production and entrepreneurship while supporting their communities.