Brooklyn Urban Garden Charter School (BUGS) was thrilled to celebrate the official opening of our beautiful hydroponic classrooms with our funder Sun Club, the charitable arm of renewable energy provider Green Mountain Energy, our partner NY Sun Works, and BUGS students, friends, and families on April 27. Click here to see news about the ribbon cutting on Yahoo Finance.
The celebration was made even more special with the arrival of Sun Club Program Manager Johnny Richardson from Green Mountain Energy’s Houston headquarters. Also joining us were Manuela Zamora, Executive Director, and Megan Nordgrén, Director of Program Development, of NY Sun Works, policy advisor Evan Burr from the Office of the Mayor, James Neimeister, Communications & Organizing Manager for District 38 Council Member Alexa Avilés, and Lorena Kourousias, Executive Director, Mixteca.
We were so proud of our student-guides who provided information about our hydroponics systems, demonstrated how the systems work, and shared what gets them excited about growing food in the classroom and sustainability learning at BUGS. They also prepared fresh, delicious salads with produce from our indoor classroom garden as well as providing bags of lettuce and bok choy (cut right from the hydroponic units!) for guests to take home.
“BUGS is incredibly grateful for our three hydroponic labs donated by Green Mountain Energy Sun Club, This is really a dream come true for our school because it has allowed us to fulfill our mission not just to have students going out into NYC as a living classroom but to also bring elements of the outside world in," explained Susan Tenner, Executive Director of BUGS. "The labs set up in collaboration with NY Sun Works have enabled kids to have hands-on exposure to cutting edge technology and to using sound scientific methods to try to tackle the climate challenges of our time. We appreciate Green Mountain Energy Sun Club, NY Sun Works, the BUGS staff who have helped launch the program, and our students who will take this to the next level.”
Click here or below to enjoy scenes from the event! Thank you to BUGS parent Anne Joyce for the photos.
