From Organic Certification to Regenerative Agriculture to Rewilding Landscapes: an evolution towards soil integrity

World War II (WWII ) revolutionized manufacturing processes and catapulted personal and commercial markets into an era of increased consumption, convenience, and highly toxic pollutants. 

The Regeneration in ACTION (RiA) Magazine article, Plastics: a double-edged sword, articulates the history of plastic consumption, benefits, and challenges; in WWII plastic manufacturing increased 300% and continued to escalate post-war.

Though it was introduced in the 1930's, synthetic-pesticide use became widespread after WWII. According to LivingHistoryFarm.org:

World War II was the first U.S. war in which diseases – many like typhus and malaria carried by insects – killed fewer people than bullets and bombs. The reason was DDT. The insect killer – or "insecticide" – had been discovered in 1939 and was used extensively by the U.S. military during the war. So, it is no wonder that the postwar period saw the dawning of the chemical age in pesticides.

Then, as today, agriculture uses 75 percent of all pesticides. Between 1947 and 1949, pesticide companies invested $3.8 billion into expanding their production facilities. They were rewarded by huge profits.

Many historians have called this the golden age of chemical pesticides – effective new chemicals were available and of all of the risks and dangers to human health and the environment were not yet known.

During WWII, the United States (U.S.) government built ten plants across the country to manufacture nitrogen-based bombs and other explosives. When the war ended, the plant-production capacity was shifted to petrochemical, nitrogen-based fertilizer manufacturing. Thus, the use of petrochemical fertilizers in farming, along with grounds maintenance and lawn-care practices, exploded in the post-WWII era.

WWII was a catalyst for an era when unforeseen consequences of high-tech development would create toxic environments and devastating scenarios across the globe.

Glyphosate and GMOs
Glyphosate was first patented in 1961 as a Descaling and Chelating Agent and later purchased by Monsanto in 1974. Monsanto branded as Roundup, a powerful herbicide used in home landscapes and commercial agriculture. By 1982, Monsanto scientists were researching Roundup Ready genetically modified seeds for crops resistant to the herbicide. 

In 1996, the first genetically modified crops (soybeans) were planted in the U.S. At the time, glyphosate usage was 3.8% of the total volume of herbicide-active ingredients applied in agriculture (28 million pounds in 1995.) Glyphosate usage boomed over the next decades; usage increased 9-fold in the U.S. and 15-fold worldwide by 2014. A 2016 research study by Food Democracy Now! and The Detox Project found alarming levels of glyphosate in many popular processed food brands. *

Image courtesy of Rich Roll 414 Podcast

According to Dr. Zach Bush, a triple-board certified medical doctor specializing in Internal Medicine, Endocrinology and Metabolism, as well as in Hospice and Palliative care, the human race is in a vast epidemic of chronic inflammation, mainly caused by the prolific use of glyphosate. Dr. Bush attributes the widespread diagnosis of celiac disease to the use of glyphosate within the harvest of wheat. The March 2018 Rich Roll GMOs, Glyphosate & Gut Health interview with Dr. Bush is an excellent introduction to his profound work and perspectives. In a later Rich Roll podcast, Dr. Bush connects soil health with nutritious food production. 

The Institute for Responsible Technology is another respected resource dedicated to the detrimental health impact by the rampant use of glyphosate along with GMOs (genetically modified organisms) in commercial agriculture.

With toxins infiltrating water systems, including drinking water, the atmosphere, the soils, the food system, and nearly every aspect of human existence, health for all life on the planet suffers from continuous exposure to human-created poisons.

* Glyphosate history obtained from The Natural Farmer, the newspaper of the Northeast Organic Farming Association, A Brief History of Glyphosate article.

Environmental Movement
Published in September 1962, Silent Spring by Rachel Carson is credited as the catalyst for the environmental movement. Though it addressed the devastating ramifications of DDT-pesticide use, Silent Spring showcased the far-reaching impact of toxic-chemical use whether for pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, insecticides, or other uses.

The August 2015 Natural Resources Defense Council The Story of Silent Spring: How a courageous woman took on the chemical industry and raised important questions about humankind's impact on nature explains Silent Spring's legacy:

Photo courtesy of Peter Scales

The most important legacy of Silent Spring, though, was a new public awareness that nature was vulnerable to human intervention. Carson had made a radical proposal: that, at times, technological progress is so fundamentally at odds with natural processes that it must be curtailed. Conservation had never raised much broad public interest, for few people really worried about the disappearance of wilderness. But the threats Carson had outlined—the contamination of the food chain, cancer, genetic damage, the deaths of entire species—were too frightening to ignore. For the first time, the need to regulate industry in order to protect the environment became widely accepted, and environmentalism was born.

As the environmental movement grew, awareness of toxic-petrochemical fertilizers' and the "cides'" - herbicides, pesticides, insecticides, and fungicide - impact on human and environmental health was substantiated via well-documented scientific research.

Nature Prevails
Within Elemental Impact 's (Ei) Nature Prevails platform, The Principles of Nature are defined as:

• Diversity
• Dynamic Balance & Nutrition Cycles
• Necessity of Cover & Ability to Roam

The RiA article, Nature Prevails; an action plan, defines The Principles of Nature and explains how human-made systems are ruled by the principles. When humans defy The Principles of Nature. there are often tragic results.

Insect Apocalypse
Insects are integral to the natural ecosystem foundation and essential to supporting the Earth’s life web. At the base of the prey hierarchy, insects are food for fish, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, and birds. In addition to recycling soil-system nutrients, insects play an essential role in the decomposition portion of nature’s circular-life cycle.

A multi-generations of milkweed
beetles at a rewilded park.
Photo courtesy of Holly Elmore Images

Since the 1970’s, the Earth’s insect population suffered from severe population declines as well as loss of diversity.

The NY Times 2018 article, The Insect Apocalypse Is Here. What does it mean for the rest of life on Earth?, reported: The German study found that, measured simply by weight, the overall abundance of flying insects in German nature reserves had decreased by 75 percent over just 27 years. If you looked at midsummer population peaks, the drop was 82 percent.

According to the November 2019 Somerset Wildlife Trust Insect Declines and Why They Matter Report by Professor Dave Goulson, 41% of insect species are threatened with extinction.

Contributing factors to the demise of insect populations include:

• Prolific use of pesticides in commercial and residential landscapes, corporate and municipal-grounds maintenance, and industrial agriculture.
• Loss of habitat due to urbanization, transportation systems, farming, and landscape-maintenance practices.
• Infiltration of non-native plants; insects evolved to thrive on native plants and non-native plants are often not food sources for local populations.
• Intangible pollution, including artificial light, noise (leaf blowers,) and electromagnetic fields.

Holocene Extinction (sixth mass extinction)
As documented by the November 2019 Science Alert article, Are We Really in a 6th Mass Extinction? Here's The Science, current conditions indicate that the Earth's Holocene extinction, or sixth mass extinction, is well underway. From the article:

A mass extinction is usually defined as a loss of about three quarters of all species in existence across the entire Earth over a "short" geological period of time. Given the vast amount of time since life first evolved on the planet, "short" is defined as anything less than 2.8 million years. 

... The Earth is currently experiencing an extinction crisis largely due to the exploitation of the planet by people. 

The World Wildlife Fund 2020 Living Planet Report states:

A 68% average decline of birds, amphibians, mammals, fish, and reptiles since 1970.

The findings are clear: Our relationship with nature is broken.

Biodiversity – the rich diversity of life on Earth – is being lost at an alarming rate. This loss effects our own health and well-being. Today, catastrophic impacts for people and the planet loom closer than ever.

Though the Holocene extinction is well underway, a tragic outcome may be avoided by aligning human-created systems with The Principles of Nature. 

Increased Predation and Nutrient Deficiency

As stated in the Ei Digital Book, Restoring Pollinator Populations:

Eliminating the use of man-made fertilizers also removes chemical influence which can damage plants. When synthetic fertilizers are applied, plants grow faster than their natural rhythm. Faster growth results in plants with thinner cell membranes that are vulnerable to predation by insects, parasites, and fungus. Healthy, robust plants with thick stalks and leaf-cell membranes are not as enticing for pests.

Thus, the use of petrochemical fertilizers ignites the cycle of pest control, most often via toxic insecticides and pesticides. Unfortunately, pesticides often kill "good bugs" as well as the targeted insects. Additionally, pesticides pollute waterways via farm run-off or by filtering through the soil to the area aquifer.

In 2004, Dr. Donald Davis, a member of the University of Texas at Austin Biochemical Institute, and his team published a study that suggests nutrient decline in garden crops over past 50 years, According to Dr. Davis: 

"Efforts to breed new varieties of crops that provide greater yield, pest resistance, and climate adaptability have allowed crops to grow bigger and more rapidly, but their ability to manufacture or uptake nutrients has not kept pace with their rapid growth. There have likely been declines in other nutrients, too, such as magnesium, zinc, and vitamins B-6 and E, but they were not studied in 1950 and more research is needed to find out how much less we are getting of these key vitamins and minerals."

Soil ecosystems are alive with an intertwined network of fungi, microbial communities, insects, and other small animals working together, often in symbiotic fashion, to nurture plant roots. In return, the plants deliver carbon dioxide, sugars, and other nutrients to the soil system. When the soil ecosystem is healthy, plants produce nutritious food for humans and wildlife.

Healthy cover crops at a regenerative farm.
Photo courtesy of Holly Elmore Images.

Diversity and necessity of cover, two of The Principles of Nature previously mentioned, are essential for a healthy soil ecosystem. Common monocrop farming with neat, barren rows between crops defies nature and deteriorates soil health. Tilling the soil breaks up the soil communication and nutrient-transfer systems governed by fungi networks. 

Per Mother Earth New's article, Mycorrhizal Fungi and Plant Roots: A Symbiotic Relationship, Mycorrhizal fungi help plant roots absorb nutrients and fight off harmful, soil-dwelling predators. In exchange, the fungus receives sugars and nutrients from its host plant. Furthermore: 

At least 80 percent of the plant species on the globe, representing more than 90 percent of all the plant families, are known to form mycorrhizae. In addition to facilitating the transportation of nutrients, at least one kind of mycorrhizal fungus attracts and kills the tiny soil-dwelling arthropods called springtails, a rich source of nitrogen. Other carnivorous fungi capture the superabundant microscopic worms known as nematodes, either with sticky knobs that develop from the hyphae, fine filament meshes, or loops that constrict to snare passing prey — fungal lassoes.

Over the past decades, toxic-chemical additives along with modern-day farming practices significantly compromised soil health, and resulted in nutrient-deficient food. Organic Certification is a strong first step in aligning with The Principles of Nature, yet is far from a final step.

Organic Certification
A focus on organic farming emerged as petrochemical fertilizers and "cides" were introduced to commercial agriculture post WWII. As the environmental movement gained momentum in the 1960's, after Silent Spring's publication, decentralized organic-farming standards were established across the nation. 

In 1990, Congress passed the Organic Foods Production Act (OFPA) to develop a national standard for organic-food and -fiber production. The USDA’s National Organic Program, authorized under OFPA, issued their Final Ruling in October 2002; the ruling established the federal organic-certification program, administered by the respective state departments of agriculture.

Organic certification prohibits the use of "cides," GMO seeds, and petrochemical fertilizers. Thus, organic food is non-GMO and reasonably "toxin-free" Yet, organic certification does not address soil health or the nutritional value of food produced on the certified farm.

Regenerative Agriculture
In addition to adhering to organic-farming practices, regenerative agriculture focuses on restoring and maintaining a healthy soil ecosystem. Diverse crops, including cover crops, and no-till farming practices are basic regenerative-agriculture protocol.

Inherent within soil restoration is increasing the organic matter (carbon) content; thus, regenerative agriculture creates carbon sinks, a designated area that draws down more carbon than is released into the atmosphere. An emerging trend is to incorporate applicable regenerative agriculture protocol into landscape- and grounds-maintenance practices.

In 2017, Ei coined the term urban carbon sinks in the RiA Magazine article, Beyond Sustainability: Regenerative Solutions. Additionally, the article substantiates regenerative agriculture, and landscape/grounds-maintenance practices as a viable solution for balancing the carbon cycles. The RiA Magazine article, Carbon Crisis: simply a matter of balance, introduces the carbon cycles and compost’s role in restoring balance; the article features John Wick and the Marin Carbon Project.

As important as it is to restore healthy soil systems, produce nutritious food (for human & wildlife,) and drawdown carbon, regenerative agriculture does not focus on native plants. Thus, it often contributes to, versus alleviates, the insect apocalypse. 

Rewilding Landscapes
Beyond regenerative agriculture and landscape practices, rewilding land restores the natural ecosystem that evolved over thousands of years. Rewilding land requires the restoration of native plants and cultivates food for indigenous insects. Strong insect populations are the foundation for restoring healthy predator/prey hierarchies that once thrived prior to human intrusion.

In his New York Times bestseller, Nature’s Best Hope: A New Approach to Conservation that Starts in your Yard, Doug Tallamy encourages citizens to rewild their yards via replacing toxic lawns with native plants that support local insect populations. Caterpillars are a primary food source for many birds and other wildlife. According to Doug, Carolina chickadees must catch 6,240 – 9,120 caterpillars to raise one clutch.

Inherent within rewilding urban landscapes are three primary benefits: 

• Restoration of vibrant soil ecosystems and urban wildlife populations; production of nutritious food destined for wildlife and humans.
• Drawdown of carbon from the atmosphere into the soils via plant photosynthesis.
• Establishment of food-secure neighborhoods within a community.

In the RiA article, Urban Carbon Sinks: Rewilding Urban Landscapes, Ei announced a commitment to Rewilding Urban Landscapes via pilots focused on urban agriculture, lawns, corporate complexes, college and university campuses, highway medians and shoulders, airport land surrounding runways, parks, and other available urban land. For the rewilding pilots, native foliage is planted and cultivated with the exception of human-food producing plants, such as tomatoes.

Pilots are in the development stage with various grant applications underway.

Align with The Principles of Nature
Human ingenuity catapulted the planet into a sixth extinction. Though the scenario appears dire, nature is forgiving as long as her principles are honored. If humans start aligning crafted systems with The Principles of Nature, a new spectrum of probable outcomes materializes and a vibrant, miraculous future is possible.

Tax-deductible donations in any amount are greatly appreciated to support Ei's important work. 

DONATE HERE.

About Elemental Impact:

Elemental Impact (Ei) is a 501(c)3 non-profit founded in 2010 as the home to the Zero Waste Zones, the forerunner in the nation for the commercial collection of food waste for compost. In June 2017, Ei announced the Era of Recycling Refinement was Mission Accomplished and entered the Era of Regeneration. Current focus areas include Nature Prevails, Soil Health | Regenerative Agriculture, and Water Use | Toxicity.

The Regeneration in ACTION Magazine article, From Organic Certification to Regenerative Agriculture to Rewilding Landscapes: an evolution towards soil integrity, published to explain and substantiate the importance of Ei’s rewilding urban landscapes work within the Nature Prevails focus area.

MISSION:

To work with industry leaders to create best regenerative operating practices where the entire value-chain benefits, including corporate bottom lines, communities, and the environment. Through education and collaboration, establish best practices as standard practices.

Ei’s tagline – Regeneration in ACTION – is the foundation for Ei endeavors.

The following mantra is at the core of Ei work:

Ei is a creator, an incubator.

Ei determines what could be done that is not being done and gets it done.

Ei brings the possible out of impossible.

Ei identifies pioneers and creates heroes.

For additional information, contact Holly Elmore at 404-510-9336 | holly@elementalimpact.org

When students are first, healthy food naturally follows

When students truly come first, a commitment to health and wellness naturally follows.

SCSD6 Farm @ Cragmoor

Spartanburg County Schools District 6 (SCSD6) Superintendent Dr. Darryl Owings takes the students-first commitment seriously and leads the district's impressive healthy-food school program. With strong support of the nine-member School Board, SCSD6 ended their third-party foodservice-operator contract in January 2014 and established internal culinary operations.

Bringing foodservice operations in-house was a significant step in serving students healthy, freshly prepared food. Another strong step was entering into a long-term lease for the Farm @ Cragmoor, a sixteen-acre farm on land owned by the Spartanburg County Foundation and administered by Upstate Forever. SCSD6 took possession of the farm in 2016.

The RiA Magazine article, Spartanburg County School District Six: a culture of EXCELLENCE!, is a comprehensive overview of the school district, the Farm @ Cragmoor, and the creation of the Farm 2 School program.

Elemental Impact Visits Spartanburg
In October 2018 Elemental Impact (Ei) along with Ei Strategic Ally Feed & Seed hosted the Ei Exploration of Fungi, Soil Health and World Hunger. During the final exploration session at the Clemson organic-student farm, Feed & Seed Chair Mary Hipp discussed the amazing healthy-food school programs at SCSD6 as well as down the road 20+ miles at Greenville County Schools.

Inspired, Ei Founder Holly Elmore traveled to Greenville | Spartanburg in May 2019 to meet the masterminds behind the healthy-food school programs and tour their respective operations. Mary was generous with her time, connections, and spirit as she hosted Holly for two-consecutive days of meetings and tours.

The May tour group
from left to right: Greg, Mary & Darryl

On May 14 Darryl, along with SCSD6 Deputy Superintendent Dr. Greg Cantrell, hosted Mary and Holly for an introductory meeting in the district's offices. Afterwards, Darryl and Greg took Mary and Holly on tours of the campus greenhouse followed by the SCSD6 Farm @ Cragmoor where healthy, organic food is grown for the school cafeterias. The locally grown, healthy-food commitment at SCSD6 was evident and impressive.

Mary and Holly returned to the Farm @ Cragmoor in August to witness the farm's segue from preparation to fully operational in time for the 2019 - 2020 school year.

A Significant Investment
For the first year, farm staff tested the land to determine what could be grown crop-wise for the official launch as an operating farm in 2017. The SCSD6 Farm @ Cragmoor is the foundation for creating a hyper-local food system for SCSD6.

Lush crop of small, colorful peppers

From inception, the SCSD6 Farm @ Cragmoor was U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Good Agricultural Practices certified. With the land in possession for three-consecutive years, SCSD6 is in the midst of obtaining USDA Organic certification. In accordance with the USDA National Organic Program standards, organic crops must be grown on land that is free from prohibited pesticides, herbicides, and synthetic fertilizers for three years preceding growth.

With the farm research complete, SCSD6 invested in the farm staff and equipment necessary to fully embark on the Farm 2 School initiative. In 2018, SCSD6 invested in an impressive packing house including a wash line for root crops, an ice machine for packing broccoli & other vegetables, and a dual walk-in cooler system.

The coolers are maintained at different temperatures to maximize optimal shelf life and produce quality. In addition, it is important to store certain fruits and vegetables separately. For example, onions and potatoes excrete incompatible gasses that lead to faster spoilage for nearby produce.

Brand-new refrigerated truck

Only root vegetables are cleaned in the wash line as rinsing fruits and vegetables may lead to earlier spoilage. Thus, field crops such a zucchini, squash, watermelon, tomatoes, lettuces, and herbs are field-packed and washed in the cafeterias prior to kitchen prep. Lettuces and herbs from the greenhouse are transported to the packing house where they are aggregated with the farm crops for delivery to the district cafeterias via a refrigerated truck.

Upon arrival for the August 14 photo shoot, the brand-new refrigerated truck was awaiting its portrait. So new, the truck was sparkling white with no blemishes from general wear and tear. Once loaded with fresh produce cleaned and packaged in the packing house, the truck will deliver the organic food to the SCSD6 fourteen school cafeterias.

In August the foundation was laid and electrical boxes installed for a new greenhouse. While the original greenhouse contains the Farm 2 School program hydroponics system for lettuce production, the second greenhouse is intended for tomato crops. The SCSD6 impressive hydroponics greenhouse was featured in the RiA Magazine article, A Hydroponic-Agriculture Renaissance.

Lisa capturing an okra bloom

Beyond farm equipment, technology plays a critical role on the modern-day farm, especially when maintaining U.S. Department of Agriculture Good Agricultural Practices Certification documentation, planning crop-harvest timing, and maintaining inventory stats. In addition to his field and packing-house responsibilities, Ethan Jarrett administers crop planning, seed sourcing, and production distribution via a high-tech program .

Another investment was hiring Farm 2 School Director Lisa Stansell. Mere weeks in the position at the August-photo shoot, Lisa brings her expertise from her prior role as a Greenville County agriculture teacher to the Farm 2 School program.


In the Field
August was a busy time on the farm as the staff prepared for the 2019 - 2020 school year starting late in the month. With the significant investments made, the Farm @ Cragmoor segued from preparation to fully operational in time for the new school year.

Cover crop on a resting field

The crops planted during the May visit were harvested and the fields ready for a second planting. In August, peppers, tomatoes, okra and lettuces was in full production and the packing-house staff were busy sorting and packaging the clean vegetables.

In the field, workers planted fall crops while mature cover crops rejuvenated the soils within crop-rotation best practices. Over the summer, zinnias were planted as a cover crop and doubled as a cash crop at the summer farmer's market. Lesson learned: plant zinnias in rows so the entire crop may be harvested for market bouquets.

To maintain the farm's high food-safety standards administered by Director of Food Safety and Sustainability Patricia Tripp, a wash station was installed in the field for workers.

The second section of the Ei FB album, Spartanburg County School District 6, are images from the August-photo shoot while the first section is a pictorial recap of the May visit.

SCSC6 is an exemplary model for the magical outcomes when students truly come first.

A Hydroponic-Agriculture Renaissance

Center-to-Plate Garden
Orange County Convention Center

In the 1950's the use of plastic proliferated throughout a wide array of industries. New technologies using plastic catapulted society into the high-tech modern world of today. Greenhouses along with hydroponic farming benefited from the new technologies and lighter weight, cost-effective plastic construction material.

According to The Hydroponics Planet The History of Hydroponics article, the use of low-cost plastic as a staple construction material allowed for the innovation of drip systems, improved irrigation, filters, water reservoirs, among other inventions. Thus, modern hydroponic farming emerged as a result of the newly accessible and low-cost plastic materials.

... and a hydroponic-agriculture renaissance ensued in commercial locations previously inaccessible to farms.

Hydroponics: history(1)
Derived from the Greek words hydro (water) and ponos (labor), hydroponics simply is a gardening method that does not use soil. William Gericke, a professor at the University of California in Berkeley coined the term in the 1920's.

Hanging Gardens of Babylon
source: Ancient History Encyclopedia

Though modern hydroponics emerged in the 1920's, hydroponic gardens were prominent in several ancient cultures. The Hanging Gardens of Babylon, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, built by  King Nebuchadnezzar II (604–562 BC) along the East bank of the Euphrates River used hydroponic principles. From several hundred years BC, Egyptian hieroglyphics portray plants growing without soil along the Nile River.

During the Aztec reign in Mexico, natives constructed chinampas, rafts built with reeds and strong roots, and loaded them with rich sediment from nearby shallow lake waters. Plants thrived on the rafts; roots absorbed minerals from the sediment and worked through the raft to the lake below for consistent food and hydration. In its prime, the chinampas fed a community of 200,000 inhabitants. Chinampas may serve as the earliest example of aquaponics, a combination of aquaculture (practice of raising aquatic animals) and hydroponics in a symbiotic environment.

In the 1500's, Leonardo de Vince wrote his profound deduction that is the foundation of modern hydroponics:

“To develop, plants need mineral elements that they absorb from the soil by means of water. Without water, the plants do not survive, even if the soil has the mineral elements they need.

Water is as if it were the soul of plants, as minerals are as if they were the soul of soil. If we could transmit to the soul of plants [the water], the strength of the soul of soil [the minerals], perhaps we would not need it [the soil] to make plants survive and multiply.

I believe that, in a future that does not belong to me, that [this] will be possible. So, it is advisable to add fertiliser and irrigate periodically the lands for us to get a healthy and productive plantation.”

Credited as the catalyst for hydroponics research and writing, Sir Frances Bacon's Sylva Sylvarum, a book on growing plants in an environment without soil, published after his death in 1627. Subsequently, hydroponics research grew in popularity.

Often referred to as the "Father of Hydroponics," John Woodward, an English naturalist, antiquarian and geologist, published his experiments on growing mint without soil in 1699. As the first documented hydroponics, Woodward's experiments mark the inaugural step in the creation of modern hydroponics.

In the mid-1850's, French chemist Jean Baptiste Boussingault discovered that plants do not absorb atmospheric nitrogen; the roots derive nitrogen from mineral-rich water in the soil. Thus, Jean Baptiste proposed what is now referred to as the Nitrogen Cycle, how the element circulates between the atmosphere, terrestrial, and marine realms.

Previously mentioned William Gericke, a professor at the University of California in Berkeley, coined the terms aquaculture and hydroponics. Additionally, in the 1920's Gericke famously grew hydroponic-tomato plants twenty-five feet tall. While Woodward is known as the "Father of Hydroponics," Gericke is known as the "Father Modern Hydroponics" and published the renowned The Complete Guide to Soilless Gardening.

Wake Island hydroponics
Source: HydroponicAdvantage

During World War II, hydroponics was used extensively to feed the troops in the Pacific and South Atlantic. The first commercial hydroponics facility was built on Wake Island, an atoll in the Pacific Ocean used for global-flight refueling. Produce grown in the hydroponics facility was used to feed passengers during the long trans-Pacific flights.

By the 1960's the first specific hydroponic system, Nutrient Film Technique (NFT), was developed in England by Allan Cooper. NFT systems use a growing tray placed at an angle with channels for the plant roots. A water-based nutrient solution constantly flows over the roots, providing nutrition and aeration. Water not absorbed by the roots is recycled back through the system with no water waste.

In the 1990's NASA developed aeroponics to grow plants in zero gravity during space missions. Rather than water flowing over the roots, a nutrient solution is sprayed onto the roots. Thus, NASA research was the foundation for new patented aeroponic systems. Aeroponics is considered a type of hydroponics.

Hydroponics: advantages
Though hydroponic farming has many strong advantages, one of the most impressive characteristics is the water-savings over traditional soil-based farming. According to a University of Arizona Department of Soil, Water and Environmental Science 2011 article:

A hydroponic lettuce system could use only 10 percent of the water needed compared to field-grown lettuce. Arizona uses about 70 percent of its water for agriculture. Theoretically, about 90 percent of all that water could be saved if every farm converted to hydroponics

Creative hydroponics design
at the Center-to-Plate garden

Space-saving is another practical attribute of hydroponic systems. Since water is the nutrient-delivery vehicle with no soil buffering, plants are easily placed closely together and may be vertically stacked. Thus, with creative design hydroponic systems can fit into a facility's nooks & crannies. For commercial installations, the close plant proximity produces larger harvests than with their soil-based counterparts.

Additionally, in hydroponic systems, crops mature from seeds to harvest in a shorter time frame. According to the Epic Gardening article, 7 reasons hydroponics wins, a head of lettuce grows from seedling to harvest in around a month in hydroponics compared to two months in soil.

Eliminating the use of "cides" (insecticides, pesticides and herbicides) is a powerful environmental advantage for enclosed hydroponic farming. By controlling the growing environment, weeds, insect pests and other soil-borne diseases are not a factor for hydroponically grown crops and the use of "cides" is not applicable.

Per The Hydroponic Planet article, is hydroponic food nutritious?, food safety is another advantage inherent with hydroponic farming:

By removing the soil from the equation, as well as manure-based fertilizer, hydroponic growing greatly reduces the risk of contaminated food making it to the supermarket. The reduced risk of contamination is one of hydroponics great health advantages over traditionally grown food.

Tomatillo blossom
Center-to-Plate garden

Another advantage of indoor systems is a year-round growing season and the ability to grow "out-of-season" crops.

Since many hydroponic farms grow food for local destinations, the food is fresher due to shorter transportation times and arrives with a lower carbon footprint. The current hydroponic-agriculture renaissance encompasses strong potential to increase food access in urban neighborhoods, especially those within food deserts.

Tomatoes, cucumbers, berries (e.g. strawberries, blueberries), leafy vegetables (e.g. lettuce, kale, Swiss chard, spinach), peppers, herbs, and spring onions grow well in hydroponic systems and represent the most common crops.

Hydroponics: challenges
Installing a hydroponics system requires an upfront capital investment. Additionally, ongoing constant monitoring by a manager trained in the system's checks and balances is necessary to maintain healthy operations.

Molly Crouch checks
the Center-to-Plate garden

As they run on electricity, hydroponic farms are vulnerable to power outages and back-up generators are recommended. If a power outage extends beyond the generator's capabilities, the entire remaining crop is lost.

Though free from weeds, insects and soil-born illnesses, indoor systems are vulnerable to water-borne microorganisms that may infest the system. Pythium (water mold) root rot is a common water-borne disease in hydroponic farming and can be difficult to control once plants are infected. According to the Urban Ag News article, Pythium root rot on hydroponically grown basil and spinach, careful attention to growing practices and sanitation procedures can limit this disease to an occasional annoyance rather than an annihilating nemesis.

When disease strikes a hydroponics farm, the entire crop is infected due to the circulating water feed and potentially lost, depending on the disease type and intensity.

Though overall hydroponic farming is void of fertilizers and the "cides," few farms pursue organic certification. Organic nutrient solutions often clump and clog the pumps; thus, the system requires constant monitoring to ensure consistent water flow. The risk of clogged pumps and losing an entire crop often does not justify the benefits of organic certification.

Despite the stated challenges, hydroponic farming is common place for local food production in a variety of environments, ranging from regenerative farms to public-school systems to convention centers. The following sections depict successful hydroponic operations discovered during Elemental Impact (Ei) Founder Holly Elmore's travels.

Hickory Grove Farm | KSU Field Station(2)

HGF Hydroponics Lab

In 2013 the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) leased a 26-acre tract of land to Kennesaw State University (KSU) for farm use. Formally, the site was the GDOT cement-mixing site for nearby I-75 construction. Though not toxic, the Hickory Grove Farm (HGF) soil was severely compacted and devoid of necessary minerals to sustain a healthy soil ecosystem. In addition, stormwater flowed off the property, rather than hydrate the "dead soil."

Due to the deteriorated state of the soil, one of the first HGF structures built was the Hydroponics Lab, which housed a state-of-the-art vertical hydroponic system. With each plant watered individually, the periodic dry time emulated nature and prevented root rot often prevalent in hydroponic systems. Within the lab, the tomato, cucumber, and various peppers-crop yields were impressive. Planting was timed to generate crops within the KSU-class rhythm.

Lush lettuce in the
Hydroponics Lab

Originally, HGF served as as a laboratory for The Michael A. Leven School of Culinary Sustainability and Hospitality (CSH) with an active class schedule. To prepare the students with the necessary skills to evolve into valuable culinary and hospitality-industry employees, the CSH required 400 hours of work experience and 200 volunteer hours for program graduation. Thus, HGF was the recipient of a significant number of student-volunteer hours for farm work.

In October 2017, KSU announced the CSH would be phased out by spring of 2021 and was no longer accepting new students. Thus, HGF lost their steady stream of student-volunteer hours and the farm-labor budget, other than HGF Farm Manager Michael Blackwell. It was time to step back and evolve the farm's strategic-operations plan.

With limited farm labor, Blackwell immediately assessed how he could maintain crop production. A top priority was replacing the the original vertical-hydroponics system with a table-top system to focus on lettuce and reduce required labor. With the Hydroponics Lab's new system, lettuce grows from seeds to ready-for-harvest in six weeks, broken down into three, two-week stages.

HGF can easily produce 400 pounds of lettuce per week, more than KSU Dining Services uses, even when at  full capacity feeding 6,000 students per day. Thus, Blackwell experimented with growing herbs and other produce in the Hydroponics Lab.

Italian parsley and Swiss chard
thrive in the hydroponics system

Effective July 1, 2019 the KSU Office of Research took over HGF management and renamed the farm the KSU Field Station. According to KSU Vice-President for Research Phaedra Corso, “The KSU Field Station is a valuable resource with endless possibilities to study how to protect and conserve our environment through different disciplinary lenses. We look forward to exploring new ways to make this Field Station a more integral and collaborative component of the KSU research experience for faculty and staff.”

The Hydroponics Lab is integral to the farm's new life as the Field Station and will continue to grow quality lettuce, herbs and other produce for KSU's stellar farm-to-campus dining program. Under Blackwell's leadership, the Field Station may integrate technology with regenerative farming practices to grow local, nutritious food in a cost-effective manner. By example, the Field Station may showcase how to prevent and/or repair urban-food deserts.

Blackwell substantiates the Field Station's important contributions:

“Through our work, not only are we demonstrating how to efficiently grow food in environmentally friendly ways, but we are also offering opportunities for KSU students and faculty to study the different biological and ecological systems so that we can be responsible stewards for our planet’s future,” 

The RiA Magazine article, Success is not static: evolution is required to create and sustain regeneration, details HGF's evolution from a campus farm to a research-field station. In addition, the article features the Georgia Institute of Technology sustainability team's visit to the farm as well as to KSU Dining Services.

An on-line version of the 2017 Southern Farm & Garden fall issue seven-page, multiple-article feature, the Ei Digital Book, Regenerative Agriculture Revives Soils & Local Ecosystems, showcases the incredible transformation of a former cement-mixing site into a regenerative farm. Holly provided the copy and photographs for the publication feature.

Spartanburg County Schools District Six

SCSD6 Hydroponic Greenhouse

In 2014 Spartanburg County Schools District Six (SCSD6) made a commitment to serve their students healthy food and brought food-service operations internal. Travis Fisher was hired as the Director of Food Services to oversee the culinary operations in the fourteen cafeterias as well as the catering operations.

SCSD6 SUCCESS: as shared in a WYFF July 2015 news report, SCSD6 served 38,000 more breakfasts, 106,000 more lunches, and 9,000 more dinners in the first year of serving healthy, from-scratch food to their students.

A natural extension of a healthy-food program is a farm-to-school focus supporting local agriculture. In 2016, SCSD6 evolved the farm-to-school focus to a campus-to-cafeteria endeavor with the construction of a greenhouse on the backside of the Dorman Freshman Campus. Buttercrunch lettuce, other lettuces, and herbs are grown in two different hydroponic formats for delivery to cafeterias.

SCSD6 NFT table-top system

In order to demonstrate diverse hydroponic/aeroponic growing techniques, SCSD6 first installed aeroponic tower systems and more recently installed a NFT tabletop-hydroponic system. SCSD6 learned the NFT system is much easier to monitor and maintain than the aeroponic towers.

At current capacity, the SCSDG greenhouse may grow 2,565 plants at any given time; each of the three aeroponic towers holds 675 plants for a total of 2,025 plants while the NFT systems grows up to 540 plants. At this juncture, 100% of the hydroponic-grown lettuces and herbs are destined for district-student dining.

SCSDG Director of Food Safety and Sustainability Patricia Tripp confirms food safety is a top priority within the district's commitment to serve healthy, nutritious food to students:

Growing hydroponically in a greenhouse allows the district to: 1) Grow year-around; 2) Grow in a sterilized medium that holds water and nutrients close to the roots of the plant; 3) Nurture the plants and students in a controlled and comfortable environment while providing a high-tech agriculture education. 

Aeroponic towers at SCSD6

The hydroponic greenhouse was a perfect step in SCSD6's evolution of the campus-to-cafeteria commitment to the recently launched Farm 2 School program.

In 2016, SCSD6 took possession of the 16-acre plot of land destined for the district's organic-certified farm. For the first year, farm staff tested the land to determine what could be grown crop-wise and officially opened as an operating farm in 2017. The SCSD6 Farm at Cragmoor is the foundation for creating a hyper-local food system for SCSD6. Even with the farm fully operational, all lettuce is grown within the safety of the hydroponic greenhouse.

The RiA Magazine article, Spartanburg County School District Six: a culture of EXCELLENCE!, gives an overview of the impressive school district and introduces the Farm at Cragmoor. The Ei FB album, Spartanburg County School District Six, is a pictorial recap of SCSD6 Farm at Cragmoor tours along with greenhouse images.

Center-to-Table Gardens

Center-to-Table open-air
aeroponic garden

Though commercial hydroponic gardens are generally enclosed in greenhouses, public facilities and schools often install open-air hydroponic systems for educational purposes. In addition, the open-air gardens provide ambiance as well as substantiate the facility's sustainability commitment.

Orange County Convention Center (OCCC), the second largest convention center in the nation, walks the sustainability talk with their Center-to-Plate gardens. Operated by OCCC food-service contractor Centerplate, the open-air hydroponic gardens are located in the Westwood lobby and greet convention attendees with a cheerful, sustainable welcome.

Opened in late 2016, the Center-to-Table Gardens were named the 2017 Outstanding Sustainable Program winner at the annual U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) Central Florida region's LEEDership awards.

OCCC Sustainability Manager John Roberts substantiates the empowering message the Center-to-Table gardens give to arriving guests:

"Located immediately inside the main facility entrance, the Center-to-Plate Gardens welcome guests to the convention center via a wall of beautiful green foods; lettuce, kale, basil, scallions, mint. Strategically, guests ride alongside the gardens as they travel to main center levels. The gardens serve as a gateway into the myriad of sustainable experiences commonplace at the OCCC."

Colorful sprouts in the
Seedling Propagation Area

Toxic-chemical-free fruits, vegetables and edible flowers are grown from seed in the Seedling Propagation Area. Once mature, the saplings are transferred to the aeroponic towers to flourish until harvest. Urban Smart Farms manages the 2,000 square foot gardens, consisting of 81 aeroponic towers in two displays on opposite ends of the lobby.

With 44 planting spots per tower, the garden capacity is 3500+ concurrent plants. Planting is staggered to provide a consistent crop harvest. Delivered to Centerplate's kitchens, harvested crops are prepared for service to the convention center guests.

The onsite gardens allow Centerplate Executive Chef James “Chef K” Katurakes and his team the ability to use hyperlocal ingredients to increase the overall “Fresh from Florida” focus at the OCCC. Growing fully mature plants in 30 days also adds to their culinary creativity. At a fall 2018 event in the garden area co-hosted by OCCC and Centerplate at the UFI Sustainability Summit, the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry, a featured menu item was a small-plate salad composed of baby oak leaf lettuce hearts from the Center-to-Table Gardens.

OCCC - Centerplate Director of Sustainability Molly Crouch emphasizes Centerplate's strong support of and partnership with the OCCC on environmental commitments and endeavors:

John Roberts & Molly Crouch
in the aeroponic garden

Centerplate is a proud sustainable partner with the Orange County Convention Center (OCCC) in Orlando, Florida. The OCCC continues to raise its commitment to the environment through waste diversion, energy efficiency, community service, and local purchasing/sourcing including hyperlocal sourcing through its onsite Center-to-Table Gardens managed by Centerplate and its farming partner Urban Smart Farms.  

By having such a strong relationship with the OCCC, Centerplate is able to expand its own sustainable initiatives while working in congruence with the Center's goals. Centerplate looks forward to partnering with the OCCC for many years to come and continuing to advance sustainable programs and policies.

In September 2019, Molly hosted Holly for a photo shoot of the impressive aeroponic gardens and propagation area. The visit was also a follow-up meeting for the Ei Three-Step Straw Initiative.

The Holly Elmore Images FB album, Hydroponics Farming, showcases tours of the three featured commercial-hydroponic applications.

With the global population and desertification escalating along with a diminishing clean water supply, hydroponics farming holds promise to feed the world's citizens with healthy, nutritious food produced in a cost-effective and water-conscious manner.

... and remember relatively low-cost, lightweight commercial-grade plastic is the workhorse within the hydroponic-agriculture renaissance.

Resources:
(1) The Hydroponics Planet article A Brief History of Hydroponics by Oscar Stephens was the primary resource for the History section.

(2) Quotes and information relating to the KSU Field Station were obtained from the July 17, 2019 KSU blog post, Office of Research manages sustainable farm renamed KSU Field Station.

Spartanburg County School District Six: a culture of EXCELLENCE!

Under the leadership of Spartanburg County School District Six (SCSD6) Superintendent Dr. Darryl Owings, a culture of excellence infiltrates the district's entire spectrum of operations. With the strong support of the nine-member School Board, Darryl ensures the SCSD6 adheres to their mission to always put the children first.

The SCSD6 administrative offices as well as the main district campus are located in Roebuck, SC on a sprawling 292-acre tract of land. Intertwined within the SCSD6 facilities are natural wetlands, wooded areas, and walking trails available for students and the community.

Within the Roebuck vicinity, a profound community spirit permeates the local area. Steeped in pre-Revolutionary War heritage, Roebuck is the home to the Walnut Grove Plantation, Charles and Mary Moore's residence built in 1765 on land granted to them in 1763 by King George III. The Walnut Grove Plantation is on the National Register of Historic Places and open to the public as a living history farm.

Over 2016 and 2017, the South Carolina (SC) Conservation Bank purchased a total of 120 acres of family-owned land from Charles and Mary Moore's descendants. In 2016, Upstate Forever protected the land with a conservation easement to set aside the land for educational and agricultural purpose. The Spartanburg County Foundation owns the protected land while Upstate Forever administers the property. In a long-term agreement, SCSD6 leases 16 acres to use as an organic farm to grow produce for the district schools.

Per the Upstate Forever site, partial funding from the South Carolina (SC) Conservation Bank offsets some of the costs involved in placing the easement, making the land donation, and endowing the property’s perpetual care. The entire tract of land is known as the SCSD6 Farm at Cragmoor.

Within the community spirit, resident Roger Milliken founded the Noble Tree Foundation in 1999 with the following mission: "To enhance the well-being of the citizens of Spartanburg County through the promotion of landscaping and excellence in horticulture." By definition, noble trees are planted to live for multiple generations while enhancing the landscape, providing shade, and grow into fixtures within the surrounding landscape. Some of the Milliken noble trees are visible from the SCSD6 campus.

Elemental Impact Visits Spartanburg
In October 2018 Elemental Impact (Ei) along with Ei Strategic Ally Feed & Seed hosted the Ei Exploration of Fungi, Soil Health and World Hunger. During the final exploration session at the Clemson organic-student farm, Feed & Seed Chair Mary Hipp shared on the amazing healthy-food school programs at SCSD6 as well as down the road 20+ miles at Greenville County Schools.

The tour group, left to right:
Greg, Mary and Darryl

Inspired, Ei Founder Holly Elmore traveled to Greenville | Spartanburg in May 2019 to meet the masterminds behind the healthy-food school programs and tour their respective operations. Mary was generous with her time, connections, and spirit as she hosted Holly for two-consecutive days of meetings and tours.

On May 14 Darryl, along with SCSD6 Deputy Superintendent Dr. Greg Cantrell, hosted Mary and Holly for an introductory meeting in the district's offices. Afterwards, Darryl and Greg took Mary and Holly on tours of the campus greenhouse followed by the SCSD6 Farm at Cragmoor where healthy, organic food is grown for the school cafeterias. The locally grown, healthy-food commitment at SCSD6 was evident and impressive.

SCSD6 - at a glance
One of seven Spartanburg County districts, SCSD6 enrolls approximately 11,500 students, and the district employs nearly 900 certified staff members. The school system consists of one child development center, nine elementary schools, three middle schools, one ninth-grade school campus and one high school. The student teacher ratio is sixteen to one.

From the Census Reporter, SCSD6 is 150.6 square miles with a population just under 68,000 individuals. The median age is 37.2 years old and 26% of the population under 18 years of age live in poverty conditions.

Though the overall student graduation rate is 88.6%, for students who attended SCSD6 in grades 9-12 the graduation rate is 96.8 %. Committed to preparing students for successful lives, the R.D. Anderson Applied Technology Center (RDA) was a pioneer in the development of vocational centers in SC and a Palmetto Gold Winner for 11 years.

According to the RDA ATC Fast Fact Sheet, 2,875 students participated in RDA courses in the 2017-2018 school year. RDA offers certifications | licenses in a variety of fields including State Cosmetology License, Certified Nursing Assistant, First Aid / CPR / AED, Servsafe, and more. Local industry donated $40,000 for student scholarships in the 2017 - 2018 school year.

At Dorman High School, more than 90% of graduates attend a 2 or 4-year college, university, or enter the military and $19 million in scholarships was earned last school year. In the 2017 - 2018 school year, over 900 students completed dual-enrollment courses for college credit at no cost to them; over 800 completed AP exams and earned college credit.

Beyond student academics, within the SCSD6 culture of excellence is a commitment to student health and wellness.

Commitment to Health & Wellness

When students come first, a commitment to health and wellness naturally follows. As a significant step in serving students healthy, freshly prepared food, SCSD6 ended their third-party foodservice-operator contract and established internal culinary operations.

According the July 2015 GoUpstate.com article, Fresh-cooked meals catch on in District 6 schools, newly hired kitchen staff underwent extensive culinary training. Most of the staff were employees of prior the foodservice contracter and were familiar with the kitchens. Yet, their culinary tasks were mainly limited to heating and serving food that required minimal basic-kitchen skills.

Cragmoor Farm view from entrance

Culinary Partners (CP) provided the 36-hour course that educated the staff on basic-kitchen skills, nutrition, food safety, pallet development, and marketing skills to entice students to try the fresh-food options. During her tenure as Greenville County Schools Food and Nutrition Services (GCS FANS) Director, CP Executive Director Eileen Staples, spearheaded the Greenville schools healthy-food school program launch in 2010 with impressive results.

The RiA Magazine article, #schoolfoodROCKS: indeed, school food does rock in Greenville County, SC!, gives the history and evolution of the amazing school-foodservice program embarked upon by Eileen and further excelled under the current GCS FANS Director Joe Urban. A section in the Holly Elmore Images FB album, Greenville, SC, gives a pictorial recap of Ei's GSC FANS cafeteria tour and lunch.

In January 2014, SCSD6 hired Travis Fisher as the Director of Food Services to oversee the culinary operations in the fourteen cafeterias as well as the catering operations. A seasoned culinary professional, Travis started his career in the restaurant industry. More recently, Travis worked eight years at Aramark where he served as Assistant Director of Child Nutrition before his promotion to Executive Director of Foodservice at a SC-school district. Travis was an investment within the SCSD6 commitment to excellence.

SCSD6 greenhouse on the backside
of the Dorman Freshman Campus

SCSD6 SUCCESS: as shared in a WYFF July 2015 news report, SCSD6 served 38,000 more breakfasts, 106,000 more lunches, and 9,000 more dinners in the first year of serving healthy, from-scratch food to their students.

A natural extension of a healthy-food program is a farm-to-school focus supporting local agriculture. In 2016, SCSD6 evolved the farm-to-school focus to a campus-to-cafeteria endeavor with the construction of a greenhouse on the backside of the Dorman Freshman Campus. Buttercrunch lettuce, other lettuces, and herbs are grown in a Nutrient Film Technique (NFT) hydroponic growing system.

Per the RiA Magazine article, Success is not static: evolution is required to create and sustain regeneration, on Kennesaw State University's Hickory Grove Farm, a regenerative farm built on a prior Georgia Department of Transportation cement-mixing site:

Mary touring the greenhouse
NFT hydroponic system

In addition to not requiring soil for healthy crops, hydroponic-agriculture systems save tremendous water. According to a University of Arizona Department of Soil, Water and Environmental Science 2011 article: 

A hydroponic lettuce system could use only 10 percent of the water needed compared to field-grown lettuce. Arizona uses about 70 percent of its water for agriculture. Theoretically, about 90 percent of all that water could be saved if every farm converted to hydroponics.

According to Greg, the greenhouse NFT system provides approximately 50% of the district cafeterias' lettuce consumption.

The Farm 2 School website page states there are currently six operating elementary-school gardens within the district, one middle-school garden, and more gardens are in the planning stages. In addition to providing nutritious food, the campus gardens and agricultural endeavors serve as a student-educational platform with formal and informal programs in place.

SCSD6 Farm at Cragmoor 

Farm view from the packing house

In 2016, SCSD6 took possession of the 16-acre plot of land destined for the district's organic-certified farm within their Farm 2 School program. For the first year, farm staff tested the land to determine what could be grown crop-wise and officially opened as an operating farm in 2017. The SCSD6 Farm at Cragmoor is the foundation for creating a hyper-local food system for SCSD6.

From inception, the SCSD6 Farm at Cragmoor was U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Good Agricultural Practices certified. With the land in possession for three consecutive years, SCSD6 is in the midst of obtaining USDA Organic certification. In accordance with the USDA National Organic Program standards, organic crops must be grown on land that is free from prohibited pesticides, herbicides, and synthetic fertilizers for three years preceding growth.

With the farm research complete, SCSD6 invested in the farm staff and equipment necessary to fully embark on the Farm 2 School initiative. In 2018, SCSD6 invested in an impressive packing house including a wash line for root crops, an ice machine for packing broccoli & other vegetables, and a dual walk-in cooler system.

Dual walk-in coolers in the
packing house

The coolers are maintained at different temperatures to maximize optimal shelf life and produce quality. In addition, it is important to store certain fruits and vegetables separately. For example, onions and potatoes excrete incompatible gasses that lead to faster spoilage.

Only root vegetables are cleaned in the wash line as rinsing fruits and vegetables may lead to earlier spoilage. Thus, field crops such a zucchini, squash, watermelon, tomatoes, lettuces, and herbs are field-packed and washed in the cafeterias prior to kitchen prep. Lettuces and herbs from the greenhouse are transported to packing house where they are aggregated with the farm crops for delivery to the district cafeterias via a refrigerated truck.

Installed in March 2019, the farm high tunnel is used to germinate seedlings for crop planting. As seedlings were previously germinated in the greenhouse, NFT lettuce and herb production may be increased due to freed greenhouse space. The high tunnel may serve as a totally or partially enclosed facility; when totally enclosed the seedlings are protected from insect pests.

A tomato greenhouse is under construction with an August completion date.

SCSD6 Farm at Cragmoor bee hives

In April 2017, honey bees arrived at the SCSD6 Farm at Cragmoor thanks to Dorman High School Resource Officer, Sean Roberts. As a beekeeper, Sean delivered approximately 20,000 bees to the farm for aiding in crop pollination as well as the delicious honey byproduct. The Bees Arrive at SC Spartanburg County School District Six! video on the Southern Sustainable Agriculture Working Group website is excellent coverage of the bees' arrival.

Aligning with a national trend, SCSD6 purchased a food truck in 2018 to service special events and camps within the district. Via the USDA-sponsored Summer Meals Program, SCSD6 distributes free lunches to children under 18 years old, regardless of whether they live in the district or not.

In the final development stages, the goal is for the Farm at Cragmoor to attain self-sustaining financial status by 2021. Revenue is derived from the district cafeterias who pay market rate for the farm produce and the summer Farmers Market hosted at the farm. As peak produce season is during the district's summer break, the Farmers Market allows the farm to maximize the crop production with a financially rewarding outcome. The market is open to the community.

Ethan & Patricia

Farm staff includes three full-time field workers, two full-time seasonal workers, and one part-time staff member. In addition to field responsibilities, Ethan Jarrett works in the packing house as well as administers crop planning, seed sourcing, and product distribution.

From a management perspective, Philip Ward joined the SCSD6 Farm at Cragmoor team almost from inception. Philip is responsible for soil health, land preparation, and equipment maintenance. Recently, Lisa Stansell left her GCS agriculture-teacher position to join SCSD6 as the Farm 2 School Director. In her new role, Lisa oversees the entire Farm 2 School program including farm and greenhouse educational platform development.

Another recent farm-management investment was hiring Patricia Tripp in April as the SCSD6 Director of Food Safety and Sustainability.

Food Safety First
Food quality and food safety are integrated cohesively within best agricultural practices.

As a highly respected food-safety and best agricultural-practices industry expert, Patricia brings nine years of farm food-safety experience to her new responsibilities at SCSD6. Patricia is the steward for creating and sustaining a food-safety culture at the farm and throughout the district.

Vegetable wash line in the
packing house

Beyond establishing formal agricultural food-safety practices, Patricia is charged with obtaining the SCSD6 Farm at Cragmoor's organic certification. Additionally, Patricia oversees the transformation of the recently closed nearby Old Fairforest Middle School cafeteria kitchen into a food-processing center.

Scheduled to open in August, the processing center will initially use the farm's roma tomatoes to make tomato sauce as well as freezing freshly harvested produce. The intention is to expand to ten value-added products this fiscal year. Patricia will establish the food-safety standards and policies for the processing center.

With the SCSD6 healthy-food commitment staged to excel into the next implementation stage, it is an incredibly busy time at the SCSD6 Farm at Cragmoor and the district as a whole.

Awards, Honors and Grants. 
At the 2018 ForeverGreen Awards Luncheon, the Spartanburg School District 6: Farm 2 School Initiative was honored with the Tommy Wyche Land Conservation Champion Award. The award video emphasized how the Farm 2 School Initiative success is the result of a strong collaboration between the Moore Family descendants, mainly Tom Moore Craig, Upstate Forever, SC Conservation Bank, and the Spartanburg County Foundation.

Tomato seedlings ready for
planting in the field

In the 2019 SC Best School District Rankings, SCSD6 is ranked #3 with an overall "A" ranking, the same as the #1 and #2 districts. In specific categories, SCSD6 received an A+ in Clubs | Activities and Diversity.

Grant funding is often key to implementing aggressive programs such as the SCSD6 Farm 2 School Initiative. In a collaborative spirit, SCSD6 received numerous impressive national, state and local grants to augment and support the Farm 2 School Initiative, whether directly for the farm, creating school gardens or related to agriculture and nutrition education. As stated on the Farm 2 School website page:

The district was awarded the SC Department of Agriculture Grant to support school gardens, to source food locally, and to incorporate agriculture and nutrition education into school curriculums. In addition, the district received a USDA Farm to School Grant and the Healthy School Initiative Grant, a partnership with the Mary Black Foundation. To further encourage agriculture and nutrition education, the district was awarded an AmeriCorps Grant to create a new program, FarmCorps.

The Ei FB album, Spartanburg County School District Six, is a pictorial recap of the SCSD6 Farm at Cragmoor tour.

To achieve a culture of excellence, consistent strong leadership must continually develop and demand the highest standards, attract individuals with similar moral values and work ethics, invest in the staff, equipment and facilities necessary for desired achievements, and showcase success as the culmination of collaborative effort within the organization and the community as a whole.

With Dr. Darryl Owings at the helm, the Spartanburg County School District Six encases the ingredients for a culture of excellence throughout the district. The School 2 Farm Initiative moving from the development to the operational phase exemplifies the district's culture of EXCELLENCE.