Middle School Engineering and Computer Science students have come up with a concept to grow fresh and healthy food despite land shortages and population increases in urban areas. They created a vertical edible garden that not only saves space, but is also easier to maintain.
The garden will harvest green beans, sweet peppers, and basil. Project Manager and Lead Designer of the project, Max Taylor ‘27, created the 3-D printed prototype that was selected as a first-place design by his peers. Mrs. Cristina Telepman’s students, with the help of a fifth grade EDGE Program science class, helped bring Max’s design to real-life proportions: a 4’x6’ frame made entirely of wood with custom moveable boxes to hold and adapt to each herb.
“As a home gardener, I wanted to have configurability in mind when designing my prototype because I knew that since we were growing different plants, they would all need different amounts of space,” said Max.
This initiative is part of The Fairchild Challenge, a project that encourages students to think big and come up with solutions to complex problems. Participants are also tasked with describing their design process and why it is valuable to the community.
Next, Max and his team are working on adding other plant species that will act as natural pesticides when planted around the vertical garden.
