Hydroponics Club
As members of Pitt Hydroponics, we dedicate ourselves to the education of Pitt students in hydroponic practices, the outreach to local communities, and the research and creation of hydroponic systems of small, medium, and large sizes. Our current projects include the starting up of euro-growers, working on our vertical system, a deep water culture, a rain barrel and growing mushrooms hydroponically. Members of our organization come from diverse academic backgrounds and typically spend Saturday afternoons during the fall and spring semesters planning, maintaining, monitoring, and building systems in a garage located in Homewood, a local Pittsburgh community, provided to us by the Bible Center Church, the parent organization to the Oasis Project, a local project that we work closely with.
We have grown produce such as lettuce, basil and kale that is donated back to the Pittsburgh community, specifically in Homewood to the Oasis Project and in Oakland to the Pitt Pantry and to the CHS Food Pantry. Pitt Hydroponics also has a close relationship with the Mascaro Center for Sustainable Innovation (MCSI). Our organization’s advisor, Dr. David Sanchez, the assistant director of MCSI, frequently works to help us develop new projects to improve our organization and achieve our goals. We also work with Dr. Sanchez to align with the missions of MCSI, such as coordinating community outreach events with local schools and developing designs for new systems. Pitt Hydroponics is particularly dedicated to education and community outreach. At each of our bi-weekly general body meetings, we allocate time for an educational presentation in which we highlight various topics within hydroponics to dive deeper into as a group.
Before the times of COVID-19, we have done community outreach by working with
local schools to teach students more about hydroponics and have even worked
with a class to help them build a hydroponic system. Donations to Pitt
Hydroponics will help us advance our growing capabilities by building new
systems and experiment with our growing seasons with being able to do
maintenance on the micro climate. Our organization would also use donations to
build more hydroponic systems. These systems will be stored in our Homewood
garage or will be put in buildings around Pitt’s campus. Systems on campus can
help promote sustainable urban agriculture to the Pitt community by showing
students and faculty that by using hydroponics, plants can be grown almost
anywhere.
By donating to Pitt Hydroponics, you are showing support
to local urban agricultural and sustainability initiatives within the Pitt and
Pittsburgh community. You are helping our organization give back to our
neighbors in Pittsburgh by growing and donating more produce than ever before.
You are maintaining the education of hydroponics and sustainability for current
and future Pitt students. We are grateful for any donations and are excited to
continue working towards the future of urban agriculture.