When the ribbon was cut at Western NY Tech Academy’s new greenhouse on May 20, it signified a new hands-on opportunity for students to engage in their coursework. It also signified the most recent National Grid STEM sponsorship as the company, through National Grid Foundation, donated $50,000 toward construction and other project-related costs.

Western NY Tech Academy Principal Catherine Bennett described the academy as a place that offers students a unique educational experience that includes project-based learning, guest speakers and job mentors.

“The greenhouse will provide our students with the chance to grow and learn as they explore this new state-of-the-art educational resource,” she said. “We are so very grateful for the support we received from National Grid.”

The greenhouse, located on the Byron-Bergen Central School District Campus, was built for students to link tangible products and business processes to potential career pathways. It is also home to fish tanks, from which the students harvest waste that’s used to fertilize lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers and other plants that grow throughout the 1,400-square-foot facility. Plans include growing and transporting the vegetables to nearby Genesee Valley BOCES Culinary School, then perhaps eventually branch out to distribute their homegrown produce to local marketplaces.

Other lessons taught at the greenhouse include aquaponics, water chemistry, plant structure, fertilization and soil management, to name a few.

“Collaborations with industry partners provide our students with opportunities that they would not experience elsewhere,” Bennett said. “National Grid has been a supporter of Western NY Tech Academy since its inception and with this support we now see the culmination of the greenhouse as we celebrate its official opening. Now that the greenhouse is up and running and producing, students will apply their learning through the many facets of greenhouse operation and production in their pathway learning.”

STEM initiatives such as the greenhouse sponsorship exemplify the spirit of National Grid’s Project C program, which was designed to transcend convention and create a more equitable future in the communities that the company serves. The goal of Project C is to inspire positive change, including workforce development, today and in the years to come.

Paul Gister tours the greenhouse on May 20

National Grid Regional Director Ken Kujawa said that innovative partnerships like those with Western NY Tech Academy represent the kind of innovative relationship that can make positive impacts on students, the community and the workforce of the future.

“STEM support can come all different shapes and sizes, including a greenhouse,” Kujawa said. “We know how important agriculture and food processing are to the Genesee region. We’re hopeful that by supporting this project, students that partake in working at the greenhouse, will, at some point in time, say, ‘Maybe there’s a job out there for me somewhere where I can make a difference for a local company and the region.’ In the end, if it’s good for the region, it’s good for National Grid and that’s why we support projects like this.”

Future careers were top of mind, as the ribbon cutting followed a stepping up ceremony, where students declared their individual educational pathways that they'll begin to work toward as they pursue applied associate degrees through Genesee Community College.

Western New York Tech Academy is a program of Genesee Valley BOCES, which operates as a Board of Cooperative Educational Services and offers shared programs and services to 22 component school districts across Genesee, Wyoming, Livingston and Steuben counties.

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