Speaker Woody Worthington, Green Our Planet Director of National Partnerships and Special Envoy for Northern and Rural NV, shared exciting news regarding the impact of hydroponic gardening in the classroom at the Minden Rotary Club meeting.  Over 20 years of prior experience with the Bently Ranch and the Farm Bureau make this position ideal for the new Director.

Green Our Planet, founded by filmmakers and entrepreneurs Clara Byrne and Kim McQuarrie, has a mission to “build a movement to create joy and justice in communities” by empowering students to grow food and connect to the learning across the curriculum.  This project based learning is now in place in 46 states and over 1000 schools and nearly all Douglas County schools are involved.  

There are two systems schools can choose to be involved in:  HydroConnect (hydroponics) and GardenConnect (outdoor gardens).  The Hydroponics curriculum and equipment came into the mix when COVID hit and has expanded exponentially since then.  Green Our Planet provides all the necessary start up materials and teacher support.  Materials include 19 small (tabletop size) hydroponic units and one large (4’ x 4’ size) unit for each school as well as K-12 curriculum aligned with the very robust NV science standards.  A Virtual Academy system of videos and online as well as 1-on-1 coaching is available to ensure teacher and administrator success.

Taking the growing to the next level, schools have been involved with Farmers Markets and even providing food for the students and families through salad bars at lunch and free food for school food pantries.  The Farmers Market experience expands the curriculum to include marketing, sales, accounting, cash handling and entrepreneurship.  Las Vegas will hold their annual student Farmers Market on April 19th.  In Northern Nevada, 15 schools have signed up for their first student Farmers Market - to be held May 16th in Carson City.

Speaker Bio:  Woody grew up in Oregon and met his wife wile at the Marine Warfare Center.  They have 2 kids.  Woody spent 17 years with Bently Ranch and 2 years with the Nevada Farm Bureau.  In his spare time, he enjoys diving all over the floor playing pickleball.