Our high school, Maine Academy of Natural Sciences, is all about outdoor, experiential education for our students. However, our school farm, the One Acre Farm, suffers from a lack of irrigation which discourages participation from our students in the production of their own food. Not only does it keep them from forming a meaningful connection to a sustainable food source, it also delays their learning of a critical skill in self-sufficiency and agroecology.
A group of extra-dedicated students have taken matters into their own hands and decided to install an irrigation system on the farm once and for all. They will design and install an irrigation system using timers and sprinklers so that watering (or lack thereof) is no longer an obstacle for other students in learning how to grow their own food.
It was hard work, but doable! Our students rolled up their sleeves and jumped in to solve the problem laid out in front of them. A senior dug an over-100-foot-long trench as their capstone project. Students from different grades added a new water line, drove a post, and installed a spigot where hoses can attach to reach all corners of the garden—it was an amazing display of hidden plumbing expertise from our student body.
We learned plumbing parts and skills, estimating distances, methods for fixing leaks, working with the soil on our One Acre Farm, and working together respectfully.
We wouldn't really change anything—we truly did our best with the resources and circumstances we were given. One small thing we might improve might be to take a little bit of time to get an accurate measurement of the length of pipe we need so that we don't get too short a roll!
Our favorite part of this project was finding out just how many expert plumbers we have in our student body.
Use two hose clamps on each end to prevent leaks!
