Solar Power Implementation for Gardening Center
Problem statement
Formerly incarcerated people are five times more likely to be unemployed in comparison to the general population [1]. To help improve these statistics, the Grow Academy offers educational curriculum, career exploration, and cognitive development programming for young males in the justice system. One technique used to develop these males during their time at the academy is through horticulture therapy, where students tend to their own garden to learn about responsibility and ownership [2]. Currently, the academy has unused solar panels at their site, and our task is to create a solution to use those solar panels to power various gardening components. The solar panels will first be used to generate power to the heater for the chicken coop and to the pump for the fish pond. By optimizing the solar energy through a successful design, there is potential to expand this energy to other electrically-powered gardening components as well. The final solution will also incorporate an educational aspect with an end goal of inspiring the students of Grow Academy to learn more about the solar energy field and other renewable energy career options.
Team members
Anna Flemma – leader
Drew Kassel – communicator
Jack Risch – accountant
Antonio Pulito – admin