Engineered with drip irrigation invented in Israel, Scheck Hillel’s High School Horticulture Club planted a hydroponic garden and has been harvesting herbs and vegetables throughout the year. Through clubs like this, our outdoor campus serves as a real-time lab for students to learn and apply principles of science. 

Club members Ilan Brejt '23, Aharon Heinrich '24 and Yitzhak Lopez '25 shared samples of tomatoes, radishes, peppers, carrots and various herbs grown in the vertical garden. With the support of faculty advisor Luis Comulada (Upper School Science teacher), they built up the drip irrigation system pumping water from a reusable source: the AC condenser. In buckets filled with coconut husks, the seeds germinated and produced wondrous results.

 

The hydroponic garden has been a hands-on outdoor learning lab for all: from our ECE cubs who visit the garden, to the high school students who tend to it every day. Visitors are encouraged to take home samples, ask questions about the garden and learn the engineering and agriculture principles in play.

 

Club leaders added that many in the school have contributed to the garden's success: members of the National Honor Society and the Environmental Club along with fellow Horticulture Club members Shalom Lev Meisels '24, Jeremy Schonfeld '24 and Dan Werta '24, have supported the project. Their greatest hope is that the garden will have a lasting impact on our school.