DENVER — Inside a classroom in a Denver school, there is much more than desks, white boards, students and teachers. An entire hydroponic farm is growing alongside the minds of teenagers at Bruce Randolph School.
Bruce Randolph school serves sixth through twelfth grades in the Globeville, Elyria-Swansea, Cole and Whittier neighborhoods in Denver. Named after “Daddy” Bruce Randolph, the school aims to carry on his work to help feed and serve those in need.
[Watch: Keep a Light in Your Window: The Story of Daddy Bruce]
“The mission of our school is to give back and for our students to be positive contributors to their community,” said Melissa Boyd, the school's principal. “This is one amazing way that they can do this over and over again, not just on one day and for one community service project.”
Through partnerships with urban-gro — a company focused on indoor controlled environment agriculture — as well as the nonprofit Teens for Food Justice, Colorado State University and a grant, the school was able to bring the hydroponic farm into its natural resource room. This is where students can help grow all sorts of food like lettuce, kale, chiles and more.