New York Sun Works, founded in 2004 by Ted Caplow, is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that uses hydroponic farming technology to educate students and teachers about the science of sustainability.
Their Hydroponic Classroom program was inspired by NY Sun Works' first project, the renowned Science Barge, a prototype sustainable urban farm and environmental education center previously docked on the Hudson River and now located in Yonkers under different ownership.
[1] In 2010, New York Sun Works built the first of their Hydroponic Classrooms at a Manhattan public elementary school[2] with the goal of teaching sustainability science and climate education.
[8] Originally launched under the name The Greenhouse Project,[9] the Hydroponic Classroom program was created in 2008 to increase K-8th grade students' interest and proficiency in STEM education while understanding the environmental issues of their time: global climate change, efficient use of water and energy, building greener cities, and growing a secure and healthy food supply.
[3] Part of NYC Mayor Eric Adams' Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP), the pilot certified 32 students from Brooklyn and Queens in controlled environment agriculture (CEA) techniques.