This information is from Spring, 2021. Our students will use the Flex Farm at the start of the 2022-2023 school year. More to Come!
Lake Bluff's Flex FarmWhat is a Flex Farm? You are in the right place to learn more!
Please enjoy the "thank you" notes written to the Lake Bluff PTO for their generous and inspirational purchase of the Flex Farm. There are nine letters, representing our nine groups of learners. Students harvested their first crop of coastal star romaine on Monday, March 14th. They used the "cut and come again" approach, leaving the newest center leaves. When we returned from spring break the plants were ready to be harvested again on Tuesday, March 29th. The Flex Farm has moved on to the next classroom, MAC 3 Birch. |
This Flex Farm is Lake Bluff's, purchased by our PTO from the Green Bay based company, Fork Farms.
At the beginning of the year Mr. Chavannes, our Technology Director asked teachers to pool our PTO grant money in order to purchase a Flex Farm. MAC 3 Oak just happens to be the first classroom to use it. We are eager to share our process with our colleagues so it can be shared with ALL students and collaborate to develop different uses and purposes over time. |
Students' Newsletters are here!
Click on the Group # to access each expedition group's newsletter.
Group #1 Ty, Cal, Nora, Kamron Group #2 Nathaniel, John Henry, Betsy, Asher, Sundari
Group #3 Colin, Kingston, Mary, Liam Group #4 MJ, Iñaki, Nyah, Yanni
Group #5 Harry, Charlie, Vivian, Hannah Group #6 Zac, Eliseo, Annika, Declan
Group #7 San, Sylvia, Evan D, Jonah Group #8 Coleman, Soren, Jazlyn, Jaxson
Group #9 Alex, Matteo, Evan E, Alaina
Group #3 Colin, Kingston, Mary, Liam Group #4 MJ, Iñaki, Nyah, Yanni
Group #5 Harry, Charlie, Vivian, Hannah Group #6 Zac, Eliseo, Annika, Declan
Group #7 San, Sylvia, Evan D, Jonah Group #8 Coleman, Soren, Jazlyn, Jaxson
Group #9 Alex, Matteo, Evan E, Alaina
Here are the thank yous from Students representing their expedition group
Letter #1
First of all I am glad that I can talk about the Flex Farm from an in person physical experience! I’m going to talk to you about what I liked and found interesting about the Flex Farm so far. When I first saw the flex farm it was in a giant box so I was surprised at how big it was and also thought that the pictures on the outside of the box looked really cool. Now that it is built in our classroom it honestly looks like it's from a whole other era entirely. Every time I see the Flex Farm now I have the strong urge to check in on the plants to see how they're doing and to see if they have grown. I am also amazed at the fact that there are 144 heads of lettuce in the Flex Farm AT ONCE! Really the only sounds that the Flex Farm makes is the sound of the pump pumping water to the top and it trickling down the root chamber. The outside feels very smooth in a very modern way which is nice. If I had to choose one thing I would say that watching the plants grow has been my favorite part of this whole experience. The reason why is partly because I feel like the plants get bigger every time I see them which is pretty satisfying. The most surprising thing about this whole journey is that I hadn’t heard of the Flex Farm sooner! It’s an incredible invention that I feel deserves more attention than what it has. Me and my peers have been able to collaborate and work together by splitting up the work and working together by working apart if that makes any sense. I hope that if other classes use Flex Farm they will be able to enjoy it as much as I have so far and to come. I just want to say thank you, the school PTO for spending the money on the Flex Farm when you definitely didn’t need to. It has been a great journey with the Flex Farm so far and I can’t wait to see what will happen next but thank you for reading and have a great day! Letter #2
Did you realize the PTO donated us money for a Flex Farm? Did you know that a Flex Farm costs $4,695? When I first saw the Flex Farm, I remembered that my 7th and 8th grade students at my old school had a Flex Farm too. I felt surprised and fascinated at the Flex Farm’s sound and appearance at this school and for how us 5th and 6th grade students have it in our class now.Now I am used to the trickling of the water coming up and down the system and bubbling of the pump doing its thing. I herald the pleasant hum of the water being pulled up by the pump (which was making the hum) and the very bright LED lights that were at the center of the structure. It was about my height, maybe a little shorter (my height is 5ft 2) and about if you spread it out all the way would be like ten feet across. My favorite part of the expedition was transplanting the plants into the Flex Farm because it was just satisfying doing all the steps and finally getting to transplanting. The thing that surprised me the most is that I got the chance to use the Flex Farm in 6th grade instead of 7th and 8th grade at my school, but it’s not like I didn’t want it to come later. My group did really well on collaborating on who did which without any fights. I hope other students will like my experience as much as I liked it. And finally, a big thanks to the PTO for donating that round up of $5,000 dollars for the school so we could get the Flex Farm, it was again a great experience for me and I hope other students will too. Thank you so much! |
Letter #3
It’s amazing to think that the first time I saw the Flex Farm, out in the hall, and all I was thinking was what the heck is that thing. And now, I look at it, tucked in the corner of our classroom, thinking that machines ‘gonna change the world. When it was first added to the classroom it was noticeably there. It was hard to ignore due to the sound of trickling water coming from it, and now I know once it's gone it’ll be too quiet in here, almost like something is missing. Working with my classmates on the Flex Farm we’ve learned so much about ourselves and each other, just based on what topic we want to write about. And I think we’ve all gotten better at working together. We started off, 2 groups in one, girl vs. Boys, but we have become part of each other, working together better than ever, one, as a whole. I’ve loved learning about hydroponics and how hydroponics could impact the world for the better. I’ve also loved learning about how to take care of the plants, like checking the pH and TDS in the water and adjusting the pH and nutrient amounts. Something that has surprised me about the Flex Farm is how it could change the world. It’s a small thing doing an awfully big job and that amazes me. It can also be doing so many things at one=ce, sending water through the walls, adjusting to the new pH and TDS levels, holding the plants and their roots secure, again, it's an awfully big job for something so small. I hope students working with the Flex Farm experience the happiness and joy I have in seeing their seedlings grow. I also hope it inspires many people - both students and teachers - to make a difference in the world, help us change for the better. Finally I want to thank you, the PTO staff. You donated an awful lot of your money for my classmates and I. I want you to know that my classmates and I are endlessly appreciative of you. You have given so much to make our learning and for that I finally say... Thank You!!!! Letter #4
I really appreciate the funding 5,000 dollars that helped our school buy a Flex Farm The first time I saw the Flex Farm I thought it was some type of machine. I felt like we were going to put stuff inside of it. How the Flex Farm looks, it has plants inside of it and it sounds like water running out of a tank. My favorite part of the expedition is the transplanting because I liked planting the seeds and the work I experienced with it was fun. What surprised me most was they were seeds and now they are turning into plants. How I came together with my peers is we sketched together and we planted seeds together. I hope other classes will experience the fun of sketching to planting to letting plants grow big. |
Letter #5
Before I start I would love to say thank you so much for this experiences . When I first saw the Flex Farm I was in fact one of the first people who saw it. I was in shock… it looked AMAZING. When I see the Flex Farm now it reminds me of the future. I feel so grateful that we have it now, thank you again. You can hear the water flowing and to make the plants grow without any sunlight we use a light tower which is a separate part of the Flex Farm which stands in the center of the Flex Farm the light is a long vertical LED light. You can also see the plant space which is for the plant and plant plugs you plug the plugs in every other plant space.You can see the root chamber witch looks like a long white rectangle.The thank lid goes over the water which goes in the tank, a caster system is the wheels of the Flex Farm.Some people may agree with me when I say the flex farms kinda looks like a time machine which is a really cool feature in and environment with kids. I loved the transplanting and being with my group mates wile transplanting , it was such a interactive, fun experience and we got to DRAW and research. I cloud not be more happy and grateful for the laughs and enjoyable times. I'm surprised by what a flex farm can grow. Apparently it can support a whole pumpkin. We got put into groups and I for 1 love my group. We are so productive but have a good times AND we learn, transplanting will be a great opportunity for other classes. Before I end this message I would like to give a huge thanks to the P.T.O members helping us with the project. Thank you so much for this opportunity. I'm so glad I could do this and I hope another class enjoys it as much as we do. Letter #6
One normal day I was walking into the classroom and a bright light hit my face. At first I was convinced that it was an alien shuttle from space. It turns out it wasn’t an alien spacecraft but are very own vertical hydroponics system or the Flex Farm. That is what I thought and felt back then, now I think wow and feel hungry. As I seid before the flex farm kind of looks like an alien spacecraft. That's what it looks like but it sounds like a waterfall. My favorite part of growing the lettuce so far is the transplanting.I like it because I get to handle a tiny plant. When I first imagined the Flex Farm I thought it would hold about 30 plants, but to hear it could hold over 140 blew my mind. Since we got the flex farm me and my group have watched videos, written exit tickets and more. If other classes do this I hope they have a great time and learn something from it. I want to thank the PTO for funding the Flex Farm and giving us this great learning experience. I think the flex farm was a great idea and It was very fun. Thank you PTO. |
Letter #7
When I first saw the flex farm I thought it was interesting but I didn’t know what it did. Now when I see it I notice how much the plants have grown. To me the flex farm looks like a time machine when it’s closed, and sounds like a creek because of the drip lines. My favorite part of the project has been watching the plants grow. And it surprises me how fast the plants grow, it takes plants 18-28 days to grow in the flex farm. When I work with my peers it helps me get a better understanding of the flex farm and how it works. I hope when other classes use the flex farm that they appreciate the experience. I really appreciate the PTO for getting this wonderful machine for our school. I enjoyed having it in the class and I know others in my class did too. Letter #8
To start this appreciation message, I just want to let all the members at the PTO know that the Flex Farm has been an amazing learning opportunity for all of the members of the MAC 3 OAK classroom. We are so grateful for it. The first time I saw the Flex Farm, I simply thought, “WOW!”. The Flex Farm is a huge machine with super bright lights. So naturally, it was quite a new and even protruding sight when I saw it on Tuesday February 8th as I walked into the classroom. After that, my next thoughts were, what does it do? How does it work? Why are the lights so bright? And so many more…As you might’ve guessed, the Flex Farm sparked curiosity. Upon sitting down in the crew circle in the next few days, I noticed something else; a strange sound. As water flows through the system, it is pushed upward by a pump. As the pump does it’s work, you can hear a small plopping noise. As the water falls down into the base of the machine, it again makes a plopping sound. The melodies of “plip, plop, plip, plop” are now a soundtrack to the days I spend in class. Beyond that, now when I look at the Flex Farm I think about something else; growth. I think this mostly because of how far the plants inside the machine have come. They started out as little itty bitty seeds, and now our plants are almost fully grown in only a few weeks! On that note, the thing that has surprised me most about the Flex Farm is just how fast plants grow. Hydroponics is amazing - it uses less space, isn’t impacted by weather, and it uses way less resources. It’s also the reason our plants have been able to grow! While I’m on the topic of growth, I want to point out that the plants aren’t the only thing that have grown from this experience. My collaboration skills have grown too. Going into this expedition, Mrs. Miller and Ms. Snider put us into groups that combined both the North and South sides of my classroom. This meant I was in a group with one or two people who I wasn’t super familiar with. I had to learn to collaborate with my group members. I hope that others students who use the Flex Farm will have a similar experience. One in which they learn to collaborate while doing chemistry, where students can be interested in hands-on learning while having fun with their friends. When I write about hands-on learning, it reminds me of my favorite part of this expedition project. I really enjoyed transplanting the plants. It was the first time I got up close with the machine, and it was neat that you could see delicate baby roots, as well as cute baby plant sprouts. But why was I experiencing all this? Because of you, the PTO. So, as it is time for this letter of gratitude to come to a close, I want to thank all of the members of the PTO who provided the funds for this Flex Farm. It is an experience that I will remember for the rest of my life, so thank you! |
FLEX FARM DETAILS:
Friday, February 4 - 144 Coastal Star Romaine lettuces seeds were planted in the rockwool
Friday, February 18 - 144 seedlings were transferred into the Flex Farm
Friday, March 6 - 143 plants are thriving and will be harvested prior to spring break. One plant's stem was damaged during transplanting it and it didn't survive.
Monday, March 14 - students used the "cut and come again" method to harvest the lettuce. Leaving the central, newest leaves we will see if the plants regenerate themselves over spring break.
Students check the TDS (total dissolved solids) and pH levels to ensure the plants have access to and can take up the nutrients they need to thrive.
March 29th - a second harvest from the original seeds.
March 30th - lettuce was served to all students as part of the school lunch
April 1st - the Flex Farm was moved to MAC 3 Birch. They will grow basil and two types of lettuces over the next month or so.
Friday, February 4 - 144 Coastal Star Romaine lettuces seeds were planted in the rockwool
Friday, February 18 - 144 seedlings were transferred into the Flex Farm
Friday, March 6 - 143 plants are thriving and will be harvested prior to spring break. One plant's stem was damaged during transplanting it and it didn't survive.
Monday, March 14 - students used the "cut and come again" method to harvest the lettuce. Leaving the central, newest leaves we will see if the plants regenerate themselves over spring break.
Students check the TDS (total dissolved solids) and pH levels to ensure the plants have access to and can take up the nutrients they need to thrive.
March 29th - a second harvest from the original seeds.
March 30th - lettuce was served to all students as part of the school lunch
April 1st - the Flex Farm was moved to MAC 3 Birch. They will grow basil and two types of lettuces over the next month or so.