For Fred Rodgers Magnet Academy eighth grader Tatiana Ocasio, the world within a single plant contains a lifetime of discovery.

“It’s so little compared to the big world but there’s so many things inside,” said the 13-year-old Aurora resident. “It’s just so fascinating to look closer at a plant and see all the things you can learn from it.”

Ocasio gets to peek inside this magical world from the cramped horticulture classroom where she’s extracted data from leaves and researched photosynthesis. Now, East Aurora School District 131 will begin fundraising for the East Aurora GreenLab, an indoor/outdoor science laboratory that will give students hands-on opportunities to explore the latest in green energy, wastewater treatment, and horticulture technologies. The funds for the GreenLab, scheduled to open in 2018, would come entirely from private donations, grants, and fundraising events.

Fred Rodgers Magnet Academy Principal Angela Rowley believes the East Aurora GreenLab will cultivate a curiosity that could have a lifelong impact.

“We know the global community will only have a limited amount of resources, so we know green technologies that make the best use of those resources will always be a task we work on,” Rowley said. “The goal of this Green Lab is to provide students exposure to the current technologies and think about: How could we make this better? Maybe one of our students will be the one to invent a more effective wind turbine, a more effective solar panel, or green technologies that haven’t yet been invented.”

Inside the GreenLab

The East Aurora GreenLab has been Rowley’s dream since the Magnet Academy opened its new building on Root Street in 2013. The property came with a modest plot of land just west of the school’s parking lot. The property wasn’t big enough for a playground; additional parking wasn’t needed. Where some might have seen useless space, Rowley spotted opportunity.

That empty plot of land will become a place for students to learn about the latest environmental technology in a building that will stay almost entirely off the energy grid. A student who walks into the completed GreenLab will experience the fusion between technology and agriculture.

Students as young as 8 years old will be able to watch how wastewater is cleaned through filtration and turned into usable water for plants. Through transparent panels, students will view electrical circuitry and track energy generated by the wind turbine and solar panels.

In the center of the room, plant beds will be filled with gene experiments designed and conducted by students. Worms in the soil will demonstrate the ecosystem cycle while hydroponic baskets hanging from the ceiling will illustrate the chemical structure of plants.

The possibilities of how to use the building, and how to mesh the learning with other subject areas, are as limitless as the teacher’s imagination.

“The GreenLab will be constantly changing and growing,” Rowley said. “When a new technology comes out, we may try it and let the kids compare the old technology to the new technology. Who knows? The technology may be something one of our alumni will bring back to us.”

The area outside the building will be another opportunity to discover. Rows of vegetables and flowers will be cultivated and studied for lessons on agricultural production and plant cultivation. The garden will also be resource for some of the unique needs of the East Aurora community.

A Place to Connect With Community

The Magnet Academy is in East Aurora School District 131, a district where many residents struggle with issues of poverty. Nearly 90 percent of East Aurora students qualify as low income, and all students are on a free and reduced lunch program.

“These students know about global issues,” Rowley said. “We have to acknowledge that our kids know about hunger. And our kids have good hearts and they want to fix that problem. To give them an opportunity to do that is pretty awesome.”

The Magnet Academy is located directly east of Wayside Cross Lifespring Ministry and One Hope United Early Learning Center, two organizations that give shelter to women and children who need residential assistance due to addiction, abuse or financial crisis. The school has developed a strong bond with many of the residents.

In the summer months, when Magnet Academy students are not in school, the outdoor gardens will be cared for by women who can find the therapeutic comfort in growing and cultivation. The vegetables from the garden will be shared with neighbors.

“I think this is a great idea,” said Michael Martinez, an eighth grade student at the Fred Rodgers Magnet Academy. “It is going to change many students’ lives in Aurora because not any university or any high school in Aurora has this. It will help the community and give back to people.”

Biggest Challenge

The biggest challenge for this project is, of course, raising the funds. East Aurora School District 131 estimates the cost to design, build and implement a full curriculum for the GreenLab will be $750,000. This total will be raised entirely by outside donations, grants and fundraisers.

At this time, the District will begin approaching corporations, groups and foundations to ask for financial or in-kind donations.

Individuals can donate online through www.d131.org/greenlab. Donations can be made via credit card or PayPal. Checks made out to “Community Foundation FRV” can be mailed to: 111 West Downer Place, Suite 312, Aurora IL 600506. Please include “East Aurora GreenLab” in the memo. Because the District will be working with the Aurora East Educational Foundation and the Community Foundation of the Fox River Valley, donations are tax deductible.

The District will also be holding fundraising events in the future, as well as providing opportunities to purchase naming rights to parts of the GreenLab.
Rowley knows the fundraising will be a large task, but she believes that people will be excited to invest in a project with so much educational value.

“When our kids go off to college, they will be able to talk in a recruiting interview or a scholarship interview about how they had a question they wanted answered and they had a chance to explore that question,” Rowley said. “Our students seem to feel like there’s so many limitations on them. But if we give them the opportunity to explore and think, they can go beyond what adults expect, beyond what the community expects. Our kids need and deserve the chance to explore.”

How to Help

You can help create an incredible learning experience by donating to the East Aurora GreenLab. East Aurora School District 131 is raising funds to build and indoor/outdoor science greenhouse laboratory on the Fred Rodgers Magnet Academy campus. The GreenLab will give students hands-on opportunities to explore the latest in green energy, wastewater treatment, and horticulture technologies. It will be a place to cultivate curiosity that could have a lifelong impact and make generational changes in a low-income community. To learn more or make a donation go: www.d131.org/greenlab

Attachment: See a drawing of the East Aurora GreenLab

SOURCE: East Aurora School District 131 news release and website

SOURCE: School District 131 website