Research Grant

Description
Application for the Student-Faculty Collaborative Research Grant.
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Brief should be less than 250 words.
Last Updated
2026-06-01
Reading Time
2 minute(s)
Word Count
367 words

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Hydroponic Lettuce for Food Security

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Community food projects help ensure communities have access to healthy food that is grown locally and sustainably. The Webster Environmentalist Coalition grows food with the goal of building food security on campus via a community garden behind the Pearson house. However, there exists a void surrounding the summer growing season when outdoor plants don't grow. My goal is to experiment with a low-cost and distributable method of hydroponics to fill that void and further develop food security on campus.

Hydroponics is a soil-less growing technique where crops, usually vegetables, are grown suspended over nutrient-rich water. The hydroponic method I am pursuing, the Kratky method, is a passive method of hydroponics, meaning no pumps, electricity, or maintenance is necessary. Each plant is grown in an isolated container with enough nutrients for that plant's entire lifecycle. This provides several benefits. Namely, materials are simple, low-cost, and each jar's footprint is small.

This summer, I plan to seed ~20 jars on the windowsills of ISB. I will be experimenting with different growing mediums, plant types, and seed-starting methods to determine what grows best. Since the goal is to develop food security on campus, I plan to stabilize on the highest-yield configuration in order to have harvestable lettuce by the start of fall semester for the food pantry.

Depending on interest, I would like to share knowledge and collaborate with the Webster Environmentalist Coalition. And finally, hydroponic growing kits using herbs could be distributed to other students on campus for their dorms.

Faculty Sponsor

Name
Dr. Nicole Miller-Struttmann
Email
nicolem42@webster.edu

Or

Name
Dr. Mary Preuss
Email
marypreuss34@webster.edu

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