HARRISBURG, PA – On Thursday, November 21, Harrisburg University of Science and Technology (HU) and Phoenix Contact USA hosted the international premiere of the documentary “Growing Tomorrow.” The film highlights the partnership between Phoenix Contact USA, Harrisburg University, Steelton-Highspire School District, Greenswell Growers, and Downtown Daily Bread. “Growing Tomorrow” explores advanced agricultural collaborations in the region, the automation technologies required to efficiently scale these operations, and speaks to the potential of aquaponics, hydroponics, and controlled environment agriculture (CEA) to address food insecurity in Pennsylvania and beyond.
“Growing Tomorrow” teaser trailer:
The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has identified dozens of Census tracts in Pennsylvania as food deserts. Their Food Research Atlas makes it easy to find areas where residents lack access to healthy food at various distances from their housing units. In PA, this includes a significant number of residents in both rural and urban environments. Some Census tracts, like one in Centre County, have a statistically significant number of residents who don’t own vehicles and also live more than a half mile from the nearest supermarket. And the situation in Philadelphia has fluctuated in recent years, frequently defying national trends by seeing access to food decline. Some 300,000 people in that city could be food insecure.
Rachel Fogle, Ph.D., Program Lead for Environmental Science & Sustainability at Harrisburg University, noted the premiere brought the pieces of the partnership together, from academia to industry. “From HU Aquaponics and students from Steelton-Highspire to food donations going to Downtown Daily Bread, Phoenix Contact took the opportunity to highlight the interplay between these different entities and to show how automation technologies (like Phoenix Contact PLCnext) can support this important effort. It’s a unique relationship and ultimately a model to emulate elsewhere.”
“HU Advanced Manufacturing students were quick to get involved with the HU Aquaponics initiative and felt they could help with the implementation of aquaponics automation that they were learning in PLC class,” said Glenn Williams, Advanced Manufacturing Instructor at HU. “Critically, the documentary also captured the genuine fun these students had, as they took concepts from the lab and applied them to good works in the community.”
“A sincere thank you to everyone for each and every contribution that went towards the impactful ‘Growing Tomorrow’ celebration,” Dr. Fogle continued. “The film’s creation and the evening’s success were truly a team effort, and I am honored to have been part of such a meaningful project. Seeing the collaboration and shared commitment come together so beautifully is a reminder of the incredible strength of our partnerships and the passion driving the initiatives we all care about.”
“Growing Tomorrow” showcases a learning and research greenhouse, located on the grounds of Steelton-Highspire High School, and managed by Harrisburg University faculty and students. The facility offers space and programming for area high school students to learn about CEA, earn college credits, and apply STEM skills to an industry that is critical for Pennsylvania’s economy. Best of all, through support from HU’s College in the High School (CiHS) program, this experience is provided at no extra cost for students.
“The partnership between the Steelton-Highspire School District and Harrisburg University’s Environmental Science program sets a benchmark for excellence in education,” said Dr. Mick Iskric, Jr., Superintendent of Steelton-Highspire School District. “Beyond individual success, the partnership demonstrates a profound commitment to uplifting our community and addressing local challenges of being a food desert. This synergy between education and community engagement exemplifies a forward-thinking approach that benefits both our students and the broader region. I am proud to be a part of the positive transformation fostered by this exceptional partnership.”
Professor Williams added: “While Joe, Rachel, and the others were spinning up the greenhouse, ADMA students at the Student Union aquaponics lab were beginning to look at the question of automation and control. They built a control cabinet, mocked up a dashboard to track important CEA metrics, and coded the PLC application to monitor pH, dissolved oxygen, temperature, and other factors based on the needs of the CEA student researchers. That experience led to a deeper connection with Phoenix Contact’s engineers, scientists, and managers, and later still, HU’s 2nd place win at the Phoenix Contact Xplore Technology Awards in Germany.”
According to Matt Austad, Creative Services Manager for Phoenix Contact, the film was a long time coming. “We started this almost two years ago. We saw what they were doing at HU – the process of hydroponics, aquaponics, and where this technology comes into agriculture – and we asked: Is this a viable solution?Meeting with HU really opened up the door for us to explore and see that [CEA] really does work and how it can come into play throughout the agricultural industry, and how Phoenix Contact technology can play a constructive role.”
A few of the technologies that students interact with and help to advance within CEA include additive manufacturing (3D printing); sensors; research-specific customization; automation, monitoring, and control; sustainable sourcing; sustainable feedstocks; smart packaging; and printable biomaterials.
“The ‘Growing Tomorrow’ documentary celebrates years of effort to understand, explore, and educate young people about the need for, and potential of, aquaponics programs,” said Professor Williams. “It also underscores the importance of H2HU aquaponics automation to the work of resolving food deserts in America and celebrates the collaboration between students and professionals within HU programs and between like-minded people around the world.”
Ultimately, everything comes back to the central mission: addressing food insecurity in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the region at large and advancing the underlying technologies to be scaled up effectively. As the documentary reveals, the technology isn’t merely under development – it’s already proven to be up to the task. The Greenswell Growers automated greenhouse in Goochland County, Virginia, featured in “Growing Tomorrow,” is proof positive.
“What they’re doing at Greenswell can be a case study for students of Advanced Manufacturing,” said Professor Williams. “The documentary shows how much HU Advanced Manufacturing students can learn from what they’re doing at Greenswell, and demonstrates in a bustling, real-world production facility right in Virginia, the potential of these technologies. Each party learns from the others, taking part in a positive feedback loop of continuous refinement.”
A conventional farm typically grows up to three or four produce items, while a properly equipped CEA facility like Greenswell’s can support more than 80 produce items thanks to highly controlled growing environments. It’s a quantum leap from the monocropping and depleted topsoil common across American farmland – and it could transform the availability of locally grown, nutrient-rich foods.
The enormous nationwide apparatus driving agriculture and food manufacturing is ready for an overhaul with the addition of new technologies like CEA. Growers are responding to widespread demands for higher yields along with greater traceability, improved food safety, and better working environments for employees. And the industry must tackle all of this while preparing for and adapting to climate change, introducing sustainable technologies, using land more efficiently, and grappling with ongoing labor shortages.
To keep ourselves fed, we need new ways to think about growing food and smarter technologies that can capture and act on data related to crop health and growing conditions. It’s why Harrisburg University remains so focused on advancing the state of the art in agriculture, and why “Growing Tomorrow” is such a timely project.
Harrisburg University again thanks Phoenix Contact, Steelton-Highspire School District, Greenswell Growers, and Downtown Daily Bread for their commitment to the creation of “Growing Tomorrow” and for helping us all reimagine the future of agriculture.
Watch “Growing Tomorrow” in full on YouTube:
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