Education Grant WinnerBrooke Taliman

Hydroponic gardens have skyrocketed over recent years and are vastly beneficial—especially for students—due to their different-nuanced system. When applied in everyday school life, hydroponic gardens also help students understand environmental awareness and sustainability.

Brooke Taliman, educator at Elrod Elementary, wanted to incorporate a hands-on learning experience for her students that would create both engagement and an urge to apply those same practices outside of school. Thanks to Power of the Dollar^® members, she was awarded a $1,000 grant in December 2024 for her “Junior Environmental Engineers in the Making” idea, which she then used to purchase a hydroponic garden system, which has been a huge hit in her STEM classroom!

“I wanted to bring engagement and to have that bridge of growing something in the STEM class that they can take that knowledge they have learned and transport that into their own family,” said Taliman. “Whether that be growing something at home, trying something new, showing their families they have been growing and talking about for the last month. That’s what STEM is: trying to find a solution with what challenges you have and what to do to get a positive outcome.”

From the moment you step into Ms. Taliman’s classroom, you can feel the buzz around her new hydroponic growing tower. With all eyes pivoted toward what’s blossoming, the students are amazed at what its capabilities are and take pride in caring for the various vegetables and flowers it has growing throughout. It’s also creating some chatter outside her classroom, as teachers are flocking to see how they can get one and/or use it!

“They’re always paying attention to what’s growing,” she said. “They’ll say, ‘Oh, I noticed the flowers are out!’ Or they’ll say, ‘I noticed the lettuce is gone!’ It’s not just the students, it’s the teachers asking questions, too. ‘How can I incorporate that in my own home?’ ‘My kids would love that, how can I start?’ And it’s been great to see!”