The soothing sound of water and air circulating through pipes fills the hydroponics grow room at Kalamazoo Valley Community College’s Food Innovation Center. A nutrient solution that takes the place of soil feeds green leaf lettuce plants as they float in water-filled Styrofoam rafts.
Each stack produces fifty pounds of lettuce every six to eight weeks for institutions like KVCC, as well as restaurants and food-insecure students.
“The idea is to be efficient with space,” said Hristina Petrovska, KVCC’s food systems coordinator. “The system is also efficient in using water because there is no water being wasted.”
KVCC will show off the hydroponics room at this weekend's symposium. The event will feature workshops on growing, foraging, and even photographing food.
“In the greenhouse we will have a planting activity, so there will be a variety of herbs and flowers and greens that people can transplant and take home,” Petrovska said.
Visitors can build a native wildflower seed sculpture from clay and dirt and native Michigan seeds.
“The idea is that when they grow, they provide food and habitat for beneficial insects that are local and native to our area, which ultimately provides food for birds and helps with local biodiversity.”
At home the seed sculptures can be planted in the garden or a pot. Or they can simply be can be thrown on a patch of bare ground and watered for a Michigan wildflower garden.
Saturday’s festival is free. It runs from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. This year’s theme is “Food and Media.”
