Santa Fe Community College's Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) program will host an Open House from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Trades and Advanced Technology Center (TATC) on Saturday, April 26. The public is invited to meet in the lobby of the TATC to begin the CEA Open House activities. Visitors can sample bite-sized treats prepared by Chef Jerry Dakan of the Culinary Arts Department from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. while learning about the CEA program. Throughout the Open House, people can join a tour of the college's 12,000-square-foot greenhouse that serves as a living laboratory for students to operate and manage various aquaponic and hydroponic production systems.
This year the CEA students are having a plant sale with a large variety of herb and vegetable seedlings ready to transplant at your home. Also ongoing during the event is another Epic Used Book Sale. All books are priced at $1 and proceeds from the book and plant sale benefit the students in the SFCC Aquaponics and Hydroponics club. Both sales are sponsored in part by the Santa Fe Community College Foundation.
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CEA Academic Director Charlie Shultz said, "This is a great time to tour the SFCC greenhouses. Our advanced semester Hydroponic and Aquaponic students are producing a variety of crops such as tomatoes, cucumbers, Asian greens, peppers, herbs, lettuce, kale, algae and hemp in water-based production systems. People are often surprised to learn that worms compost all the greenhouse waste and that all the greenhouse energy is provided by the college's solar array."
Greenhouse tours will be offered each half hour, starting at 10:30 a.m., by SFCC-CEA students and staff. The plant and book sales will be ongoing during the 10 a.m.-2 p.m. event. Come early for best selections. Food samples prepared by the SFCC-Culinary students, faculty and staff will be available from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. at no cost.
Source: Santa Fe Community College