By: Pamela Honey
Building Hydroponic Farms That Students Can Truly Use
Harrison Hillier didn’t enter college expecting to work with hydroponic systems. He took a job at the plant breeding research station, which shared a building with the aquaculture program. The space was filled with old tubs, pumps, PVC pipes, and unused equipment. When a small human-made pond nearby was drained for construction, he and a friend moved the turtles and fish into one of the tubs and built a simple aquaponics system with what they found. It was an experiment, but the lesson stayed with him.
Gardening had been steady for him growing up. “As long as the garden was doing well, everything was good,” he said. That early connection grew into an interest in agriculture as a way to bring people together. Today, that interest shapes his work at Teens for Food Justice, where hydroponic farms serve as both food sources and learning spaces in schools in New York City and Denver.
What it Means to Design a TFFJ Farm
When people ask what he does, Harrison keeps it simple: “I design and install vertical hydroponic gardens in Title One schools throughout the New York City area.”
That work starts with walking potential rooms, checking airflow and power, seeing where students will gather, and thinking about how produce will move through the space. He designs each hydroponic system and the full layout of the farm to match the characteristics and specs of the room. During installation and the early growing stages, he stays close to the process to make sure the farm works for the people who will use it.
The work is both technical and practical. Many rooms are retrofits with window AC units, uneven airflow, or limited flexibility. Harrison balances these constraints with the needs of students and teachers so the space can function as both a farm and a classroom.
Building With Students in Mind
Harrison often returns to the basics of plant science: water, nutrients, light, and temperature. He also considers how students and teachers will use the room. “There are ways we could pack in more growing potential,” he says, “but it makes it harder to manage and less of an enjoyable educational experience. The humans are almost as important as the plants.”
“There are ways we could pack in more growing potential, but it makes it harder to manage and less of an enjoyable educational experience. The humans are almost as important as the plants.”
This approach shapes the design of each farm. ADA access is included from the start. Aisles stay wide enough for movement, and systems are shorter in classrooms with younger students. The size of a farm aligns with the size of the school community. As he explains, producing far more food than a school can use is impractical and can lead to waste.
He also wants students to understand the fundamentals. “You need light, you need water, and you need nutrients,” he says. Once those needs make sense, students begin to notice how small shifts affect growth. They learn to observe, test, and adjust, which are key skills in science and in growing food.
Behind The Scenes: The Tech That Keeps Farms Running
Many of the systems Harrison manages aren’t visible to visitors. In TFFJ’s earliest days, farms required hand-mixing fertilizers, carefully sequencing ingredients, and taking repeated pH and EC readings throughout the day. pH measures how acidic or basic the water is. Electrical Conductivity (EC) shows how many dissolved nutrients are present. Together, they helped staff understand whether plants were receiving what they needed.
Auto-dosers changed that process. The machines now monitor nutrient levels and adjust them throughout the day. Farmer-Educators only need to step in when readings fall outside expected ranges.
Temperature and humidity are more difficult to manage. “We don’t really have the ability to control temperature and humidity to a precise degree,” he says. Most TFFJ farms rely on window AC units instead of full climate systems. “In the heat of the summer, your AC needs to be all the way up. When it gets cold out, you can turn off the cooling function, keep the fan running, and if things are getting too hot, maybe crack a window.”
Smart plugs and connected power strips have also changed daily work. Systems that once used analog timers can now be adjusted from a phone. This helps when a school experiences a leak, a temperature spike, or a lockdown. Harrison says the next step is making these tools easier for Farmer-Educators to use so cleaning routines and resets are consistent and less prone to error.
Every process that becomes easier gives Farmer-Educators more time to teach, guide, and connect farm work to food justice more deeply.
When Troubleshooting Becomes a Lesson
Even with more automated systems, unexpected issues still arise. Early on at the Murry Bergtraum farm, the team noticed some of the plants were twisting into tight spirals. But nutrient levels appeared normal, and nothing unusual was observed in the data. After in-depth examination and observation, Harrison and team discovered the source of the issue: the lights. Strong fixtures and white rafts reflected light upward, making it difficult for plants to orient toward a single source. After the lights were dimmed, new growth returned to its usual shape.
For students, it was a lesson that controlled environment agriculture (CEA) still requires close attention. They learned that observation and patience are necessary in refining a system. Even in a high-tech farm, growing food is an active practice, not an automated process.
Opening The Field to More People
Outside of TFFJ, Harrison has been involved with the NYC Ag Collective, where he has served as chairperson and board president. The group supported the for-profit side of urban agriculture. His priorities there, shaped by his work at TFFJ, focused on making the field more accessible. He encouraged student participation and worked to lower barriers for people interested in entering the space.
While the collective is not active at the moment, its framework remains in place. Those interested in future possibilities can contact Harrison at info[at]nycagcollective.org.
Planting Curiosity For The Future
When thinking about the role the farms can play in our student’s futures, Harrison doesn’t assume students will go into agriculture. What he hopes for is curiosity. As he describes it, students will often look around the farm and say, “[This farm] is amazing, I didn’t know you could do this. What else did I not know could be done?”
“[This farm] is amazing, I didn’t know you could do this. What else did I not know could be done?”
That kind of reaction can open new interests. A student might discover an interest in engineering, climate science, nutrition, or community organizing. They might realize how food access and environmental conditions shape their lives. They might invent something entirely new.
TFFJ’s mission is to build a just food system for all. Harrison’s work helps create school environments where students grow food, understand the systems around them, and learn new ways to solve problems. His designs make space for young people to step into science, leadership, and food justice with confidence.❦
Pamela Honey is the Communications & Content Coordinator at Teens For Food Justice.
