NEENAH, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – A Neenah high school science teacher is among a few across the country to receive a grant for her innovative teaching ideas.
Emily Bennett was surprised with a $12,000 check Thursday from the Voya Unsung Heroes Awards to fund a hydroponics lab for her students.
The school’s hydroponics lab was started in 2018 in partnership with Fork Farms in Green Bay, growing lettuce, herbs and other leafy greens.
The grant will be used to purchase additional supplies and hydroponic units so the program can expand to allow students to produce lettuce for the school cafeteria.
Bennett said she was not expecting someone to deliver a giant check on something she and the students have been working hard to get for the last five years.
“I’ve never really been a gardener, I was always kind of frustrated by gardening in a school environment because you get excited about it, you start it up and winter happens and you can’t do much, so to have an indoor gardening option that kids can really relate to and work on the full year was really exciting for me and I just love seeing the students’ faces when they come in and see how much the lettuce has grown and they see the process of growing and they get to really do some hands-on learning while also eating healthy food.”
The new hydroponics lab will be ready for students next fall at the new high school.
Bennett was the only teacher in Wisconsin and ranked second place among 50 winners across the U.S. to receive a grant.
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