I’ve been asked to provide updates on our Hanging Garden Project. We’ve got new planters, ‘freshly donated seeds’… and a cost-free watering system. For the ones not (yet!) familiar with the ‘mathematics behind getting cost-free water‘, here’s how it works: Our middle/high school students have been deeply involved in building a system with planters made from recycled PET bottles, as seen on the right.
Besides that, we’ve discovered a great source of clean/distilled water for all the watering needs: the several air conditioning devices, spread throughout the school campus. So, the students began collecting the not-before-managed water… But, how could they find out how much water would be “released” by the AC devices?
The answer to that question morphed into a mini-mathematical project: Math students were asked to develop a strategy to evaluate the volume of water released by the AC equipments, write their assumptions down (hourly rate, number of school days, etc), and today presented their results: on average, an AC device is capable of releasing over 6,000 liters of water during the course of a regular school year.
Way more than enough for keeping the Hanging Garden alive and growing! 
Having fun with graduated cylinders & Math!
Let’s see… once more, science and math can definitely be fun (and rewarding!)
So far, we’ve got seedlings of:
Arugula, rocket (Diplotaxis arucoides) [Rúcula, in Portuguese)
Basil (Ocimum basilicum) [Manjericão]
Chamomile (Chamaemelum nobile) [Camomila]
Cherry tomato (Lycopersicom esculentum var.) [Tomate-cajá]
Anise (Agstache foeniculum) [Erva-doce]
French onion
Salvia
Spinach
Pepper
Bell Pepper
brasileiro? latino? no speak americano?? click!
Photo Project: 52 Bolivian Sundays
good feedback!
Madhu
April 12, 2012 at 6:09 pm
Keenly following your updates and feeling like we are part of the project
Cant wait for those seedlings to grow!
3rdCultureChildren
April 12, 2012 at 7:38 pm
iI’m so glad you’re enjoying it!:o
Greenophilic
April 11, 2012 at 6:02 pm
Reblogged this on Greenophilic and commented:
♥
3rdCultureChildren
April 11, 2012 at 7:21 pm
Thanks for sharing! Much appreciated!
Greenophilic
April 11, 2012 at 5:34 pm
It’s AMAZING… Thank you very much for sharing!
3rdCultureChildren
April 11, 2012 at 7:19 pm
Thank you for coming back and checking it out! I’m glad you enjoyed it! Please feel free to use any resource/images from the site… It’ll be a pleasure to share!
Greetings from “green” Recife!
Greenophilic
April 11, 2012 at 8:49 pm
cocomino
April 11, 2012 at 9:31 am
It’s a nice and cool project for the earth.
3rdCultureChildren
April 11, 2012 at 10:12 am
Thank you very much, Cocomino!
Marcia Clarke
March 19, 2012 at 7:20 pm
Great project idea. Reuse everything we can!
3rdCultureChildren
March 19, 2012 at 7:28 pm
Totally agree!
Madhu
March 18, 2012 at 1:24 pm
Wonderful idea! And great for the kids reduce, reuse recycle project!! look forward to follow up pics
3rdCultureChildren
March 18, 2012 at 7:43 pm
I’m so glad it’s being appreciated! It’s a great reward!
josmanu
March 16, 2012 at 6:26 pm
Reblogged this on Mi Mundo and commented:
Enseñando a los niños
3rdCultureChildren
March 16, 2012 at 7:11 pm
Muchissimas gracias, Josmanu!
Laura Leigh Goyer
March 16, 2012 at 4:24 pm
Very clever use of space and materials. Fantastic!
3rdCultureChildren
March 16, 2012 at 4:28 pm
thanks! The teaching lesson: reduce, reuse, recycle… And, as a bonus, have fun while learning how to care for our environment! All in all, a great success! Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
Laura Leigh Goyer
March 16, 2012 at 4:45 pm
It’s also a great idea for someone who only has a tiny patio (like me) who would love to grow more herbs and veggies! I’ll be following along to see the exciting progress.
3rdCultureChildren
March 16, 2012 at 5:28 pm
So easy, you’d love it! Cut one PET bottle open, like a tub, have some sponge material, or organic fiber at the bottom, to retain humidity (remember to have the holes on the bottom, for drainage!), fill the planter with the mix of soil/top soil, and voilá!
Let me know if you need any help, and keep me posted of your progress on your new garden! 
Laura Leigh Goyer
March 16, 2012 at 5:38 pm
Will do. Thanks a million!
3rdCultureChildren
March 16, 2012 at 5:53 pm
Nomads By Nature
March 16, 2012 at 4:14 am
I LOVE this idea! Can’t wait to see how things progress!
3rdCultureChildren
March 16, 2012 at 6:30 am
Thank you very much! I’ll make sure to update it with the new steps/stages and results!
Gilly Gee
March 16, 2012 at 4:01 am
A brilliant idea it will look lovely, be really useful, good use of the dreaded bottles and a great way for the children to learn about growing things!
3rdCultureChildren
March 16, 2012 at 6:30 am
Thank you, Gilly! Glad you took the time to come by and check it out.. much appreciated… Always a good opportunity to share knowledge, and learn from the children!
Gilly Gee
March 19, 2012 at 3:55 am
I hope the problems are overcome and working through them is also a good learning process!
3rdCultureChildren
March 19, 2012 at 6:39 am
thanks, Gilly!
Sarah Harris
March 16, 2012 at 1:40 am
What a great idea! I may try these!
3rdCultureChildren
March 16, 2012 at 6:28 am
Great. Very simple, a bit of time invested, but not much… the students seem to be really committed, which is good… Glad you liked it! Come back for updates, the beginning of next week, I’m sure to have new seedlings!
Sarah Harris
March 17, 2012 at 2:25 am
I’m trying to figure out where I can hang them and not tick off the property owners, but I am thinking there is a metal fence in the back that could use some prettying up! Plus it’d be easy to fashion a hanging system without involving new holes in walls! Great idea! Thanks!
3rdCultureChildren
March 17, 2012 at 3:15 am
I’m really glad to know this… Glad it’s appreciated!
tmso
March 16, 2012 at 12:49 am
Excellent idea! You’ll have to keep us updated. And make sure to include a cooking class at the end. Would love to see what the kids come up with for their harvest.
3rdCultureChildren
March 16, 2012 at 6:27 am
Thanks! I’ll make sure I keep posting updates on the “hanging garden project”… It’s still in its first stages, but we got all modules already built (64); we’ve got hang some more 15, do more planting, and wait for the results… Will make sure there’s at least, a “salad-making class” posted here!
I’m glad it’s appreciated. Just sharing experiences with the students, and taking advantage of any teaching opportunity to share the love for growing things… 
Thanks for stopping by and sharing your impressions!
tarapappas
March 16, 2012 at 12:48 am
Wow–LOVE these! Such a great idea. Thanks for sharing! Great blog!
Cheers!
3rdCultureChildren
March 16, 2012 at 6:24 am
Thank you very much! Much appreciated!