During the spring of 2016, a group of five 3rd-years designed a three-phase process for creating a self-sustaining irrigation system that could consistently feed Morrisette Campus’s growing farm. These students made use of the site’s existing system, in which rainwater is collected on the greenhouse glass roof, in-ground gutters funnel water into below-ground tanks, a column of water creates pressure to help pump the water to the plants, a solar panel provides energy for the pump, and a pump sends water to the drip irrigation lines.
To complete the first phase of their design, they made a few additions to the existing system, including adding another gutter and set of tanks to store enough water to nourish the final phase of the farm. They also installed the campus’s first drip irrigation system, in order to help Morrisette’s farm manager, Eric, test his own plant watering method. These few changes helped initiate the final two phases of the farm’s irrigation, which involve a full-campus farm system.
