Client News
Know your roots: Wings of Knowledge program educates students and farmers
It's Friday morning at Pisoni Farms and a group of students from Gonzales High School are working on a project that will hopefully one day change the world. But for now, sophomore Elizabeth Arreola and junior Pablo Mendoza are working to help improve their local farms in the Salinas Valley.
Arreola and Mendoza are digging holes in a broccoli field patch to gather soil to get tested at Hartnell College for nutrients. But, the hole will also serve a purpose to put in one of the student-made wireless soil sensor probes to test for water levels.
All of this is part of the Wings of Knowledge program, which started in 2015. The program has equipped Gonzales High and Middle school students with a focus on the curriculum application of STEAM: Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics.
"I actually really liked (the program) because we're working with the community. We have teachers, we have students. I really like this collaboration that we had, that was the big seller for me," Mendoza said.
There are 36 high school students and nearly 40 middle school students currently working with ranches and growers primarily in Monterey County. Right now, the mission is to design and manufacture soil sensor probes that capture vital field data, carry out software-based analysis and provide insights to growers to improve water usage.
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About City of Gonzales
The city of Gonzales, California is located in Monterey County. The quaint and culturally diverse community of approximately 9,000 people is in the heart of the Salinas Valley’s agricultural and wine region. Gonzales is an established regional leader in agricultural-technology and innovation, environmental awareness and sustainable practices. Gonzales is home to companies such as HealthySoil, which manufactures products to improve agricultural crop production; Converted Organics, a natural fertilizer company; Taylor Farms, a fresh vegetable production facility, Mann Packing/Del Monte Fresh, a leading supplier of fresh cut vegetables; Ramsay Highlander, an innovator, designer and manufacturer of technologically-advanced harvesting equipment; Papé Equipment Handling, Braga Fresh, Green Valley Farm Supply, Tessemae’s, American Bioscience, Caraccioli Cellars, and Constellation Brands, an international producer and marketer of beer, wine and spirits.