LAGUNA BEACH, Calif. /California Newswire/ — A Swedish delegation of Sustainable Teachers toured Alegria Farm to learn about its new high efficiency farming process and find out about the disease fighting food being grown and delivered by Alegria Fresh. Learning about Alegria's innovative new farming method that employs the Verti-Gro(R) System provided the delegation with knowledge about how to grow food that is four times as nutrient rich as that which one can buy in the store.
Seven teachers from Sweden visited to share their work in sustainability along with three staff from the PEAK program (Promoting Energy Action and Knowledge) and teachers from St. Mary's School, an International Baccalaureate School located in Aliso Viejo.
Alegria Farm, pioneering the concept of high-performance urban agriculture, grows greens superior in nutrition using 90 percent less water, 50 percent less fertilizer, 70 percent less land and zero toxic pesticides – while delivering 10 times the yield of traditional organic row farming. Cutter explained the numerous health benefits of consuming locally grown food close to its time of harvest.
"Our goal is to educate people about the tremendous health benefits achieved by consuming fresh greens very close to the time of harvest, which on average are four to five times more nutrient rich than the 4-day+ old produce you purchase at the market," said Cutter. "If you believe what Hippocrates said nearly 3,000 years ago that food is medicine, then you will understand why we call Alegria Farm the Green Farmacy."
St. Mary's school launched an elective program for its students driven by education in sustainable development, specifically Promoting Energy Action and Knowledge (PEAK). Course activities included collaboration with students in Nacka, Sweden. Through science labs and applied activities, eighth grade students discovered and practiced energy solutions to ensure a healthy and sustainable future.
"Alegria Fresh is an example of an out-of-the-box way to utilize resource efficient systems that mitigate soil, energy and water shortages, and that is what we are interested in teaching the next generation about," said Erin Bratcher, a teacher at St Mary's School who leads this program. "Understanding how and what to eat to receive maximum nutrition, fight disease and be healthy is crucial to our youth."
About Alegria Farm:
Alegria Farm is a new commercial hydroponic vertical farm employing over 170 hydroponic towers growing over 10,000 plants in less than 1/4 acre. Alegria Farm is Orange County's first hydroponic vertical farm and the first West Coast showcase for the Verti-Gro(R) system, which uses no soil, 90 percent less water, 70 percent less land, 50 percent less fertilizer than traditional organic farming and zero toxic pesticides. This high performance growing system produces clean, natural food faster than traditional farming and allows plants to grow bigger and stronger, making plants naturally pest resistant.
Alegria Farm produces an exotic tasting variety of leafy greens, medicinal herbs and heirloom vegetables. Hydroponic farming is soilless and utilizes coconut fiber instead of organic soil, which virtually eliminates toxic pesticide usage to produce stronger plants that are substantially more nutrient-rich. For more information on Alegria Farm or to schedule a tour, please visit www.AlegriaFresh.com or follow on Facebook and Twitter.
Alegria Farm is the high-performance urban agriculture division of EnviroIngenuity. Produce from the farm is sold under the Alegria Fresh tradename.
About EnviroIngenuity:
EnviroIngenuity was founded in 2009 by Erik Cutter. The company is comprised of forward-thinking professionals, whose goal is to take advantage of the growing demand for more efficient, cost effective sustainable energy solutions, employing solar PV, hi-efficiency LED lighting, green building and hydroponic vertical food production technologies, the latest venture being the development of Alegria Farm. EnviroIngenuity's mission is "advancingreenergy" and reducing waste, thus better utilizing limited natural resources. As we invest in a lower carbon future, the EnviroIngenuity team is focused on helping organizations move forward to deploy sustainable energy solutions using disruptive technologies. Info: http://www.EnviroIngenuity.com/ .
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