To run a rooftop garden in a busy city

Urban Farming

You’ve chosen to imagine growing fresh food high above a busy city. You might want to learn more about urban farming, which grows food in places where many people live. Just make sure the pigeons know this isn’t an all-you-can-eat salad bar!

Fun Facts:

Brooklyn Grange grows vegetables on huge rooftops in New York City.
Farmers in Mexico City still grow food on chinampas, raised fields surrounded by canals.
Singapore’s ComCrop grows pesticide-free vegetables on city rooftops.

Urban Farming

LISTEN

We’re learning more about urban farming, or growing food inside our cities. Rooftops and other underused spaces can sometimes become places for gardens, greenhouses, or hydroponic systems. These farms may put some fresh food closer to the people who eat it, although buildings must be able to support the added weight and manage water, wind, and safe access. Cities around the world already have working farms above their streets. Maybe future cities will have food growing from sidewalk to skyline. Just make sure the pigeons know this isn’t an all-you-can-eat salad bar!

Fun Facts:

Chinampas have been used since Aztec times. Farmers built raised growing areas surrounded by canals, and people still farm them today.
Brooklyn Grange operates large rooftop farms in New York City and has reported growing more than 100,000 pounds of produce in a year across its farming operations.
The Javits Center has a one-acre farm eight stories above the street. It grows more than 50 kinds of crops each season.
Singapore company ComCrop runs commercial rooftop farms that grow leafy greens and herbs close to urban customers.
Rooftop farms can grow more than vegetables. Depending on the site, they may include herbs, flowers for pollinators, beehives, composting systems, or rainwater collection.

Discussion Question:

What might change if lots of city buildings grew food on their roofs?

LISTEN

Physical Build:

Build your own rooftop farm from a small cardboard box. Use paper, clay, bottle caps, or recycled materials to add growing beds, paths, water collectors, and anything else your farm needs. Imagine the box is the top of a tall building and decide how your plants will handle wind, rain, and hungry city birds.

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Digital Build:

With an adult, ask ChatGPT:

“Help me design a rooftop farm on top of a busy city building.”

Choose your favorite ideas from the answer, then draw or build your own version. Change anything you want—the future rooftop belongs to you.

or a desert farm that grows crops with barely any water?

Desert Farm

Dryland & Desert Farming

LISTEN

You’ve chosen to imagine growing food on a farm where rain hardly falls. You might want to learn more about dryland and desert farming, methods that conserve water, capture rainfall, or deliver water directly to plant roots. Every drop counts, so no giving the carrots their own swimming pool!

Fun Facts:

Ancient farmers in the Negev Desert collected rain running down hills and guided it toward their fields.
Farmers in western India use an old method called khadin to catch rainwater in fields.
Scientists at ICARDA develop crops that can handle drought and very little rain.

Dryland & Desert Farming

LISTEN

This scenario explores dryland and desert farming. Dryland farmers conserve rainfall in the soil, while other desert farms may collect runoff, reuse water, or choose plants that can handle drought well. These techniques can help produce food in difficult environments, but they do not create water, so farms must be careful with the water they use. Every drop counts, so no giving the carrots their own swimming pool!

Fun Facts:

Ancient farmers in the Negev Desert built channels and terraces to catch water from rare winter rains. They guided that water into fields where crops could grow.
Farmers in Western India have long used khadin, which uses low walls to hold rainwater over fields. The water sinks into the ground, leaving wet soil for crops.
In the dry Sahel region of Africa, farmers use planting holes called zaï pits to catch rain and hold compost near plants.
Scientists in Jordan use special plows to make small dips that catch rainwater in dry land. The stored water helps young shrubs survive.
Sundrop Farms in Australia built greenhouses near the desert that use sunlight and desalinated seawater to grow tomatoes.

Discussion Question:

When water is scarce, how should people decide how much goes to farms?

LISTEN

Physical Build:

Create a tiny desert farm using a tray, cardboard, cups, paper, and recycled materials. Design ways to catch and guide pretend rain toward your crops. You might build little channels, pits, walls, shade covers, or invent a completely different solution. Test your design by pouring a small amount of water onto it and see where the water travels.

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Digital Build:

With an adult, ask ChatGPT:

“Imagine three different farms that could grow food in a very dry desert.”

Compare the three futures it gives you. Pick useful parts from each, remix them, and draw or build a fourth desert farm that is completely your own. Health & Well-Being