Integrating Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) into Middle School Agricultural Education: A Practice-Based Approach to Teaching FEW-Nexus Concepts

This abstract presents an innovative approach to teaching food-energy-water (FEW) nexus concepts in rural middle schools using controlled environment agriculture (CEA). Centered at the University of Wyoming Lab School, the project uses a hub-and-spoke model where undergraduate researchers and middle school students prototype small-scale hydroponic systems and develop curriculum materials, which are then shared with five in-service and three pre-service teachers across Wyoming. The approach combines faculty learning communities with entrepreneurial thinking to help resource-constrained rural schools make complex FEW concepts tangible while building capacity for agricultural innovation in their communities.