South San Francisco, CA November 1, 2018
My name is Monique Ray. I am 18 years old have lived in SSF my whole life. As El Camino High School students Maya Patel and I interned with Heather Enders with the City of South San Francisco Manager’s office. She and I co-founded the South San Francisco Youth Advisory Council with Mayor Pro Tempore Karyl Matsumoto. I am a recent 2018 graduate of El Camino High School and am currently attending the University of San Francisco.
I have a small favor to ask. I designed a hydroponic project for minorities and low-income households and k-12 classrooms, which won me a national semi-finalist position in the CommonBond Social Impact competition.
Now the second round is purely based on voting. CLICK HERE to vote for my project.
I hope that you will support me and help me to publicize as a fellow SSF resident, who believes change can come from anywhere. Voting ends November 4. I need as many votes as possible. You can only use your email once. I have already received national recognition by DoSomething.Org for registering over 250 students and youth to vote along with Maya Patel.
Pequeño Jardinero | Monique Ray Pequeño Jardinero is a business idea to sell more equitable and affordable hydroponic (and later aeroponic and aquaponic kits) to aid in food production, environmental sustainability and environmentally justice awareness in low-income households, foster youth homes, and k-12 public schools. All three of which are often neglected and overlooked.
We also hope our kits in public schools will help bridge the gap between minorities and STEM career fields. We must introduce STEM early on. A simple kit could peak the curiosity of the next world-changing scientist. Hydroponic gardening typically produced plants 25%-30% faster (sometimes even 50%) than their soil counterparts. The yields are incredibly greater and require up to 90% less water than soil grown gardens. Our kits will be far more affordable as they will be made from recycled materials and will definitely be more structured than the ones featured. We will customize each kit per household or classroom space and sun lighting.
We use hashtags to allow youth to document their plant growth progress. We believe having a small ecosystem will give students a feeling of responsibility and possession. We hope to educate our audience about the wonders of gardening at home and the tranquil environment it can create to help decompress after a stressful day. Our kits will be labeled with our brand & have pre-cut holes with highly simplified instructions.
We want a 7 year old and a 20 year old to easily be able to create their own garden. Gardening is for everyone. Hydroponics should not be an expensive product for the wealthy. It is essential for the booming world population. Bringing the fundamentals of a variety of more efficient gardening techniques and garden kits customizable per school classroom and household both bridges the inequitable gap of early access to STEM philosophy.