Growing Beyond Earth® for Australian Schools
Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria (RBGV), in partnership with La Trobe Institute for Sustainable Agriculture and Food (LISAF) and Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden (US), are working with 6 Victorian schools and 1 Tasmanian school as part of the 2024 Growing Beyond Earth® Program for Australian schools.
This unique STEM learning program is a classroom-based citizen science project, designed to advance NASA research on growing plants in space. It includes a series of plant experiments conducted by students in a specially designed plant growth chamber, similar to the ‘Vegetable Production System’ (Veggie) on the International Space Station.
Our 2024 Growing Beyond Earth Australian schools are:
- Catholic Regional College Caroline Springs
- Frankston High School
- Hoppers Crossing Secondary College
- Mount Lilydale Mercy College
- St Helens District High School (TAS)
- St Monica's College Epping
- Sunbury College
As part of the Growing Beyond Earth Australian pilot program in 2024, schools will:
- Receive specialised online training from Fairchild Tropical Botanic Gardens to learn experiment procedures and protocol.
- Be provided with a plant growth chamber and discover how to set up and conduct the research experiments at school.
- Hear from RBGV and LISAF plants scientists and be part of engagement opportunities, such as an excursion at La Trobe University’s AgriBio laboratories, to learn about the Plants for Space program in Australia.
- Receive ongoing support throughout the program from RBGV, Fairchild and LISAF.
- Be part of the Growing Beyond Earth school community in Australia, with the option of joining Fairchild's Global Student GBE Symposium online.
- Be invited to share and celebrate their Growing Beyond Earth experience in Term 4.
If you would like to find more information about this program for your school, please email sally.fierenzi@rbg.vic.gov.au.
