Seeking sustainable agriculture

As part of the Summer 2015 Mountaintop program, an interdisciplinary group of five students are working to create a fully energy-independent food-growing enterprise at the Lehigh Community Garden on the Goodman Campus.

The five students— Kate Armbruster '15, Devon Dowd '16, Michael Miller '17, Rebecca Naurath '16, Jennifer Dwyer '18 and Benjamin Cicchillo '17—are exploring a range of issues, including greenhouse design, solar installation, scalability and economic and business models.

The group is being mentored by Breena Holland, associate professor of political science, and William Best, professor of practice in electrical and computer engineering.

As their summer in the garden came to an end, the students spoke with Lehigh visual storyteller about their project—and what they’ve learned over the course of their Mountaintop summer.