Hope Grows

Project Description

With a grant from Bloomberg Philanthropies' Youth Climate Action Fund, Andrus expanded its Hope Space into a  living, youth-built Green Infrastructure Demonstration Site. Students designed, developed, and  maintained a rainwater capture and irrigation system, incorporating raised garden beds,  pollinator habitat features, and solar-powered watering to connect ecological learning with  hands-on stewardship. Under Andrus resident Zeke’s guidance, students and staff worked  together to install gutters that capture roof runoff and redirect it to a barrel system;  built and filled raised beds; installed solar-powered irrigation; and created habitat elements to  support pollinators. Throughout, students debated alternatives (such as gravity pumps) and made  design decisions. The project was imbued with joy, curiosity, and teamwork under the mentorship of Andrus Staff member Dr.  Argentina.

Outcomes 

• Skill-building and confidence: Youth acquired hands-on skills in plumbing, carpentry,  system design, planting, and solar irrigation, boosting their sense of agency and  competence. 

• Sense of ownership & stewardship: Students now refer to the garden as their space,  caring for it daily and advocating for its upkeep. 

• Collaboration and leadership: The project created space for students to lead, teach  peers, manage tasks, and make decisions together. 

• Therapeutic and emotional benefits: Tending to living plants, observing pollinators,  and working outdoors provides grounding, calm, and a connection to living systems. 

• Educational integration: The garden functions as a dynamic lab for ecology, biology,  climate science, and sustainability lessons. 

• Community visibility & inspiration: The site stands as a demonstration of youth-led  ecological action, inspiring visitors, staff, and peers

Sustainability and Next Steps

•  The Green Team (student leadership) will steward the site, and schedule watering, planting  cycles, and maintenance. 

• The garden will be woven into curriculum and therapeutic programming, ensuring  frequent use and relevance. 

• We will pursue partnerships with local environmental groups, municipal agencies, and gardening  networks for technical support, guest workshops, and volunteer collaborations. 

• We will monitor water usage, plant health, biodiversity (pollinator visits), and student  engagement metrics to guide future improvements. 

Over time, we plan to expand or replicate this model in other parts of campus or in adjacent  community spaces. 

Lessons Learned 

• Scheduling & coordination: Aligning student, staff, and facilities schedules sometimes  slowed progress; planning buffer time was essential. 

• Weather and seasonality: Rain, cold nights, or drought periods required flexibility in planting and irrigation timing. 

• Technical troubleshooting: Some plumbing connections or solar pump alignments  needed iteration and reworking. 

• Sustainability planning: Ensuring the “Green Team” has stable responsibilities and  resources is key to long-term maintenance. 

To address these obstacles, we built contingency days, held extra troubleshooting sessions, and recruited facility partners to anchor tasks. 

Students Involved 

• Project Leaders: Zeke, with help from Khareese (both Andrus residents), led the project  with official mentoring from Erik Ghalib and help and guidance provided by Dr.  Argentina (Andrus staff).  

• Project Participants: Joel, Payton, Lucas, Pharaoh, Christopher and Mason (Arnwine  class); Vanessa, Olivia, Asaiah, Damian, Alere and Jordan (Cassey class); Khristian, Bentley, Dwayne, Jahir, Sincier and Trishana (Chambers class); Destiny, Cavione, Alanni, Derek and Khareese (Kolodziejcuk class); Joseph, Gianni, June, Amber, Eli, John, Joan and Kalvin (Martin class). All of these children, a mix of residents and day  enrolled students, participated in the project. 

Budget Summary & Financial Report

Expense Category Spent 

• Rain garden / soil / planting materials: $3,099.03 

• Solar-powered irrigation / hardware: $ 63.50 

• Pollinator habitat elements: $1,054.12 

• Supplies, tools, connectors: $ 390.95 

TOTAL:  $4,607.25 

All receipts across both projects provided separately. Total spend across both projects is  $9,030.85, split $4,607.25 on the Green Infrastructure Demonstration Site project, and $4,423.60 on Hope Grows Mural & Educational Initiative project. 

This section of the garden adjacent to the greenhouse (part of Andrus’s Hope Space), was identified  for the location for the Green Infrastructure Demonstration Site. 

Student participants installing, building and filling the two raised beds as the central feature for the Green Infrastructure Demonstration Site.

Planting in the raised beds, and constructing the solar-powered irrigation system that will take captured rainwater and disperse water on a timer to maintain the plants.

Installing the guttering and downpipe to capture the rainwater, and positioning the barrel to store it, before the irrigation system releases the rainwater via a timer, solar powered mechanism.

Thank You's and Reflections 

This project was more than infrastructure: it was a bridge between youth agency and ecological  resilience. Under their hands, students transformed an underutilized space into a thriving, living  ecosystem. Their laughter, debates, and shared pride remain in every plant, drip, and pollinator  visit. The experience reinforced that when given trust, guidance, and space, youth can lead climate solutions. Thank you to the Village of Hastings-on-Hudson and Bloomberg Philanthropies for investing in their  potential. We look forward to continuing to grow hope – together.