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SPF provides seed money for fully autonomous, year-round vegetable production system

Published: 9 October 2019

Autonomous Controlled-Environment Chamber is "a growth system with minimal input and maximum crop yield"

When the Sustainability Projects Fund (SPF) was established in 2009, it was an experiment.

The idea was simple: Promote a culture of sustainability across McGill by providing seed funding for grassroots sustainability projects that address everything from energy savings to social justice. (Each student would pay 50 cents per credit, which the administration would match dollar for dollar.) Members of the McGill community, including students, staff and faculty, would be welcome to apply for funding for their projects big and small.

Ten years, and $7 million in funding, later, it’s safe to say the experiment has been a huge success.

On October 10, the SPF will celebrate its 10th anniversary as the largest fund of its kind in Canada.

In the ten days leading up to October 10, the McGill Reporter is highlighting 10 of the more than 200 projects that have been supported by the SPF.

Today’s project: Autonomous Controlled‐Environment Growth Chamber

Pictured: Rachael Warner and Pierce Dias Carlson [both MSc students in Bioresource Engineering] and their Autonomous Controlled-Environment Growth Chamber

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