A state of tranquility lingers at the farm as fresh seedlings push through soft soil, ripe strawberries glisten in the sun and bees hum near their hive, transforming the fields into a classroom where wheelbarrows and rows of crops replace desks and chairs.

On Thursday, March 19, Bellaire students visited Houston Independent School District's Mykawa Farm for a hands-on lesson in agriculture and chemistry. Originally planned for the Rooftop Garden Club members, the trip expanded to include chemistry students after extra spots became available. At the farm, students rotated through interactive stations that included planting seedlings, spreading mulch, observing crops and learning how chemistry connects to farming.

Senior and Rooftop Garden Club President David Fang helped organize the trip after missing the chance to attend a previous visit to the farm.

“The Rooftop Garden Club had a field trip around two years ago to Mykawa Farm, and I really wanted to go but wasn’t able to since the sign-up closed,” Fang said. “As vice president last year, I decided to see if we could go on the same trip again.”

Unfortunately, the trip was canceled in Fang’s junior year due to heavy rain and flooding, leading this to be his “last chance” in high school to go on the trip.

“I was definitely very worried because it was my last year, as a senior, and I really wanted to go [to Mykawa farm] after all these years of not being able to,” Fang said.

Pre-AP and AP Chemistry teacher and sponsor of the field trip Miguel Gonzalez said that the trip’s success was largely due to Fang’s initiative.

“David was checking on me constantly and updating me on students that were interested in it,” Gonzalez said. “And it was a bit of a long process, but I'm glad it all worked out in the end and we were able to go this year.”

After reaching out to the owners of the farm, Gonzalez was told that the trip can hold up to 80 students, with the Rooftop Garden Club taking up at most 30 spots. With extra spots left over, Gonzalez said he didn’t want them “going to waste” and invited his chemistry students to join the trip as well.

“Just to take advantage of the trip, and the fact that we were going to already be at the farm, we figured we might as well get as many people as we could to go,” Gonzalez said. “And the people at the farm appreciated it since all those extra hands helped out on the farm’s projects.”

Fang said he enjoyed the company of the chemistry students and found it “engaging” to introduce them to the world of farming and agriculture. Many of the students had never had the chance to work with plants or see how a farm operates, and Fang said he was excited to share the experience with them.

“It felt very rewarding to show everyone how important and exciting gardening can be, especially because we were given this hands-on service opportunity,” Fang said. “And a lot of my friends expressed that they really enjoyed getting this glimpse into what farm life is.”

At Mykawa Farm, students split up into groups and rotated between six stations, with each station involving different projects and activities such as planting seedlings, observing the garden, mulching the farm beds, scraping weeds, learning about compost and exploring the farm grounds.

“I enjoyed looking at the strawberries the most, because I just really love strawberries in general,” Fang said. “They’re one of my favorite fruits and seeing how much time and effort goes into planting and growing them was really inspirational. Small details, like even the type of tarp they use to control weeds, makes a big impact on how the strawberries grow.”

Fang said the experience was very “eye opening,” especially when hearing about how fresh fruits and vegetables were donated to local HISD elementary schools for taste testing via the Food & Agriculture Literacy Program.

“It was really awesome to see how they organize cultural tastings at elementary schools,” Fang said. “Seeing the staff’s passion for gardening and the interdisciplinary connection between education and farming through working at Mykawa Farm has shaped them [the farm staff] in so many beautiful ways.”

Sophomore Seetha Venkatachalam found the trip to be “very calming.” Venkatachalam enjoyed the nice break from urban areas and appreciated the serenity of the scene.

“Since we’re in such an urban city, the air is often polluted, and we don’t get to breathe fresh air,” Venkatachalam said. “Going to the farm was nice because I got to breathe deeply, hear the birds chirp and see the green grass.”

The farm’s interactive activities also helped her unwind, with Venkatachalam especially relishing the task of scraping the weeds, as it allowed her to put away the stress of the day.

“I got to put all the stressful and bad emotions into scraping that day, which was good for relieving mental pressure,” Venkatachalam said. “It felt very nice to take a breather from everyday life.”

The different stations taught students about photosynthesis, composting, combustion reactions and many different chemical changes that occur in the farm.

“Surprisingly, there was a lot of chemistry at the farm, and a lot of chemistry education from the instructors at the farm,” Gonzalez said. ”So having the chemistry students there as well definitely added to the experience.”

Gonzalez said that he might even consider doing the trip twice a year in the future—one group for the Rooftop Garden Club and another group for chemistry students. He also said it’d be “great” if other teachers came as well.

“It’s a fun trip, and we got a surprising amount of work done in the short time we were there, and I’ll definitely plan on doing it again next year,” Gonzalez said. “Everything was well-structured and well organized, and I'm very happy with how everything turned out.”

Fang describes the experience as “coming full circle,” reflecting on how he went from missing the trip in sophomore year to organizing it as a senior and inspiring many souls along the way.

“As a senior and president of the Rooftop Garden Club, I’ve been able to bring in many underclassmen and give them the opportunity of a lifetime, which is to explore a farm and learn about how HISD Nutrition Services operates,” Fang said. “It’s a full-circle moment from sophomore year, when I wanted to go, to now being able to make it happen as president of the club.”

By organizing the trip, Fang not only fulfilled his own long-standing goal of visiting Mykawa Farm but also had the chance to witness firsthand the excitement and curiosity of other students experiencing the farm for the first time.

“Seeing all the students in Mr. Gonzalez’s classes and our students from the Rooftop Garden Club being so excited to learn about gardening was so inspirational to me,” Fang said. “I was really excited to see that this club was able to impact so many students.”

Learn more about upcoming activities in the Rooftop Garden Club by joining its Remind @rooftop26 or by following its Instagram @rooftopgardenclub.

Gallery • 7 Photos

Coral Walia

A Starbrite watermelon seedling lays in my glove. The watermelon seeds were planned to be harvested 70–80 days later, around mid-June.