Two high school students work on laptops in a greenhouse, with a digital display of plant data and a Python code snippet in the foreground, and rows of plants and an IoT sensor in the background.

A collaboration between the Unity Foundation NP and the Hazelwood School District &nbsp;The Investment: &nbsp;A $50,000 investment will fund the first full year implementation for the 2026-27 school year. The Program:The Smart Greenhouse Program is a year-long &ldquo;real world&rdquo; learning opportunity in computer science and sustainable agriculture born out of the 2025 partnership between Hazelwood Central High School and the St Louis Zoo Wildcare Park to build a greenhouse on school grounds. The Unity Foundation developed a curriculum to teach the technical skills needed by students to operate it, and completed a pilot program in 2026. The 2026-27 cohort meets Fridays to operate an automated greenhouse in a real-world classroom. Students use Python, CodeHS, and micro:bit to integrate software with physical circuitry (actuators, relays, sensors), utilizing Google Workspace for documentation and project management. They learn to balance environmental variables and solve real-world AgTech challenges like fail-safe design and fault detection. Why This $50,000 Investment Matters:This $50,000 investment will fund the full-scale implementation of the curriculum for the 2026-27 school year, including:<ul fr-original-style="" style="box-sizing: inherit;"><li fr-original-style="" style="box-sizing: inherit;">The Instructor: &nbsp;brings more than 25 years of industry experience as a Principal Software Engineer, building large-scale cloud and data architectures for platforms including AWS and Azure. &nbsp; In the classroom, he teaches the disciplines he practices professionally &mdash; Agile methodology, real database design, and production-grade software patterns. &nbsp; As a Principal Engineer, mentoring others is central to his role, giving him a proven ability to guide students through complex material with patience and clarity, teaching them to think, and build, like an engineer.</li><li fr-original-style="" style="box-sizing: inherit;">The Hardware Foundation: Funding for classroom Grow Stations. Beyond what is mentioned above, the key infrastructure includes:<ul fr-original-style="" style="box-sizing: inherit;"><li fr-original-style="" style="box-sizing: inherit;">Demo Station: A no-solder, instructor-assembled controller using a micro:bit to manage a relay-controlled fan and water pump (with overflow prevention).</li><li fr-original-style="" style="box-sizing: inherit;">Team Plant Infrastructure: Carts featuring 3&ndash;4 plants per team, analog thermometers for data logging, and shared clamp grow lights.</li></ul></li><li fr-original-style="" style="box-sizing: inherit;">Professional Readiness: Integrating workforce-aligned practices like data literacy, documentation, peer design reviews, and professional communication, directly into the learning experience.</li><li fr-original-style="" style="box-sizing: inherit;">Accessible Tech: Providing the &quot;Demo Station&quot; infrastructure that ensures every student can participate in high-level physical computing.</li><li fr-original-style="" style="box-sizing: inherit;">Curriculum Integrity:&nbsp; Ensuring our dedicated software development professional has the full, ready-to-teach implementation guide and classroom resources available to ensure student success.</li><li fr-original-style="" style="box-sizing: inherit;">Open Source &amp; Ethics:&nbsp;Licensing, attribution, data ownership and algorithmic fairness - taught as engineering, not an appendix.&nbsp;</li><li fr-original-style="" style="box-sizing: inherit;">Capstone Showcase: The year culminates in a final session where students present their completed Smart Greenhouse work, documentation site, and final project to an external panel, fostering professional communication and reflection.</li></ul>The Impact:By donating, you aren&rsquo;t just funding a class. You are putting tools in the hands of students who are ready to solve the most pressing challenges of our time: food security, resource management, and climate-resilient farming. You are turning the classroom into a workforce development pathway, and the students into the next generation of industry-ready innovators. The Unity Mission:At Unity Foundation, we believe that world-class technical expertise should be a catalyst for community growth, not a luxury reserved for global enterprise. Founded by Dr. Ebrahim Moshiri&mdash;whose career spans pioneering work with NASA, the EPA, and the launch of the Iridium&reg; global satellite network&mdash;our foundation is dedicated to bringing decades of specialized engineering experience directly to underserved communities in North St. Louis. Let&rsquo;s grow the future together.

Hello <span contenteditable="false" data-custom-variable="{{firstname}}" fr-original-class="fr-deletable styled-tag-chip" fr-original-style="" style="color: rgb(42, 42, 196); overflow-wrap: anywhere; user-select: none; background-color: rgb(248, 248, 255); border: 1px solid rgb(191, 191, 255); border-radius: 4px; margin: 0px; padding: 1px 8px; font-size: 11px; display: inline-block; box-sizing: inherit;">First name, Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for supporting Unity &nbsp;Foundation. This donation greatly helps our mission. If you would like to contribute further, contact us to become a volunteer, or spread the word about our mission! Unity Foundationinfo@unityfoundation.io

A collaboration between the Unity Foundation NP and the Hazelwood School District  The Investment:  A $50,000 investment will fund the first full year implementation for the 2026-27 school year. The Program:The Smart Greenhouse Program is a year-long “real world” learning opportunity in computer science and sustainable agriculture born out of the 2025 partnership between Hazelwood Central High School and the St Louis Zoo Wildcare Park to build a greenhouse on school grounds. The Unity Foundation developed a curriculum to teach the technical skills needed by students to operate it, and completed a pilot program in 2026. The 2026-27 cohort meets Fridays to operate an automated greenhouse in a real-world classroom. Students use Python, CodeHS, and micro:bit to integrate software with physical circuitry (actuators, relays, sensors), utilizing Google Workspace for documentation and project management. They learn to balance environmental variables and solve real-world AgTech challenges like fail-safe design and fault detection. Why This $50,000 Investment Matters:This $50,000 investment will fund the full-scale implementation of the curriculum for the 2026-27 school year, including:<ul><li>The Instructor:  brings more than 25 years of industry experience as a Principal Software Engineer, building large-scale cloud and data architectures for platforms including AWS and Azure.   In the classroom, he teaches the disciplines he practices professionally — Agile methodology, real database design, and production-grade software patterns.   As a Principal Engineer, mentoring others is central to his role, giving him a proven ability to guide students through complex material with patience and clarity, teaching them to think, and build, like an engineer.</li><li>The Hardware Foundation: Funding for classroom Grow Stations. Beyond what is mentioned above, the key infrastructure includes:<ul><li>Demo Station: A no-solder, instructor-assembled controller using a micro:bit to manage a relay-controlled fan and water pump (with overflow prevention).</li><li>Team Plant Infrastructure: Carts featuring 3–4 plants per team, analog thermometers for data logging, and shared clamp grow lights.</li></ul></li><li>Professional Readiness: Integrating workforce-aligned practices like data literacy, documentation, peer design reviews, and professional communication, directly into the learning experience.</li><li>Accessible Tech: Providing the "Demo Station" infrastructure that ensures every student can participate in high-level physical computing.</li><li>Curriculum Integrity:  Ensuring our dedicated software development professional has the full, ready-to-teach implementation guide and classroom resources available to ensure student success.</li><li>Open Source &amp; Ethics: Licensing, attribution, data ownership and algorithmic fairness - taught as engineering, not an appendix. </li><li>Capstone Showcase: The year culminates in a final session where students present their completed Smart Greenhouse work, documentation site, and final project to an external panel, fostering professional communication and reflection.</li></ul>The Impact:By donating, you aren’t just funding a class. You are putting tools in the hands of students who are ready to solve the most pressing challenges of our time: food security, resource management, and climate-resilient farming. You are turning the classroom into a workforce development pathway, and the students into the next generation of industry-ready innovators. The Unity Mission:At Unity Foundation, we believe that world-class technical expertise should be a catalyst for community growth, not a luxury reserved for global enterprise. Founded by Dr. Ebrahim Moshiri—whose career spans pioneering work with NASA, the EPA, and the launch of the Iridium® global satellite network—our foundation is dedicated to bringing decades of specialized engineering experience directly to underserved communities in North St. Louis. Let’s grow the future together.

Unity Foundation

The Smart Greenhouse Program: Cultivating Code, Engineering the Future

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