101 Gardens

“please see Form L”

“reviewed at board meeting(s) and/or electronically distributed to board”

“By-laws and Form 990 are available upon request. Articles of Incorporation are available on the North Carolina Secretary of State's web site https://www.sosnc.gov/search/index/corp”

“101 Gardens inspires a new way of thinking in young people in the Charlotte, NC region and beyond by establishing aquaponics greenhouses and educational programming in schools and communities of need. Aquaponics is the science of growing fish and plants in a symbiotic ecosystem. As fish are fed they produce nutrients into the water via their waste. That nutrient-rich waste stream is used to fertilize plants growing hydroponically. The plants use the nutrients to grow, cleaning the water as it is returned to the fish. This relationship allows water to be reused, reducing the water needs of fish farming and vegetable growing by up to 90%. Managing this ecosystem inspires a new way of thinking: A new way of thinking about learning through hands-on activities A new way of thinking about food through students growing their own and engaging in eating healthy food A new way of thinking about the environment as students manage this ecosystem of fish, plants, and bacteria, and can begin to understand how humans impact our environments. By building 100 gardens (100 local schools with aquaponics programming) we can impact tens of thousands of students and create a city full of smarter, healthier and more compassionate humans...a catalyst of change for the world to follow. 101 Gardens partners with schools and other organizations to install aquaponics learning labs, trains teachers on curriculum integration with aquaponics, and also hosts aquaponics workshops for the public. An aquaponics learning lab is a controlled environment greenhouse structure that contains an aquaponic system, seed starting area, work tables for harvesting and packaging, and ample floor space to host larger groups up to 30 people. The aquaponics learning lab offers hands-on learning in science, technology, engineering, math, business, nutrition, and environmental studies. Typically, one or two classes are dedicated to handling daily aquaponics operations while other classes use the lab periodically when they are covering an area in their course that can be reinforced using aquaponics. The standard high school lab produces up to 200 pounds of fish per year and up to 330 servings of leafy vegetables per week. This production allows for an end-of-year fish fry to engage students and community and also the weekly distribution of produce to food banks, to be utilized by culinary education programs or to be sold to restaurants to generate program revenue. Notable accomplishments in 2017: Installed aquaponics learning labs in three additional schools, for a total of eight schools with active programs. An estimated 650 students participated in aquaponics learning. Established small-scale aquaponics systems in two new schools. This small aquaponics system fits into classrooms and utilizes grow lights, and can also be placed into greenhouses to make aquaponics learning more accessible to schools with more limited funds. Established an annual fundraising event called the Homegrown Tomato Festival. In its first year, the festival had an estimated attendance of 500. The 101 Gardens vision was presented at the 2017 TEDxCharlotte event by 101 Gardens co-founder Sam Fleming. 1000+ people were in attendance. A relationship with Central Piedmont Community College was established to provide continued education for students in the aquaponics program at Stonewall Jackson Youth Development Center. The Annual 101 Gardens Party drew an audience of 100+ people, indicating the growing public support for this engaging method of learning for young people.”