Students from Buffalo's McKinley High School — home to one of the few high-school horticulture programs in New York state — visited Cornell May 19 to tour greenhouses, participate in demonstrations and meet researchers from the Center for Research on Programmable Plant Systems (CROPPS).

Exploring technologies that could allow crops to signal when they need water, fertilizer or protection from environmental stress, sophomores, juniors and seniors had the option to "tickle" a plant, watching fluorescent waves move through its leaves as it responded to the touch, among other learning opportunities.  

McKinley High School’s horticulture program is unusual in New York state. Not only is it one of the few high schools in New York with its own greenhouse, but it is part of a unique statewide BOCES program focused on horticultural technical education. Students study plant science, greenhouse management and horticulture while gaining hands-on experience growing plants, creating floral arrangements and developing agricultural skills. The students visiting were all active members of their school’s Future Farmers of America (FFA) organization, a program with which Cornell has a long history. 

The trip reflected a shared interest in plants and food systems, connecting students already working in a greenhouse to emerging technologies that may shape the future of agriculture.  

“Our students spend every day learning how plants grow, but seeing research at this level helped them understand the many careers and opportunities that exist in agriculture and plant science,” said Julie Hughes '04, horticulture instructor at McKinley High School. “It showed them that the skills they are developing today can lead to meaningful work solving real-world challenges.”  Hughes is a graduate of the horticulture programs of both McKinley High School and Cornell’s College of Agriculture and Life Science.  

For many students, the visit was their first opportunity to see university research laboratories and interact directly with working scientists, Hughes said. 

The McKinley students began their visit at the greenhouses in Cornell’s Guterman Bioclimactic Laboratories, where they toured research facilities and met with graduate students, faculty and staff members working on plant science projects. Later, the group visited Olin Hall for presentations and a lab demonstration of “CROPPS-in-a-Box,” a portable educational platform designed to introduce students to programmable plant systems and plant biotechnology.   

Funded by the National Science Foundation, CROPPS develops technologies that allow plants to communicate information about their health, water needs and environmental conditions. Researchers are exploring ways to help crops signal stress earlier and use resources like water and fertilizer more efficiently. 

Credit: Henry C. Smith/Cornell University

The visit was part of a broader effort to connect students, educators and agricultural communities with emerging plant technologies. The demonstration built on broader CROPPS outreach efforts in K-12 classrooms across New York state. In addition to Cornell’s REACT teacher-training program, which connects educators with university research, CROPPS researchers recently visited Ithaca High School to demonstrate the CROPPS-in-a-Box platform in an Advanced Placement biology class. CROPPS’ external education efforts benefit from an Engaged Opportunity Grant from the Cornell Einhorn Center for Community Engagement. 

Researchers hope the program helps students see biotechnology not only as a subject they study, but as a potential career path. “These students already have an impressive understanding of how plants and agriculture connect to everyday life,” said Abraham Stroock, Gordon L. Dibble '50 Professor in the R.F. Smith School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering in Cornell Duffield Engineering, principal investigator and director of CROPPS. “We want them to see the ways science and technology shape food and horticultural production and how they could pursue career paths that contribute to building these foundations.”

Extending beyond campus to engage students, educators and communities throughout New York state, a core tenant of CROPPS’s mission in alignment with Cornell's broader land grant mission, the center has expanded outreach through 4-H programs, as well as Cornell’s Applied Biotechnology Youth Academy, where high school students live on campus while studying biology and biotechnology. CROPPS also participates in Cornell’s chapter of the Expanding Your Horizons Network, which encourages girls and young women to explore careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. 

As a National Science Foundation Science and Technology Center, CROPPS also works with commercial growers and farming organizations to better understand the practical needs of agriculture and what technologies may prove most useful in the field.  

For students who already spend their school days growing plants in one of New York's few high-school greenhouse programs, the visit offered a glimpse of how the skills they are developing today could contribute to the future of agriculture tomorrow. 

Henry C. Smith is the communications specialist for Biological Systems at Cornell Research and Innovation.