Learn simple hacks from a professional chef to turn leftover ingredients and scraps into mouthwatering desserts!

This hands-on workshop will teach you traditional pastry techniques with a modern twist. You'll gain the skills to transform otherwise discarded food items into delicious treats (plus a bonus drink).

After receiving demos on creating a variety of different cakes, mousses, sauces, & garnishes -- while sampling some of Chef Anna's creations throughout the process -- you'll get to roll up your sleeves and dive in, creating your own parfait jars to take home under the guidance of our expert chef. You'll also leave with recipes on everything we cover in class.

Whether you're trying to knock out food waste from your kitchen, become a more versatile cook, or just enjoy a fun "food-forward" Saturday afternoon -- this is the class for you!

About the Instructor: Anna Fitting is a NYC-based pastry chef. She is the co-founder of Ice Cream Social and has competed on multiple live cooking competitions, including Chopped.

About the Space: AgTech X is NYC's only coworking space dedicated solely to the future of food & agriculture. You'll hear from founder Ricky Stephens on various ways you can get more involved in unique sustainability-driven initiatives within the food & farming world of New York.

Learn the basics of hydroponics in this interactive class.

First, you'll receive a detailed overview of hydroponic systems in their many forms. How does hydroponics compare to growing in soil? What are some of the benefits and drawbacks? Next, you'll take a tour through the AgTech X office to see different examples of hydroponics in action. Finally, you'll have the option of taking home your own mini hydroponic system, complete with basil seedlings and lights, to test your growing skills at home!

Have you taken our Intro to Urban Agriculture Models already? If so, you're eligible for a 10% discount to tickets for this class! (Email or Slack us for the code.)

About the Instructor: Kate Lodvikov is a hydroponics technician who has worked at a number of hydroponic & vertical farms around New York City. Kate has taught classes at AgTech X for more than a year and also teaches a month-long class at the New York Botanical Garden.

The Hydroponic System: You'll have the option to take home this 6-site custom-designed hydroponic system, with clip-on lights and basil seedlings, plus additional inputs to get your first couple of grows started.

Our first of a 2-part series, this class will examine the science behind aquaponics: a closed-loop approach to sustainable agriculture in which fish, microbes, and plants form a mutually beneficial ecosystem. You'll dive into the following questions in this two hour lecture:

• How can one ensure a healthy operation?
• How does each living organism survive and add value to the larger ecosystem?
• How does the nutrient cycle work?
• How is balance achieved?

You'll learn all this and more from the comforts of AgTech X (coffee included!) - New York's only coworking lab dedicated to the future of food & agriculture.

About the Instructor

Yemi Amu is the co-founder of Oko Farms and the Farm Manager at the Moore Street Farm. She directs all of Oko Farms' programs including education,  design/build projects and community related activities. She has facilitated the creation and maintenance of 20 edible spaces (in NYC) at schools and community organizations including a rooftop farm in Crown Heights and a 1/4 acre farm at the Weeksville Heritage Center that included poultry and bees. 

Aquaponics is a closed-loop approach to sustainable agriculture in which fish, microbes, and plants form a mutually beneficial ecosystem. In this extensive 2-part class, you'll gain a detailed overview from Yemi Amu, Founder of Oko Farms - NYC's only outdoor aquaponics farm & education center. As each class focuses on a different element of aquaponics, you can sign up for both (via this page) or just one (follow the links to individual classes below).

Class 1 (Sat, Feb 2): Science & Biology

Learn the science behind aquaponics - the key to getting started.

• What considerations need to be taken into account to ensure a healthy operation?
• How does each living organism survive and add value to the larger ecosystem?
• How is balance achieved?

You'll learn all this and more, from the comforts of AgTech X - New York's only co-working lab dedicated to sustainable food & agriculture.

Class 2 (Sat, Feb 9): Best Practices & DIY Build

Start the day with an overview of best practices for managing an aquaponics operation. Then dive in by constructing two different DIY aquaponic systems. You'll learn how to build these recirculating units out of simple materials under the guidance of Yemi Amu and her team at Oko Farms. Finally, you'll leave with a full materials list and the confidence to get your own home system up and running.

About the Instructor

Yemi Amu is the co-founder of Oko Farms and the Farm Manager at the Moore Street Farm. She directs all of Oko Farms' programs including education,  design/build projects and community related activities. She has facilitated the creation and maintenance of 20 edible spaces (in NYC) at schools and community organizations including a rooftop farm in Crown Heights and a 1/4 acre farm at the Weeksville Heritage Center that included poultry and bees. 

The second of our 2-part series. Start the day with an overview of best practices for managing an aquaponics operation. Then dive in by constructing two different DIY aquaponic systems. You'll learn how to build these recirculating units out of simple materials under the guidance of Yemi Amu and her team at Oko Farms. Finally, you'll leave with a full materials list and the confidence to get your own home system up and running.

About the Instructor

Yemi Amu is the co-founder of Oko Farms and the Farm Manager at the Moore Street Farm. She directs all of Oko Farms' programs including education,  design/build projects and community related activities. She has facilitated the creation and maintenance of 20 edible spaces (in NYC) at schools and community organizations including a rooftop farm in Crown Heights and a 1/4 acre farm at the Weeksville Heritage Center that included poultry and bees. 

Our staple introductory course, taught once per month.

During the class: You'll investigate various Urban Agriculture projects with a focus on NYC, discussing benefits & drawbacks to each one, and hear about what opportunities exist to engage further in this emerging field. You'll also receive a brief overview of soilless farming practices including hydroponics and aquaponics, two of the more popular methods for growing food in confined urban environments.

After the class: You'll unlock access to our digital network of over 130 NYC-based researchers, career transitioners, & entrepreneurs. Benefits include: discounts to upcoming AgTech X classes & external conferences; shared news on sustainable food & agriculture trends; and relevant job postings.

What past participants have said:

"I knew I would learn about hydroponics, but walked away with so much more!" -Elyssa, 7/30/17

"I left the class more excited than ever to learn how I can find my role in the urban agricultural movement." - Kevin, 11/29/17

This class is for anyone looking to gain a better understanding of fungi life cycles and small scale mushroom cultivation. You will get to know a variety of mushroom species and learn about simple and affordable techniques to grow nutritious and medicinal mushrooms at home! Finally, you'll leave with a full list of instructions for starting your own mushroom cultivation kits at home. 

About the Instructor: Jie is a mushroom grower and founder of Curiouseed, an education studio dedicated to cultivating eco consciousness through playful, experimental and hands-on programming and experiences. Currently Curiouseed is focused on connecting people with the fascinating yet largely overlooked world of fungi. Jie is a member of New York Mycology Society and a certified permaculturist. She founded the Teaming with Fungi Meetup, and has taught or spoken at GrowNYC, NYC Parks, Queens Botanical Garden, CUNY, Cornell Cooperative Extension, Civic Art Lab, Fou Gallery, among others.

About the Space: AgTech X is NYC's only coworking space dedicated solely to the future of food & agriculture. You'll hear from founder Ricky Stephens on various ways you can get more involved in unique sustainability-driven initiatives within the food & farming world of New York.

In this introductory workshop, you will learn how to use open-source, free technology and off-the-shelf electronics to check on your plants and their progress from anywhere, using any device, 24/7. You will customize your own “plant dashboard” to monitor the temperature, humidity, light, and soil moisture, and even learn about automatic watering tools.

Included in the workshop is a brief intro to internet of things, basic electronics, and programming — but don’t worry if you’re not already familiar with any of these. The goal of the workshop is to help you better understand what your plants need to thrive in any setting.

*Please bring a laptop!*

Schedule:

• 12:00: General introduction
• 12:10: Intro to IoT technology
• 12:30: Basics to electronics & agricultural sensors
• 1:30: Programming basics, uploading Arduino firmware
• 2:30: Connecting to cloud API, configuring live dashboard
• 3:00: Wrap-up

About the Instructor: Tarek Ahmed is an IoT Systems Architect and the founder of Pixel Corn, which provides hardware & software solutions for agricultural operations of many sizes. Tarek also founded the first hackerspace and mobile makerspace in Egypt in 2009. He has been teaching "Internet of Plant" classes for several years in cities around the world.

An estimated 40,000 acres of roof space sit atop New York's buildings -- so why is it that less than 1% incorporate greenery? Combining common practices with emerging technologies and recent incentives from the City, we now have the resources to change this and, in doing so, help solve key challenges related to food, water, energy, and biodiversity that negatively impact NYC today.

In our newest rendition of this class, we will examine a range of topics as they pertain to Green Roofs, including:

• System Types
• Elements & Technology
• Design Considerations
• Benefits
• Installation
• Incentives
• Solar Integration

You'll leave the class with a true understanding of the potential that green roofs can play in transforming our cities, and some tangible suggestions for where to turn next.

About the instructor: Alan Burchell is the founder of Urbanstrong, a full-service green building technology firm that designs, builds, and maintains a range of green infrastructure solutions.

*Are you an architect or green building professional? This presentation is eligible for a 1-hour continuing education credit with AIA CES, LA CES, and GBCI CES.