By Kate York,

WATERFORD — Waterford High School has its share of unique class offerings, from ceramics to construction, but only students in one class there can say they’ve created their own miniature ecosystem.

In a greenhouse outside the high school, students are now planting seeds, preparing for another crop of tomatoes, lettuce, cucumbers and peppers that will arrive, rather unseasonably, in mid-winter.

The plants and fish are grown together in an integrated system, with the fish waste providing a food source for the growing plants.

“It’s pretty cool,” said junior Austin Sampson, 16. “I never knew you could grow plants without soil and with fish. It’s been really interesting so far.”

Started through a grant nearly a decade ago, the hydroponics course gives students a glimpse of agriculture they might not have had before, said instructor Matt Hartline.

“I want them to have an appreciation of agriculture,” he said. “It’s the No. 1 business and industry in the country. If they walk out of here knowing something about a different profession than farming, which may be all they’ve heard about, and they know there are a lot of things they can do, that’s a good thing.”

The classes typically spend about 75 percent of their time in the greenhouse, rather than the classroom, taking care of the plants and about 45 bluegill fish.

“It’s fun,” said sophomore Jennifer Handschumacher. “Instead of sitting in a class all day, we get to do this.”

The hands-on nature of the class makes it more popular with the students, said Hartline.

“It’s a lot of science; it’s simple biology, but it’s not the same as biology you would learn in a classroom,” he said. “It’s applying it. It’s what kids like to do.”

By February, the class will have tomatoes from about 100 plants to be sold locally— along with a sense of accomplishment.

“When things start to grow, they kind of take ownership,” said Hartline.

Typically, student volunteers even come to the school on weekends to care for the plants, he said.

Hartline said just explaining what the class is all about, from the soil substitutes to the recirculating system in the fish tank, can be the hardest part.

“It’s a little complex at first,” he said. “But it’s a very unique class. It’s something different.”

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