Bridgehampton Joins World Food Prize Global Challenge
The hard work of Bridgehampton High School students’ innovative sustainability practices came to fruition during the World Food Prize Foundation’s Global Challenge. The months-long program allowed them to propose solutions to the world’s most pressing food security and agriculture challenges and present them to their peers.
This year’s participants from Bridgehampton were Emma Kapon, Summer Lillie, Avery McCleland and Sascha Gomberg. The students researched and presented potential solutions for issues such as the metal contamination in China’s water, obesity in Southern Italy, depletion of the barrier reef in Belize and drought resistant foods in Australia. “My research is focused on drought solutions for the Australian outback, via the use of alternative and invasive produce and genetically transformed ‘space crops,’” said Gomberg.
The Global Challenge empowers high school students to make a difference by writing a three- to five-page research paper focused on a country and a food security related topic. The Bridgehampton students developed their projects during an after-school program facilitated by Stony Brook University. Housed at the university’s Southampton campus, the program began research in January with students submitting their papers in late February.
On March 21, Bridgehampton participants presented their research at the World Food Prize Foundation’s Youth Institute, an event that brings together students, experts and policymakers to address global food insecurity and sustainability. The students traveled to Cornell University to share their ideas with other changemakers in hopes of creating a more food-secure and sustainable world.
Bridgehampton Students Dive Into Aquaculture
Bridgehampton School students recently participated in an engaging hands-on workshop focused on aquaculture, thanks to the efforts of Ms. de Souza and a special guest from the South Fork History Museum and Nature Center, Rob Gelling. Gelling led a group of 10 students in setting up an aquaculture system featuring pak choi — plants they had carefully grown from seed. Under Gelling’s expert instruction, the group assembled the system while gaining valuable insights into the nitrogen cycle and its role in sustainable agriculture.
Staff Writer on Apr 7, 2025