The School of Public Health (UAB Public School of Health) Schweitzer Fellows is underway with their projects!
Rachel Stokes (Environmental Health Sciences)
Rachel will address food insecurity in Birmingham by developing aquaponics and community gardens that will increase the availability of fresh produce year-round for partners and constituents of Christian Service Mission.
Update: Rachel has been out-of-state for her SOPH internship, so she is primarily working to research different types of systems and techniques for hydroponic systems. Before she left they were already seeing greater production from the foods being grown with hydroponics compared to those in the traditional garden beds. Another aspect of her program, though, is to help educate the community members who come to pick up the produce from CSM and to impact their health (e.g., improved perception of fresh fruits and vegetables, increased willingness to try new fruits and vegetables).
Thank you to UAB School of Public Health for this great highlight!
