Mezzacello Urban Farm 2024 Annual Report

Total Student Outreach in 2024

Our 2024 High School intern, Circinus who designed four design challenges and taught 12 middle school students how to teach them.

Mezzacello Urban Farm

2024 Summer Camps

  • City of Columbus Parks and Rec BioTech Spring Camp

  • City of Columbus Parks and Rec BioEngineering Spring Camp

  • City of Columbus Parks and Rec BioMechanics Spring Camp

  • City of Columbus Parks and Rec Quantum Effects in Nature Spring Camp

  • PAST Foundation Project BioTechnology Summer Camp

  • PAST Foundation Project BioEngineering Summer Camp

  • PAST Foundation Project BioMechanics Summer Camp

  • PAST Foundation Project Quantum Effects Summer Camp

  • City of Columbus Parks and Rec Partners NOT Pets Summer Camp

  • City of Columbus Parks and Rec Simple Machines In Nature Summer Camp

  • City of Columbus Parks and Rec Why Things Work Summer Camp

  • City of Columbus Parks and Rec Atomic Farming Summer Camp

Quote Source

“How amazing is it that we can make food from wastes and build machines to deliver it?! I liked helping all the tiny animals we need, but don't get to see.” - Frogga

Mezzacello Urban Farm Workshops

  1. BioEngineering Basics Workshop

  2. Partners Not Pets Workshop

  3. Climate Effects and Impacts Workshop

  4. Ecological CSI Workshop

  5. Why The Tiny Things Matter Workshop

  6. The Floor Is Lava Family Workshop

  7. Family Matters Workshop

  8. Natures Ninjas Family Workshop

  9. Public Speaking Workshop

  10. Leadership and Interns Training Cohort

Schools, Tours, and Community Visits

Student Outreach

In 2024 Mezzacello Urban Farm opened its doors to the public in engaging and innovative ways.

  • We hosted two schools for their community service hours days, Metro Early College High School and Columbus School for Girls.

  • We took our show on the road to Metro Schools Middle School, Columbus City School, and Reynoldsburg City Schools.

  • We held a Hands on STEM Fundraiser and invited the public in to see what we are doing here and help support our mission and vision.

  • We hosted two innovative presentations to a livestreaming global audience as part of the Global innovation Field Trip (GIFT) where we presented “ The Golden Ticket” and “UN 17 Sustainable Development Goals and You”.

  • We trained a cohort of 12 middle school students in the basics of mentorship, leadership, and public speaking in a hybrid online-onsite model. Then we invited those kids to come back and co-teach all of my summer programming as “Menterns”. This was a very successful program!

“I loved caring for the animals at Mezzacello, even the crickets! Yuck! But they are really important. The bunnies are so cute!”

Kaylhin

“This Was Awesome! I loved it!

Next year, I want to be a teaching intern!”

Bethany

“Mister Jim is a BOSS! I really loved every time we ran into a problem! It got difficult and we got busy! Harrison Out!”

Harrison

Infrastructure Updates and Grounds

Foundations for the New Classroom
South Elevation of The House

2024 has been a transformative year here at Mezzacello Urban Farm! We added a series of new classroom and teaching spaces to the grounds. These include:

  • A presentation stage with a solar and wind-powered pergola equipped with lights, cameras, microphones, speakers and a mobile classroom

  • A new lighted arched pergola over the Hornbeam Allee to help light Mezzacello at night, provide cover in rain, and collect solar power during the day and store that power in built-in batteries housed in the poles of each of the three pergolas.

  • Two new covered tents with onboard lights and power as well as table workstations with USB charging capability located in the front formal gardens.

  • Four new Portable Labs were created and deployed.

    • The Portable AV Lab station (PAWs)

    • The Portable Eco Training station (PETs)

    • The Portable Animal Warren system (PAWs)

    • Portable Environmental Engineering Lab station (PEELs)

    • Portable Ecology and Biology Lab system (PEBLs)

  • A new permanent home for the Biodome at Mezzacello and a dedicated solar array, battery array, and onboard automation stack to heat or cool the dome, water plants, or keep animals secure inside the dome year-round.

  • Upgraded power systems and battery arrays in all four of the applied STEM classrooms at Mezzacello Urban Farm

  • A new solar and wind powered watering system and vertical garden structure in the potager gardens.

  • A new 10x22’ covered concrete patio in the back service yard for synthesizing fertilizers and processing animals and vegetables.

  • A brand new 10x20’ classroom attached to the south face of the 1868 house for four season and evening programming at Mezzacello Urban Farm.

How Can You Help?

That’s easy! Sign up for a workshop or summer camp! Follow us on Social Media @Mezzacello. We are on Facebook and Instagram as well as YouTube. Come visit us with an on-site tour. Donate to our mission and tell your friends about us.

We designed Mezzacello Urban Farm to be self-contained and sustainable. We are not flashy, until you come inside. Being in downtown Columbus, we needed boundaries to protect our farm from various predators and the various realities of being in a densely populated urban environment. But behind the hedges is a fascinating 21st Century Urban Farm that is waiting for you to discover it!

How can you help? Become curious and adventurous and help us fulfill our mission of GROW, MAINTAIN, SUSTAIN, and EXPLAIN!

Support our growth

Mezzacello Columbus, LLC is a 501(c)3 non-profit dedicated to empowering children, families, schools, and communities better understand the reality of sustainability, ecology, food, and renewable resources in a rapidly changing world.