<?xml version='1.0' encoding='utf-8'?>
<gallery>
<album id="GF,_Costa_Rica" title="GF, Costa Rica" description="" lgPath="GF,_Costa_Rica/images/" tnPath="GF,_Costa_Rica/thumbnails/" tn="GF,_Costa_Rica/thumbnails/atn_100_2893.jpg">
	<img src="100_2893.jpg" caption="In Costa Rica, Gustavo Fallas (middle) and Olga Campos, his wife, operate Centro de Investigacion y
Produccion Hidroponica La Mina, an educational nonprofit that, among other things, trains high school students in hydroponics. &lt;i&gt;(Photo by Olga Campos)&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/p&gt;" link="" target="_blank" />
	<img src="100_4848.jpg" caption="Students produced two harvests of lettuce, celery, beets, mustard, coriander, bell peppers, onions and tomatoes. &lt;i&gt;(Photo by Gustavo Fallas)&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/p&gt;" link="" target="_blank" />
	<img src="100_4697.jpg" caption="Strawberries, tomatoes and lettuce are grown in sleeves filled with media that hang from poles to protect crops from ground-crawling insects. &lt;i&gt;(Photo by Gustavo Fallas)&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/p&gt;" link="" target="_blank" />
	<img src="100_4855.jpg" caption="The sleeves, made from a tubular plastic material imported from Guatemala, are filled with coconut fiber as substrate. Students feed nutrients to hanging crops by hand. &lt;i&gt;(Photo by Gustavo Fallas)&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/p&gt;" link="" target="_blank" />
	<img src="100_2834.jpg" caption="Olga and Gustavo use hydroponics to teach the principles of biology and chemistry to their high-school students. In addition to teaching students, Centro de Investigacion y Produccion Hidroponica La Mina promotes hydroponic growing in low-income communities. &lt;i&gt;(Photo by Gustavo Fallas)&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/p&gt;" link="" target="_blank" />
	<img src="100_2839.jpg" caption="Student-grown lettuce and other produce is sold in local markets. Centro de Investigacion y Produccion Hidroponica La Mina receives no financial support from the government of Costa Rica, according to Gustavo Fallas. Money for operations is raised from student tuition, sale of certain products and services and donations from sponsors. &lt;i&gt;(Photo by Gustavo Fallas)&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/p&gt;" link="" target="_blank" />
	<img src="100_2842.jpg" caption="In Costa Rica, Gustavo Fallas and Olga Campos run Centro de Investigacion y Produccion Hidroponica La Mina. The nonprofit conducts hydroponic research and validates techniques as well as teaches high school students. In addition, Gustavo and Olga offer courses and workshops for younger students and community members to help promote sustainable agricultural methods. Without financial support from their government, Gustavo and Olga have a hard time making ends meet, and they would gladly accept donations of money and/or hydroponic equipment. &lt;i&gt;(Photo by Gustavo Fallas)&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/p&gt;" link="" target="_blank" />
	<img src="100_2847.jpg" caption="For more information or to donate, email Gustavo Fallas at info@eco21cr.org or visit website eco21cr.org. &lt;i&gt;(Photo by Gustavo Fallas)&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/p&gt;" link="" target="_blank" />
</album>

<album id="Delaware_Valley_College_slideshow" title="Delaware Valley College slideshow" description="College students study hydroponics" lgPath="Delaware_Valley_College_slideshow/images/" tnPath="Delaware_Valley_College_slideshow/thumbnails/" tn="">
	<img src="NV3M8206_1.jpg" caption="&lt;p&gt;This autumn, Delaware Valley College, Doylestown, Penn., became only the second 4-year college in the United States of offer a hydroponic crop science major. The University of Arizona was the first. &lt;i&gt;(Photo courtesy Delaware Valley College)&lt;/i&gt; &lt;/p&gt;" link="" target="_blank" />
	<img src="NV3M8747_1.jpg" caption="&lt;p&gt;Ronald Muse, professor of plant science at Delaware Valley College, Doylestown, Pa., leads a group of students through the school&apos;s greenhouse. &lt;i&gt;(Photo courtesy Delaware Valley College)&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/p&gt;" link="" target="_blank" />
	<img src="NV3M8741_1.jpg" caption="&lt;p&gt;DVC’s hydroponic crop science major features courses in: hydroponics, greenhouse management, introduction to aquaculture, commercial vegetable production, marketing horticultural products, small business management, and accounting fundamentals. &lt;i&gt;(Photo courtesy Delaware Valley College)&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/p&gt;" link="" target="_blank" />
	<img src="NV3M8738_1.jpg" caption="&lt;p&gt;Delaware Valley College is located in central Bucks County, Penn., about 30 miles north of Philadelphia and 70 miles south of New York City. &lt;i&gt;(Photo courtesy Delaware Valley College)&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/p&gt;" link="" target="_blank" />
	<img src="NV3M8191_1.jpg" caption="&lt;p&gt;Worldwide, the annual production of hydroponic vegetables is in the vicinity of 4.1 million tons. When combined with hydroponic cut flowers, gives a total annual industry of over $4 billion. &lt;i&gt;(Photo courtesy Delaware Valley College)&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/p&gt;" link="" target="_blank" />
	<img src="NV3M8195_1.jpg" caption="&lt;p&gt;With the recent addition of the newly constructed hydroponics educational greenhouse, DVC students are involved in every phase of hydroponic crop production. &lt;i&gt;(Photo courtesy Delaware Valley College)&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/p&gt;" link="" target="_blank" />
	<img src="NV3M8746_1.jpg" caption="&lt;p&gt;The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is testing hydroponic technology as a means of cultivating crops in space, which is vital to human exploration of the Moon and Mars. &lt;i&gt;(Photo courtesy Delaware Valley College)&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/p&gt;" link="" target="_blank" />
	<img src="NV3M8748_1.jpg" caption="&lt;p&gt;Within the last decade the hydroponic industry has grown tremendously with large acreage greenhouse installations in the United States as well as in Canada and Mexico. &lt;i&gt;(Photo courtesy Delaware Valley College)&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/p&gt;" link="" target="_blank" />
	<img src="NV3M8758_1.jpg" caption="&lt;p&gt;Crops such as lettuce, tomatoes, strawberries, leafy green, herbs, and ornamentals can be grown by hydroponic techniques. Crops can be produced out-of-season and, therefore, demand a premium price.&lt;i&gt;(Photo courtesy Delaware Valley College)&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/p&gt;" link="" target="_blank" />
	<img src="NV3M8766_1.jpg" caption="&lt;p&gt;For more information about the hydroponic crop science major at Delaware Valley College, contact:. Barbara Muse, 700 East Butler Ave., Doylestown, PA 18901-2697; phone (215) 489-2287; email MuseB@devalcol.edu.
&lt;i&gt;(Photo courtesy Delaware Valley College)&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/p&gt;" link="" target="_blank" />
</album>
</gallery>
