In 2015, Abraxas High School began a school garden. The garden started by transforming a little-used tennis court into a thriving outdoor lab to teach students about growing healthy food and giving back to the community by donating the produce to those who need it most.

Half of the tennis court grows produce in soil supplied through our compost program. The other half of the garden is powered by an 10,000-gallon aquaponic pond filled with over 250 tilapia fish. The garden was built entirely by students in the Abraxas construction class, as well as students in the aquaponic and agriculture classes.

We have grown tremendously since our beginning. We have donated over 30,000 pounds of fresh produce to needy families in our community, and we have over 150 diploma-bound students working and learning in the garden each year. We also work in tandem with our special needs students in our transition program, which serves students from ages 18 to 22. The Abraxas garden has become a work site for more than 50 transition students yearly.