16 Under 16 in STEM: A New York Teen Advocates for New-Age Farming Through Film
Steven Hoffen increases awareness and education about hydroponic farming for urban and arid areas through filmmaking and a nonprofit
This summer we鈥檝e been celebrating America鈥檚 16 under 16 in STEM 鈥� young learners who have already made a meaningful mark in their schools and communities.
Today we鈥檙e spotlighting 14-year-old Steven Hoffen, who attends the Riverdale Country School in the Bronx, New York.
A pre-pandemic visit to Sindyanna of Galilee, a nonprofit in Israel where Jewish and Arab women work together to foster social change and cultivate hydroponic gardens, inspired Steven to produce a short documentary telling the story of their efforts.
鈥淲hat really caught my attention was Hadas [Lahav], who was a Jewish [woman] cooperating with Hanaan [Zoabi], who鈥檚 an Arab woman,鈥� he said. 鈥淎nd so that really got my interest in all of their projects.鈥�
Steven was especially interested in Sindayanna鈥檚 hydroponics, a form of vertical farming that doesn鈥檛 require soil or specific climate conditions. As Steven describes it, climate change has caused drier conditions and reduced availability of fertile land in Israel.
Inspired by a David Attenborough nature documentary his family watched on Netflix, Steven produced a documentary, 鈥淕rowing Peace in the Middle East.鈥� The film was recognized at numerous film festivals and prompted Hoffen to launch a nonprofit, Growing Peace, which is dedicated to using hydroponics 鈥渁s a medium to educate, empower and help those in need.鈥�
He also raised money to build a hydroponics system for a food bank in Israel that is primarily for Eritrean and Sudanese asylum seekers.
鈥淸Hadas] said that since my film has been [shown] in different film festivals, 20 more women have joined the hydroponics project,鈥� Steven said. 鈥淭hat really just made me happy.鈥�
See our full interview 鈥� and celebrate our full 2022 class!
鈥斅槎咕� edited by James Fields and produced by Emmeline Zhao
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