Halve It Component:

My project focuses on two Halve It areas. The main one is the environment. The reason this project connects to the environment is that we should have a space with native trees that attract local wildlife to our new site at Brown and Jolly. We should also have a fully functioning aquaponics system on the rooftop. This leads me to the second focus area of this project: nutrition. The aquaponics system will also provide fresh and locally sourced food straight from the Middle School, like fish and fruit trees, which will provide healthy snacks just within reach of picking. 

SDG 11: Sustainable Development

The Pantry of the Sky rooftop garden directly supports SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities) by transforming the way our school accesses fresh, organic food. By growing produce ourselves, students can learn real cooking skills, improve social connections, and develop long-term healthy eating habits.

This space also becomes a living habitat, attracting local wildlife such as butterflies, crows, and magpies, simply by planting a small selection of native tree species. It creates a functioning ecosystem right above our classrooms. We will also include a social space with seating, which is a yarning circle that is designed for comfort and crafting or creating social connections. 

We will also include an aquaponics system. Fish provide a sustainable source of protein-rich essential amino acids that help our brains focus, regulate our emotions, and improve sleep. This leads to more positive, productive learning the next day. Overall, the project offers a powerful, visible example of sustainable design that improves student wellbeing, biodiversity, and food security in one innovative rooftop space.

School Context:

Our school campus has a variety of spaces that help Middle School students learn and burn off their energy. However, when many students come back into class, they often seem worn out and low on reserves. I wonder if this could be because of their diet as well as the spaces they have to eat and rest.

The Oxford Learning Organisation did a study on July 19, 2024, called 10 Reasons Your Child Can’t Concentrate in School. In this article, number 7 was a lack of nourishment. Foods like fish, spinach, rocket, and lettuce are packed with healthy fats and proteins. Quintilian Private School in Perth, Australia, suggests that vitamins and amino acids provide critical brain fuel that helps kids concentrate and learn. They supply essential omega-3 fatty acids and vitamins that build healthy brain cells, improve memory, and provide sustained energy throughout the school day.

A school of the future must provide nutrients and food like this on campus. Freshly sourced and organic, it is the most convenient and healthy way to get food. To support this, we will provide a system of aquaponics on the rooftop of Brown and Jolly. The Pantry of the Sky is a rooftop space with an aquaponics system that grows fresh vegetables and herbs right above our classrooms, along with the sheltered yarning circle seating area. This makes it easy for Middle School students to access healthy, organic food during the day, instead of relying on processed snacks, while also giving them a peaceful space to sit, talk, and feel a sense of belonging.

Eating fresh food that is rich in vitamins, protein, and healthy fats helps students focus for longer, stay calmer in class, and have more stable energy. By learning how the aquaponics system works and helping to grow and harvest the food, students also build real-life skills and feel more connected to what they eat. Combined with the comfortable yarning circle seating area, this mix of hands-on learning, nature, good nutrition, and social connection makes it a very effective way to help Middle School students eat better, feel better, and learn well.

To make a healthy meal even more memorable, it can be enjoyed with friends while laughing and bonding with your peers. That is why an inviting, comfortable eating space is just as important as the food itself. In my design, students can relax in a sheltered yarning circle with soft, comfortable seating that feels calm and welcoming. Even if it is raining, they can still socialise, rest, and enjoy their meal together instead of rushing or eating in uncomfortable places.

Ancient China

My Pantry of the Sky rooftop garden connects strongly to Ancient Chinese ideas about balance, especially the concept of Yin and Yang. In Chinese philosophy, Yin and Yang describe how opposite forces actually work together to create harmony. Yin is calm, cool, and restful, while Yang is active, warm, and energetic. My design balances these two forces. The sheltered yarning circle and quiet green spaces are like Yin because they help students rest, feel safe, and connect with friends. The aquaponics system, gardening, and harvesting food are like Yang because they involve movement, energy, and hands-on action. Ancient Chinese thinkers believed that health comes from keeping Yin and Yang in balance, and my project does this by creating a space where students can both recharge and be active. By growing natural, fresh food instead of relying on processed snacks, the rooftop garden also links to traditional Chinese respect for nature and using food as medicine. This makes Pantry of the Sky a modern school space that still reflects important ideas from Ancient China about balance, health, and living in harmony with the environment.

Blue Zones

My Pantry of the Sky rooftop garden connects strongly to the idea of Blue Zones because it helps students live in ways that support long, healthy lives. In Blue Zones around the world, people eat mostly fresh, plant based foods with high sources of protein, such as fish and other meats. To harvest these foods, you have to spend lots of time outdoors, move your body naturally, and build strong social connections every day. My project brings these same habits into our school by growing fresh fruits, vegetables, and herbs on the roof so students can eat more real, unprocessed food instead of packaged snacks. The space is designed for relaxing, talking, and sharing meals in the yarning circle, which supports friendships and a sense of belonging. By working in the garden and learning about aquaponics, students move their bodies, connect with nature, and understand where their food comes from. All of these things are key features of Blue Zones, so the Pantry of the Sky helps our middle school community live in a way that is healthier, happier, and more sustainable, just like the people in Blue Zones.

How do we help all students focus on learning while ensuring stable energy levels throughout class?

This idea is called the pantry of the sky. This peaceful paradise should be located on the roof facing Carrington Street (image one below). It should replace the old, rusty metal roof facing Carrington St with an area of 20x10. It should be able to fit our garden area, with a more modern aspect of a yarning circle. Yarning circles can be a vital component in socialising for young adolescents and middle schoolers, building strong and stable friendships that can last a lifetime, making this new space in middle school a haven for all kinds of kids.

With more comfortable seating and a fireplace, while also being sheltered from rain and the scorching hot sun. Beside will be an eccentric ecosystem thriving out of an old rusty car, showing how anything can grow no matter the environment it is in. It will have a motivating phrase beside resting on a stainless steel plaque. This would boost morale and have a heavy but effective effect on a student's day.

On the other side of the garden, there would be a stone pathway connecting all the exotic spaces, making it easy and accessible to anyone. We would have a handful of native trees that are iconic to the Australian landscape. This vast array of trees and native shrubs also includes native trees, like bottle brush, banksia and wattles, provides security and food for native wildlife. This collection of flowers can attract even the rarest of the bird world, from glossy yellow tallied black cockatoo to even red-tailed black cockatoo that feed on these selected few trees, making this a home for rare species. This could even be a chance for us to study and understand more about these animals and maybe even discover new findings.

This would unimaginably help students. It would help students feel more engaged in subjects like science. Studies show that currently 80% of Middle Schoolers like science, but only 35% want to go to Science class, making this a project for middle school students to study and make them want to learn more about what they like and boost class attendance.

And the last and most key component to this project is the Aquaponics system. This will be a significant part of the project; it will not only benefit the middle school students and their peers but also the wider Lismore community. And this is how it will function. An aquaponics system works as a continuous, self-cleaning biological loop where fish waste acts as natural fertiliser for plants, and the plants purify the water for the fish. It eliminates the need for chemical fertilisers and traditional soil. meaning this is a sustainable solution for the future, and we can show students and Lismore community members how to build it. By doing this, we will be supporting our community and showing them how to live a better and more sustainable life. The food we would be creating for our middle schoolers would be spinach, rocket lettuce and more edible plants. With even fish, this would provide much needed minerals and nutrients feeding into the young adolescent's body.

These ingredients can also be learned how to be put together as a meal, also teaching young middle school students how to become independent by making their own dinner and start cooking dinner for their family at home. These foods also help middle schoolers focus well in class by not only having fresh organic food right above their classroom, but also shifting the focus and learning behaviour dramatically. These foods hold vital energy, lifting vitamins like protein from the fish, omega-3 fatty acids, and rocket, having iron and calcium that can impact people's energy levels like never before and helping them be more active and satiated throughout class and lettuce having vitamins and minerals that are scientifically proven to help memory support. Making this all great foods to have during school time while staying well energised and focused on school work.