Decatur Students Turn 'Farm-to-Table' Ideas Into Innovative Future City Models

Dec. 5 — Decatur Middle School Students Showcase Sustainable City Designs

Middle school teams in Decatur spent Thursday proudly presenting scale models and plans at the Future City showcase, a hands-on, project-based program that challenges students to imagine, design and build sustainable cities of the future.

About 100 students across 15 teams from Austin Junior High School, Austin Middle School and Decatur Middle School competed at First Baptist Church in Decatur. This year’s challenge, "Farm to Table," focused on reducing food waste and improving local food systems.

Creative, Practical Solutions

Teams brought months of research to life with inventive solutions. Decatur Middle School’s Malama (meaning “to protect and preserve”) features an irrigation system that reuses rainwater and desalinated seawater. Austin Middle School’s Nouveau Comienzo ("The New Beginning") converts biomass into electricity to power the city’s transit and grid. Another Decatur Middle School entry, Casa Blanca, uses vertical farms as a primary food source and an overhead zipline to deliver produce directly from farm to table while residents travel on a high-speed monorail.

How the Systems Work

Student presenters explained technical details in accessible terms. Millie Payne, 12, a seventh grader on the Casa Blanca team, described how artificial intelligence schedules irrigation and lighting so crops like corn receive water at optimal times while solar panels supply power. Lexie Kresch, 13, added that vertical farms increase yield in compact spaces and the industrial zipline speeds produce delivery.

Payne and teammates described what happens to food waste: it is routed underground and processed through anaerobic digestion into a slurry. Team member Case Terry, 14, said the slurry becomes nutrient-rich fertilizer for fields, while Rowe Britt, 14, explained that captured biogas helps power the monorail and zipline. Lily Swanner, 14, said she was proud to have conceived the zipline and enjoyed seeing it incorporated into the model.

From Austin Middle, Jade Malone, 14, and Eryien Allen, 13, explained Nouveau Comienzo’s biomass-to-energy conversion. The energy powers transportation tubes and the broader grid; smaller tubes can carry people and pets while larger tubes can transport vehicles and cargo.

Judging, Budgeting and Skills Gained

Teams were evaluated on several criteria: a 1,500-word city essay, a scale model built from recycled materials, and a seven-minute presentation followed by a three-minute Q&A with judges, according to Gina Stout and Camellia Rawls, talented and gifted specialists for Decatur City Schools. Teams must keep model costs under $100 and are encouraged to repurpose found objects — "everybody’s trash is our treasure," Rawls said — turning bottle caps, cardboard and springs into purposeful model components. One team even included a fire dog and fire cat named Ginger.

"They research, plan, prototype and test — using the engineering design process to make their ideas come alive," Rawls said. "They learn to work as a team and resolve disagreements, skills that are valuable in school and the workplace."

Stout noted the contest builds confidence and ownership: students must be prepared to explain months of research and defend their designs. Laurie Corson, a gifted teacher for grades three through five at several Decatur elementary schools, added that talented and gifted students are especially eager to present and discuss their ideas.

Winners and Next Steps

Event winners were Cyrus City (Austin Junior High), Eden City (Austin Middle), Efforos (Decatur Middle seventh graders) and Isuale de Hibiscus (Decatur Middle eighth grader). Winning teams advance to the regional competition in Huntsville and may qualify for the national finals in Washington, D.C.; an Austin Junior High eighth-grade team advanced to Washington last year.

The Future City program continues to promote interest in STEM — science, technology, engineering and math — while giving students meaningful experience with research, design, sustainability and public presentation.