In the face of growing environmental and food security challenges, students at Virginia Tech are pioneering new approaches to agriculture. At the heart of this movement is the Innovative Agriculture Club, founded by undergraduate student Challen Waller, whose passion for hydroponics and sustainable food systems has blossomed into a thriving, research-driven organization.

From Dorm Room to Campus Movement

Waller’s journey began in high school with a research project on hydroponics. “I was interested in hydroponics in high school. I did a research presentation on it in AP Research, and I really just thought it was crazy cool technology,” Waller recalled. That early interest turned into hands-on experimentation in college. “I started growing plants in my dorm room using milk jugs and nutrient solution.” Hydroponics focuses on growing plants without soil, instead of using a nutrient-rich water solution, thus allowing for continuous growth indoors and outdoors. This method has higher yields, reduced water usage, and fewer chemicals are involved in the process.

Realizing there was no existing club focused on innovative agriculture, Waller took the initiative along with some friends to create the Innovative Agriculture Club.

The club operates on three core pillars: engaging students in innovative agriculture, educating the community about food systems, and increasing food access through sustainable technologies. “It originally just started off as hydroponics, but the more I learned, the more I realized there are many other forms of agriculture that are a lot more complex,” Waller said.

Reviving Window Farms and Building Aquaponics

Among the club’s most ambitious projects is the resurrection of the “window farms” movement—an open-source hydroponic system designed for small spaces. These window farms are like the plants individuals keep in their windows-minus the soil. Window farms would allow anyone to grow small-scale produce. “We’ve taken it upon ourselves to try and revamp that. It’s a slow process… but we’re now very, very close to getting our first official working prototype,” Waller said. “My hope is that by the end of the year, we’ll have enough data to actually create production.”

The club is also building a full-scale aquaponics system from scratch. “It was very complex with a lot of trial and error, but luckily, I’ve had a lot of help from Dr. Kuhn and Dr. Bell, as well as their grad students,” Waller admitted. Aquaponics combines hydroponics with aquaculture, or the raising of aquatic animals such as fish in tanks. This combination sees the nutrient-rich aquaculture water being fed to the hydroponically grown plants. Any water not absorbed by the plants is filtered, oxygenated, and returned to aquaculture.

Research and Collaboration

The Innovative Agriculture Club is deeply embedded in research. Collaborations with the Food Science and Technology department have led to studies on microbial activity in different growing media, such as peppers. “It’s also not just growing food, it’s how all the systems function together, can changing one piece influence the change of another?” Waller reflected. 

The club has also explored mushroom cultivation and fermentation technologies, expanding its research scope beyond traditional plant systems.

Beyond research, the club is committed to community outreach. They’ve organized tours of local farms like Sunny Farms in Dublin and Virginia Tech’s Kentland Farm. A recent “goatscaping” event introduced students to sustainable land management using goats. “Everybody eats. And we believe in our club that everybody should have a closer relationship to where their food comes from,” Waller said.

Looking Ahead

Waller envisions the club becoming a formal pathway for undergraduates to engage in agricultural research. “We need a lot more farmers in this country and around the world. And I think we need them to think differently, sustainable, innovative, and community-based,” Waller said. “Being a pathway for students to be in agriculture—that’s definitely the central pillar of the club.”

With a blend of grassroots passion and academic rigor, the Innovative Agriculture Club is not just growing food, it’s growing the future of sustainable agriculture.