Ames High Teacher Receives STEM BEST® Award
Ames High science teacher Mike Todd is the project lead for a group that has been awarded a 2025-26 STEM BEST® (Businesses Engaging Students and Teachers) Program grant from the Iowa Governor’s STEM Advisory Council at the Department of Education. This funding will support the launch of a groundbreaking new course, Food Ecosystems and Community: A Greenhouse Approach, which integrates hands-on learning, scientific inquiry, and community engagement to address real-world issues surrounding food insecurity and sustainability.
The course, set to debut in the fall of 2025, is designed to give students a deeper understanding of food systems, sustainability, and ecology through hands-on experiences in the school’s greenhouse. Students will explore topics such as food waste, food production, and community-based solutions to food insecurity, working alongside local partners like Clayton Farms, Reiman Gardens, and Iowa State University’s greenhouse collaborators.
Dr. Jeff Hawkins, Associate Superintendent at the Ames Community School District, encouraged Todd to apply for the STEM BEST® grant to fund specialized equipment and field trips to sites addressing food accessibility challenges. Todd’s goal is not just to provide engaging experiences but to create a lasting impact by embedding real-world problem-solving into the curriculum.
“We’re not just doing a flashy science demonstration,” Todd explained. “An impactful educational experience is carefully crafted to build conceptual understanding—so students walk away with knowledge they’ll never forget.”
At the heart of the course is a focus on community-based problem-solving. Todd emphasizes that beyond science concepts, students need to develop essential skills such as collaboration, critical thinking, and adaptability—traits valued by colleges and employers alike.
“Students aren’t just working on theoretical problems,” Todd said. “They’ll be out in the community, talking to stakeholders, engaging with professionals, and figuring out how to solve real issues with real consequences.”
A significant component of the course will involve organizations dedicated to food accessibility, such as the Grow and Give program at Reiman Gardens and the Ames CSD HOPE pantry. Students will study how fresh, locally grown produce can be distributed to those in need and will grow food in the school’s greenhouse using sustainable techniques.
“Clayton Farms is mentoring us in growing food indoors year-round” Todd said. “We want students to understand where food comes from and how to produce it efficiently in any season.”
While the primary focus of the class is food systems, Todd is also incorporating a broader ecological perspective. A major initiative will involve studying and restoring the functions of Iowa’s native prairie ecosystem—one of the most altered landscapes in the country.
“The Ames High Prairie is a rare remnant that’s never been tilled,” Todd explained. “We want students to engage in conservation efforts there, and then grow native plants to plant throughout our community to increase biodiversity in our environment.”
This aspect of the course aligns with Todd’s long-standing commitment to integrating community-based projects into his teaching. His students are currently working on about 40 projects with the City of Ames’ 10-year pollinator plan and hosted the Iowa Prairie Network Winter seminar a few weeks ago to help educate residents about these ecological issues.
The STEM BEST® grant will also enable the program to extend beyond the school year. Through The Community Academy, students from kindergarten through high school will engage in the project as part of the Summer Experience 2025, maintaining greenhouse operations and distributing produce through a collaboration with the Reiman Gardens Grow and Give program.
“The work doesn’t just stop in May,” Todd said. “We need a continuous system so that when students return in the fall, they step into something that’s already running and can build on what’s been done over the summer.”
This long-term sustainability ensures that the program will have a lasting impact on students and the Ames community.
While Todd is leading this initiative, he sees the potential for broader collaboration with other science and agriculture classes at Ames High. By embedding literacy, communication, and collaboration skills into STEM projects, the program encourages students to think beyond the classroom and see themselves as active contributors to their community.
“The biggest misconception about STEM is that it’s just about math and technology,” Todd said. “Biology and ecology are often overlooked, but they are essential parts of the STEM conversation—especially when we’re talking about our ecological footprints, sustainability, and food systems.”
Todd hopes that students will gain a scientific foundation and be inspired to pursue careers related to agriculture, environmental science, and sustainable food production. By connecting them with industry professionals and real-world challenges, the course prepares students to make a tangible impact now and in the future.
For Todd, receiving the STEM BEST® award is less about personal recognition and more about validating the value of innovative, hands-on education.
“It’s great to see that others recognize the importance of community-based STEM learning,” he said. “We want to move beyond memorization and test scores—we want students to engage in meaningful, authentic work that makes a difference.”
With this grant, Todd and his students will take another step toward bridging the gap between education and community impact, proving that science isn’t just something learned in textbooks.