Lisa M. Gillard Hanson, The Lawrenceville School
To the editor:
In response to “Keep energy sprawl off farmland:”
Solar energy and traditional farming can coexist productively on the same land. It just takes a little creativity.
The Lawrenceville School has decided to take a “best of both worlds” approach in converting a former soy bean field to a solar energy farm. After extensive research, Lawrenceville found that a bee-friendly wild flower mix could be planted beneath and around the solar panels, growing a “crop” of both energy and more traditional farm produce simultaneously.
Pier V. Guidi of Bamboo Hollow Apiaries and Honey Farms, LLC, (Hillsborough) will provide the bees, tend the hives, and produce the honey, which will be sold locally.
Howard Myers (Lawrenceville School Class of 1965), who has farmed the land for more than a decade, will plant wildflowers for the bees to pollinate.
As the bees buzz, the solar panels will provide 6-megawatts of solar energy, providing more than 90 percent of the school’s energy needs. What could be sweeter?
Lisa M. Gillard Hanson
Director of public relations
The Lawrenceville School
