From the outside, Riordan’s inner courtyard may appear as a drab and empty plot of land but behind the scenes, the engineering students and teachers strive to revamp this area into an organic space that can be enjoyed by the entire community.

According to engineering teacher Frank Torrano, the engineering program is a center of innovation where students can build on and expand their ideas. This year, four students from the engineering program have been constructing a FarmBot for the plants in the inner courtyard. 

Torrano said, “I’m hoping that this project, once it’s in place, is really going to give momentum to this area.” 

The original FarmBot project first began in 2011 and was started by student at California Polytechnic State University, Rory Aronson. The FarmBot is an open-source software farming project which consists of an automated planter bed capable of planting and growing crops, along with software built to monitor soil conditions and pull out unwanted weeds. 

Riordan students, Edward Macdonald ’23, Johnnie Pena-More ’23, Daniel Thomen ’23, and Lucas Chow ’23 are working on a FarmBot as their senior Capstone project. The FarmBot will have a robotic arm that moves on an axis to water and plant seeds for a more efficient gardening system.

This project will help to maintain the vegetation inside the inner courtyard, especially during the school’s week long breaks and summer vacations.

“This is going to do the daily maintenance that you just can’t do,” said Torrano. 

Not only will this FarmBot improve the image and the efficacy of the inner courtyard, but the power behind the bot is completely sustainable, coming from solar energy stored in 12 volt batteries. 

Word of this project has sprouted interest in students outside of the engineering program. Caroline O’Connell ’25 hopes to unbury this forgotten area. 

“My mom works at Riordan so I have spent a considerable amount of time here,” she said. “I remember it used to be an area with plants and flowers, but ever since COVID hit, they stopped taking care of it.” 

She added, “It is time to bring life back into that area.”