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Case studies, classroom stories and research from STEM Minds — coding, robotics, AI and agri-tech taught in Ontario schools and on a working farm in King City.

Crophelp.AI Case Study (2026)

Crophelp.AI Case Study (2026)

A Grade 10 ICD2O class at the York Region District School Board used STEM Minds' CropHelp AI to diagnose the basil and arugula they were growing in Farm-in-a-Box kits, then compared the AI's confidence on their own photos against stock images — turning "model confidence" into a hands-on lesson. STEM Minds added both crops to the model and covered all AI cloud credits during the Beta.
Farm in a Box Grow Kit with IOT Case Study

Farm in a Box Grow Kit with IOT Case Study

Students at a York Region District School Board secondary school built six Farm In A Box grow kits from laser-cut wood at $52 each, then coded Micro:bit sensors to monitor growing conditions inside them — and in ICS4U extended the project into a full LoRa WAN IoT pipeline reading data over a Raspberry Pi node. Computer Studies now feeds plant data and harvests to Family Studies cooking classes, and the teacher is reusing the kits in ICD2O.
STEM Minds Wins the Children/Youth Recreation & Education Award at the 2025 Aurora Chamber Business Excellence

STEM Minds Wins the Children/Youth Recreation & Education Award at the 2025 Aurora Chamber Business Excellence Celebration!

STEM Minds won the Children/Youth Recreation & Education Award at the Aurora Chamber of Commerce 2025 Business Excellence Celebration, which honours local organizations making an outstanding contribution to the community. The award recognises STEM Minds' hands-on coding, robotics, AI, agri-tech and digital design programs for children and youth.
Redefining High School Education with AgriTech and Real-World Learning

Redefining High School Education with AgriTech and Real-World Learning

STEM Minds and Boreal Farms run AgriTech 4.0 and robotics workshops, SHSM certifications and design-thinking training on a working farm, so high school students learn greenhouse automation, sensor-based plant monitoring and drone surveying in a real setting rather than a classroom. The programs target a projected 100,000 vacancies in Canada's agriculture industry by 2030.
Automating Crop Health Monitoring with Drones

Automating Crop Health Monitoring with Drones

The farm replaced manual field walks with a DJI Mavic 3 multispectral drone flying RTK-guided autonomous paths, then processes the imagery in Drone2map to produce NDVI crop-health maps in minutes rather than days. Next steps are LiDAR 3D modelling and sprayer drones that treat only the areas the maps flag.
Automating the Future of Farming with Robotics

Automating the Future of Farming with Robotics

STEM Minds and Boreal Farms run three robots side by side: OZ, a mini autonomous tractor that weeds, tills and seeds in straight preset rows; Farmbot, a CNC-style robot with a magnetic tool changer working a 3 × 1.5m bed; and a fleet of retrofitted Makeblock 10-in-1 robots used to teach the same ideas in workshops. Hard ground remains the main obstacle for OZ.
The AI Advantage: Precision Crop Management at Boreal Farm

The AI Advantage: Precision Crop Management at Boreal Farm

STEM Minds and Boreal Farm built a crop-health classifier on a CNN and ResNet18, served through FastAPI and React, that reaches over 87% accuracy on plant health classification from a photo. Google Gemini generates the care instructions — telling a grower to improve airflow and cut moisture when it spots leaf mold, rather than reaching for chemicals.
Why Invest in the Agri Sector?

Why Invest in the Agri Sector?

Climate volatility, water scarcity and soil degradation have made traditional farming unsustainable just as demand rises for organic, local, traceable food — an opening for investment in vertical farming, data-driven irrigation and climate control. The returns are higher yields on fewer resources, lower water and energy costs, and year-round supply that opens new markets.
Inclusive Education: A Farm-Based Learning Model

Inclusive Education: A Farm-Based Learning Model

Boreal Farms runs STEM programming for adults and youth with developmental and intellectual disabilities, and youth on the autism spectrum, using the farm itself as a flexible classroom that avoids the sensory overload and physical barriers of a conventional room. Participants build DIY grow units with micro:bits and 3D printers, construct greenhouses, and program robotics and drones.
Feeding the Nation: Securing Canada’s Food Future

Feeding the Nation: Securing Canada’s Food Future

Short growing seasons, high transport costs and heavy reliance on imports make Canadian food security fragile. Boreal Farms and STEM Minds are answering with Agriculture 4.0 — year-round vertical farming in controlled environments, sensor networks reporting soil moisture and nutrients in real time, and AI analytics that catch crop problems early.
From the Ground Up: A Path to Agri-Tech Careers

From the Ground Up: A Path to Agri-Tech Careers

Boreal Farms and STEM Minds run a job-aligned AgriTech training pipeline where participants — often career changers and people from marginalized groups — get hands-on with drones, sensors, AI and automation on a working farm. The curriculum is shaped directly by employer demand, and the plan is to scale it into farm-based learning hubs across Ontario.
A Summer of Growth: What It’s Like to Work at Boreal Farms

A Summer of Growth: What It’s Like to Work at Boreal Farms

Five summer team members at Boreal Farms — a tech lead, a drone/GIS specialist, an innovation specialist, a program coordinator and a STEM coach — describe running Farmbot and Oz, processing weekly drone maps, and teaching workshops. The hardest part was the Oz robot: almost no documentation existed, so they worked out mapping and task-running from scratch.

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