MOORESVILLE, N.C. -- A non-profit in Charlotte-area schools is bringing classroom lessons to life, while also helping others. 

100 Gardens is a non-profit that teaches kids aquaponics, which is a method of farming that raises fish and vegetables together in one place. 

Sam Fleming created 100 Gardens and says the goal is to make learning STEM classes fun for students. 

"I barely graduated high school, I was very un-engaged in both math and science, because it wasn't real," Fleming says. "When you don't apply it, it doesn't stick. So what aquaponics does is allow for us to immerse ourselves in science, because we have an end product, which is we're going to grow food, we're going to address sustainability."

The program is in nine schools in the Charlotte area, including Pine Lake Preparatory in Mooresville. 

Matthew Taboda, a senior at Pine Lake Prep, started the aquaponics club at his school. He says the club is showing students of all ages that the things they learn in the classroom have an impact on their life.

"We eat so much food on a daily basis, but it never really occurs to us how we actually get that food, and how it actually comes onto our dinner table," Taboda says. "So being able to expose students to how things are truly grown, and how things in the world are really produced is really a great, eye-opening experience." 

At Pine Lake Prep, students are growing lettuce which is given to students and teachers.

Other schools sell the lettuce to local restaurants. 

For more information on 100 Gardens, click here.