Tiya Aggarwal, a student of Canadian high school, has developed a smart irrigation system designed to care for more than 150 plant species. She won the top prize at a provincial entrepreneurship competition.A grade 12 student at Burnaby South Secondary in British Columbia, Tia presented her idea, Aquora150, at the 8th annual Discover Your Pitch Provincial Finals in May this year. According to JA British Coulbia, the programme gives high school students an opportunity to identify problems, develop solutions and present their ideas to industry leaders. Six teams from across British Columbia made it to the finals.Aquora150 is a smart irrigation system that uses humidity-capturing technology to hydrate houseplants while aiming to reduce water, plastic and glass waste. The system is designed to automatically adjust plant care for more than 150 species. Aggarwal’s idea won the first-place prize of $3,000 at the event.Ideas covering several areas were pitched during the event, including sustainability, food waste, agriculture, education, productivity and responsible consumer products. After the students presented their ideas and answered questions from the judging panel, Aquora150 took the top honour.
How Aquora150 works
Aquora150 was designed around a simple problem faced by people who keep houseplants. Plants do not all need the same amount of care. The system is designed for busy and eco-conscious plant owners and can automatically adjust care for more than 150 plant species.Apart from that, it also focuses on reducing waste. Aquora150 can cut down water use as well as plastic and glass waste linked to plant care.
Ideas covering several areas were pitched during the event
For Aggarwal, the experience was about more than developing Aquora150. She said taking part in the programme changed how she viewed her own abilities. Reflecting on the experience, Aggarwal said it “built a lot of confidence and how much I believe in myself.”Other finalists also spoke about the personal growth they experienced during the programme. Grade 11 student Olivia Colaco, who presented another finalist idea called CareerCompass, said, “You don’t have to be confident or comfortable to be successful. It’s more important to just stand up there and do it.”
Three students take top prizes
While Aquora150 finished first, two other student projects also received prizes at the finals. CareerCompass, presented by Colaco of St Johns Academy Shawnigan Lake, won second place and a $1,500 prize. The platform is designed to help young people understand post-secondary pathways or different education options available after school.Meanwhile, GroundWork finished third and received $500. The project was presented by Grade 10 students Anushka Jain of North Surrey Secondary and Erin Sweeney of McMath Secondary. The students proposed a biodegradable alternative to plastic mulch, with the aim of reducing agricultural waste and microplastics while protecting soil health.The two teams also shared another prize. CareerCompass and GroundWork both received the $500 Fan Favourite Award after the audience vote ended in a tie. It was the first time in Discover Your Pitch history that the Fan Favourite vote had resulted in a tie.The event was emceed by JA Alumni BC members Bennett Chiu and Saliha Shajani. Both had previously competed in Discover Your Pitch and returned after their venture, Seedlet, won second place in the 2025 Provincial Finals.
