A mulch-anticipated expansion to our outdoor classroom is soon to become a reality and I can’t herb my enthusiasm. Pardon my puns, but we are really excited to be able to advance the STEAM initiatives for our students and I hope my enthusiasm is apparent! Our Sustainable Living class has been busy planning and constructing our new garden area all year and is now looking forward to the addition of a greenhouse. Fundraising has begun to finance this ambitious endeavor and we are well on our way to making this dream a reality. This is not your average plastic hoop house; we are looking to install a 25’x50’ state of the art facility that will benefit our entire school and community.
I have been asked, “Why does the school need to spend money on a greenhouse?” The answer is simple, if it is utilized properly, it is a facility where all disciplines coalesce and provide students an opportunity to see their lessons quite literally come to life.
It is easy to see how our science courses will be able to utilize the space. Biology and the environmental sciences will be able to study the anatomy of plants, see photosynthesis in action, and study how plants react to light, heat, and soil variables. There are opportunities to experiment with cross pollination and genetics within the controlled environment of a greenhouse.
Sustainability concepts can be taught by the utilization of hydroponic and vertical gardening where the harvest isn’t cut short by the cold of winter. As our outdoor garden rests during the winter months, the greenhouse will continue to provide produce for our students and community. In April, we will also be constructing a new apiary consisting of two new beehives. Our students will develop a business plan for the Academy Bee Company and will be responsible for the maintenance, harvest, and marketing of the honey produced by our bees.
How do you include a math curriculum into a greenhouse environment? Students learn when they are engaged and math can be taught in an interactive greenhouse by collecting data, graphing, and calculating the efficiency of different planting systems. Business courses along with economics help students develop an entrepreneurial plan to market the produce. Selling their produce also teaches students important lessons about cost management as well as marketing skills as they learn to promote their products. This also helps to make our program self-sufficient.
The greenhouse will also be an amazing opportunity for the engineering and robotics classes to design automation systems for climate control, irrigation, and even planting.
The art department will benefit from a visual resource that the plantings will provide for any number of projects. Photography, visual journaling, and direct observation are only a few of the possibilities.
As I list these course possibilities individually, I fully expect to see a merger of these disciplines into a more inclusive curriculum that combines the best of each of them into a more hands-on experience. I am challenging teachers to collaborate and find ways to include this facility into their own curriculum and develop new courses all together that meet the needs of our students and provide them with enriching real-world experiences. This facility will be available for use from K3-12th grade with unlimited possibilities for enriching the academic experience.
I just want to end by saying a sincere thank you from my head “tomatoes” to everyone who has supported this new endeavor.
Brian Cole
