Central High School’s decades-old greenhouse wasn’t cutting it for agriculture classes. Known as a “hoop house,” the tubular structure covered in flimsy plastic was in constant need of repair. It leaked when it rained and couldn’t be heated for winter growing, limiting its educational usefulness.
But a new greenhouse wasn’t in the Central School District’s budget. So students, teachers and community members joined forces to build a modern greenhouse to agricultural industry standards.
“My view of funding is you go find it where you can find it,” said Board Chair Donn Wahl of Central, which serves Monmouth and Independence southwest of Salem. He said the collaborative proposal was part of the appeal, pulling in community funding, student contributions and grants.
“It wasn’t just a ‘Go get a big chunk of money and do it,’“ he said.
The project received more than $360,000 from more than a dozen sources, including contributions from students and alumni of the local National FFA Organization chapter. An Oregon Department of Education CTE Revitalization Grant covered $125,000. The Spirit Mountain Community Fund, the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde’s philanthropic arm, chipped in $100,000. The project also received $50,000 from the High School Success Fund, commonly called Measure 98.
Lynn Thomas, Central agriculture science and technology teacher, led the charge. She said she and fellow teachers spent a lot of unpaid after-school time writing grant proposals. She wanted a greenhouse where she could prepare students for real-world conditions. The 60×100-foot greenhouse, three times as large as the old one, opened for use in February and had a ribbon-cutting May 5.
When fully outfitted, the new greenhouse will have automated water systems and WiFi-connected fans and heaters that can be controlled remotely. The greenhouse can be divided into four zones to offer more project variety.
The new greenhouse is Americans with Disabilities Act compliant so more students can be involved in horticulture classes. The new structure also allowed the high school to add periods for the life skills class.
Constructing the greenhouse became another lesson for students. Under the supervision of Robert Landry of Applied Greenhouse Technologies, students tore down the old greenhouse and did much of the work on the new one. They helped prepare the ground, pour the concrete and assemble the structure. They also welded together the metal fence surrounding the site.
Cameron Smith, a senior, said the work felt like an internship on a job site.
Wahl said the greenhouse is an extension of the district’s career and technical education strategy to meet local needs.
“It’s part of providing an opportunity to experience what they are learning,” he said.
On a rainy and blustery day in early May, junior Gaby Rodarte watered a riot of colorful hanging flower baskets for graduation and an upcoming plant sale. Tables all around the building held hundreds more herb, vegetable and flower starts for the sale.
Rodarte, who is in the advanced agriculture leadership class, said they can grow a much larger plant variety than in the old hoop house.
It’s nice, she said, to be working on a dry concrete floor out of the rain and the wind.
“It’s super peaceful here,” she said. “It’s always warm.”
– Jake Arnold, OSBA
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