Carson City's Greenhouse Project to unveil new community classroom at Carson High School for year-round education

An expansion is underway at Carson City’s own The Greenhouse Project, which will provide more learning opportunities to those who are inclined toward agricultural science.

The Greenhouse Project and Carson High School recently announced a grant provided by the William N. Pennington Foundation for $25,000 that will be used to build a community classroom at The Greenhouse Project’s main site location at Carson High School.

The Greenhouse Project was first dreamed up in 2009 by Karen Abowd and Janette Bloom after learning about the food shortages facing the underserved in Carson City. After brainstorming ways to help, they came up with the idea for the greenhouse and two years later the doors were opened.

According to Executive Director Jon Ruiter, the greenhouse has been used in conjunction with Carson High School’s agricultural science courses since it first opened in 2011, and has been quickly growing in popularity ever since.

“In 2011, there were probably less than 20 students in the ag sciences program,” said Ruiter. “Now there are over 200.”

While the increase in excitement over the program is great, the lack of space — especially during the winter — proves to be a challenge.

“When it’s cold outside and snowing, you can’t teach outside, and it’s difficult for the kids to get hands on learning when 20 of them are inside the greenhouse at once,” said Ruiter. “It’s a tight space.”

Which is why the new classroom space will be a welcomed addition to the project and the high school.

The outdoor classroom will be 400 square feet, ADA-accessible, and open-air with seating, tables and a power supply for basic teaching technologies.

With the new classroom, students will be able to rotate in-between the class room and the greenhouse, which will greatly improve their education as each will benefit from more hands-on time.

Through fundraising projects such as the annual Concert Under the Stars and the Spring Plant Sale, as well as through in-kind donations, the project was able to raise over $72,000. With the extra $25,000 from the Pennington Foundation, the fundraising goal was finally achieved and the classroom construction should be breaking ground within the next month.

The Greenhouse Project isn’t just an educational site for the high school and the community at large, but it also provides thousands of pounds of produce grown to organic standards to those who are homeless or food insecure.

This past year, the project donated more than 4,500 pounds of fresh produce to local charities. 94 percent went to F.I.S.H., the Ron Wood Center, C.I.R.C.L.E.S., and Meals on Wheels.

The mission of the non-profit project is “Growing, giving, and teaching for a healthier, greener, sustainable community,” and they are dedicated to making that mission a reality.

While the greenhouse is not certified organic, as the certification is costly, Ruiter said everything in the greenhouse is grown to organic standards, which means no nasty pesticides or herbicides. Instead they try to attract helpful insects like ladybugs to make sure the greenhouse stays healthy.

The project also holds monthly classes (which are now virtual while the shutdown is occurring) led by Site Manager and Garden Educator Cory King, which are free to the community and teach on a range of topics. The last two classes discussed growing tomatoes and pruning fruit trees.

King also works with the students at Carson High School and the student volunteers, and says that there has been a huge resurgence of interest in agricultural sciences.

“Kids are understanding that with climate change and issues at large, agricultural practices need to be happening within the community,” said King. “Whether its rooftop farming or hoop houses or community gardens, there are a lot of ways to grow your own produce. They understand that and they’re more interested in learning more about it than ever.”

The Greenhouse Project is always accepting volunteers. You can learn more about the project and volunteer opportunities by visiting https://www.carsoncitygreenhouse.org

Ruiter says he believes the classroom will be finished and ready to open by September when the new school year begins.