Agriculture Renaissance: Students Grow Through The Greenhouse Project

Make time to visit The Greenhouse Project and a few things come clear: Agriculture is, after nearly 15 years defunct, alive and well on Carson High School’s campus, and the student population whose class time is integrated here, are developing life skills that will serve them in future, while currently realizing they have a hand in making a difference in their community.

The Greenhouse Project became operational in October 2010 and since that time, has flourished and expanded to include outside planting areas and greater crop production. More than 8,000 pounds of food to date has been donated to a variety of outreach, non-profit organizations who feed Carson City’s underserved populations, while also providing produce for the school’s culinary program.

According to Carson City School District Superintendent Richard Stokes, The Greenhouse Project has impacted students of all grade and learning levels in myriad ways.

“Many of our students who live in Carson City, unless they live on a farm or ranch, don’t have a frame of reference for where food comes from and The Greenhouse provides them an opportunity to learn how to consistently tend to something and be responsible in order to see a certain outcome – the work and steps and follow through needed in order for their work to yield crops,” he said. “This also allows the students to see the financial side of the business and learn what it takes to create a sustainable business.”

Working in conjunction with the high school has reignited a thriving agriculture program in CHS, which had been defunct since 1999. Seeing his students’ excitement is gratifying for Agriculture Science teacher and Capitol FFA advisor, Charlie Mann.

“CHS went nearly 20 years without an ag program and The Greenhouse Project was a moving force in creating the current program,” Mann said. “The relationship and partnership between the school and The Greenhouse as an educational lab for the students in my plant science class and having the ability to bring all the other ag students out there, has been amazing.”

Knowing there is a state-of-the-art resource in place that brings hands-on learning to his students and the end result of that, is gratifying to Mann.
“The excitement for agriculture has been growing and students who knew absolutely nothing about it, have been given a jump start that has created a thirst and passion, and it is great to see them wanting to learn and to be out there more,” he said.

In addition to the high school students, elementary and middle school students, as well as students with special needs, all participate at whatever levels they feasibly can.

“We have several seniors this year whose senior projects were directly related to The Greenhouse and we have our children with special needs who are learning so, so much by being here,” said Camille Jones, GHP site manager and garden educator. “Some of those kids did not have the motor function when they first started to put on their gardening gloves without a struggle, and now they get right to it.”

Being in nature also has a calming effect and Jones has found that especially with the students with special needs, they “each have their thing they glom on to, so we find out what that is and nurture it,” she said. “One of our students with cerebral palsy has his own plant – here it is – he takes care of it every day.” She pointed to a thriving plant in a little pot, complete with a name plate.

Jones also noted there is “a little autistic girl who loves pushing the wheelbarrow and is very good at it; once they know how to do something, they do it well.”

“Seeing how the children grow is so real and such a full-circle thing,” Jones said. “James notices what plants need, sometimes before I do, and he has taken what he has learned here and started growing things at home. In my future farm I would hire him in a heartbeat.”

One of the Jacobs (there are two) has a phobia about dirt and on the day of this visit, was well past it enough that he was using a container to scoop potting soil into trays, which his fellow classmates carefully smoothed over and gently poked one sunflower seed into the center of each seed cell, all under the fully-engaged and watchful eye of teacher Mary Hammerstaedt, who asks the children questions and affirms them throughout the class. Jacob’s classmates and teacher aids were also celebrating the fact he had recently touched an earthworm, a big step in overcoming fear.

“Jacob do we have enough dirt,” Mary asked, to which he replied “Yep!” and “Remember what the date was, guys?” Every plant is marked and tagged and a log of what everyone did daily is kept. “OK, now what do we do? That’s right, James,” she said as James stepped forward and began spritzing water over the trays.

While many students are choosing to go into agriculture science and are interested in becoming the next generation of farmers, skilled in organics and sustainable practices, for students with special needs, the goals may not be considered by society to be quit as “lofty” but are in no way less important.

“I like being outside in the sun with the plants,” Joe, who is profoundly deaf and has other learning disabilities said, signing to his interpreter Mary Ellen Meservey. “I like working with the plants and watching them grow. It’s cool and so is Camille because she lets me come out here and play, and I like doing this as a job.”

As part of the Vocational AB55 Class at Carson High, Joe works during the school year cleaning tables at the bowling alley. Using skills he has learned at The Greenhouse Project, Joe works during summer, three days a week, a few hours each day, at Greenhouse Garden Center in Carson City.

“I have hired people with disabilities over the years and long before The Greenhouse Project (was established) and Joe does a great job,” said David Ruf, Greenhouse Garden Center owner. “I am happy to help and support The Greenhouse Project and it has been good seeing Joe’s sense of accomplishment.

“I believe it is important to try and do my part to help give people with disabilities a chance and that, if I do my part, maybe others will, too.”
Ruf, whose father was a professor of crop science at University of Nevada, Reno and who is himself a horticulturist, is happy to see the interest in agriculture taking root again.

“There is agriculture in Nevada and people are waking up and now want to know where food comes from and get their hands back in it,” he said. “These 20 and 30-year-olds are bringing agriculture back with a vengeance and with new and sustainable practices.”

The Greenhouse Project is off to a good start with endless possibilities ahead, Stokes said.

“We see students realizing they’re making the community better through service and fostering the business/science/technology components that are needed for their future (endeavors)."

Mann echoes the sentiment.

“I am grateful for GHP being active in the community as advocates to help others and for ag science in our community and my students’ passion for it,” Mann said. “It makes me hopeful.”