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NPHS greenhouse 'a phenomenal addition'
In an educational and professional environment that is constantly changing, keeping the curriculum relevant is an ongoing challenge for agricultural educators.
North Putnam ag instructors Kate Skirvin and Janna Oxford got a powerful new tool this spring with the addition of a new greenhouse.
"The greenhouse is a phenomenal addition," Skirvin said. "We had a greenhouse before that had a lot of mechanical issues. So we were only able to use it as a hot house and raise geraniums and sell those."
Looking for a lot more for its vibrant agriculture program, the school invested $73,000 in a new greenhouse with the amenities of a modern facility.
"We wanted to get something that was more modern and relevant to the kids who wanted to go out into the horticulture industry," Skirvin said. "After some research, we got a greenhouse that is 30-by-60 (feet). It has swamp coolers that are used for temperature control. It also has two heaters, one on each end of the building. We have a sensor that sits right in the middle of the greenhouse and we can program it so that it will stay within a perfect temperature range for whatever plant we have out there at that time."
Fans then circulate the warm or cool air to keep it uniform throughout.
Additionally, the irrigation system in the new building is set to timers so the various plants can be watered exactly when needed.
"It can pretty much run itself," Skirvin said. "It has a lot of the components you will find out in the commercial setting."
With those professional components, the greenhouse can also be run like a business, with various plants grown and sold at different times of year and even the chance for students to get work experience.
This spring, the fledgling program sold various annuals, but more is on the way in the 2015-16 school year.
They will start with about 300 chrysanthemums in the fall, followed by poinsettias for Christmas, Easter lilies and back to the annuals in the spring, but with the addition of hanging baskets and planters.
"All of our spring plants will be starting from seed right in the greenhouse," Skirvin said.
Adding to the business environment, the ag program will not be asking for additional school money for the plants or upkeep of the greenhouse. Instead, the FFA chapter will act as the investor.
"The money from all of our plant sales will go back into the FFA," Skirvin said. "The FFA actually fronts all of the dollars that go into creating and growing all of those plants. So the dollars will come back.
"It's kind of an endless cycle. The extra dollars will go toward updates and improvements. When something breaks, we're going to have to fix it."
While Skirvin and Oxford will be there making sure it all runs properly, there will also be one student put in charge of greenhouse operations.
"We're also going to be starting up for our horticulture students a greenhouse manager position. So we'll have one student who will get the experience of being greenhouse manager -- managing employees, setting up schedules -- giving them some more of that real-world experience while under supervision."
It's simply another step in assuring that ag programs aren't just "cows, plows and sows anymore." The greenhouse gives North Putnam's program another way of keeping the coursework relevant as students go out into the world.
"We want to make sure that our kids have all the tools once they leave high school to either go to a secondary school and receive training there or go directly out into the workforce," Skirvin said.