Glenvar G row Greens

1. GlenvarGrow Greens Glenvar Middle School • Presentation by • Paige Stinson • Edited by • Ann Fajardo

2. Overall Goal: • To provide an opportunity for students to become capable of enriching their own lives and contributing to their community and nation through their construction and gardening skills, food production and preparation, and individual gain in health consciousness.

3. Project Goals: • To expand the existing Glenvar Garden, which consisted of 4 raised bed gardens • To extend the growing season of our crops

4. School Participants: • Students in Ann Fajardo’s and Mark Rohrback’s 2nd period “Green Math” class • Students in Beth Sellers’ 6th grade science classes • Juliette Myers, principal, Glenvar Middle School • Jim Bradshaw, assistant principal, Glenvar Middle School • Brian Weeks, Construction Manager, Roanoke County Public Schools

5. Community Participants: • Our “Green Mentors” (Members of the Southwest Virginia chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council): • Patrick Donohoe, Architect/Engineer, Virginia Tech • Brenda Landes, architect, CR Architecture + Design • Barry Martin, Owner Green Home Energy Audits of Virginia • Suzanne Nicewonder, Engineer, Precision Engineering, PC • Consultant: Sherri Dorn, extension agent

6. Plan of Action1. Build Cold Frames Students help design and build cold frames to cover two of the existing raised beds. This will allow us to plant earlier and harvest later. (Completed March 2011)

7. Plan of Action2. Build a Greenhouse! • Consult with Green Mentors and extension agent to determine the best location on school grounds for our greenhouse (completed January 2011)

8. Plan of Action2. Build a Greenhouse! • Consult with Green Mentors and extension agent to determine what type of greenhouse will best serve our needs and budget • We decided a 24’ by 48’ hoophouse would be the best choice (completed March 2011)

9. Plan of Action2. Build a Greenhouse! • Order a hoophouse kit (completed March 2011)

10. Plan of Action2. Build a Greenhouse! • Prepare the site: Install water, level and grade the earth, spread 6 inches of gravel (completed March 2011)

11. Plan of Action2. Build a Greenhouse! • Design the layout of the interior of the greenhouse • Build 8 raised beds (completed March 2011)

12. Plan of Action2. Build a Greenhouse! • Build the greenhouse!! Students, teachers, administrators and parents will participate in the build on Apr. 5, 2011

13. Plan of Action2. Build a Greenhouse! • Install raised beds inside hoophouse to bo completed April 2011 • Start planting! April 2011 • Install shelving and wheelchair-accesible raised garden within the hoophouse to be completed by May 2011

14. Our Project is Sustainable! • Hoop house greenhouse construction is low-cost • Cold-house succession planting of cold-tolerant vegetables requires no supplemental heat • Raised-bed square-foot-gardening technique saves space, maximizes student involvement, reduces watering needs, and maximizes yield • Self-sustaining in the school setting as a means of teaching multi-disciplinary academic skills through practical application • Sustains the development of civic capability, enabling students to connect what they learn to how they live • Sustains opportunities for individual personal growth through higher-level thinking skills, cooperative learning, and problem solving with other students

15. Future Proposed Plans: • School-based composting • Fundraising through greenhouse production • Expanding gardening effort to involve more teachers/students • Establishment of GMS Garden club

16. Monitor our progress… • Mrs. Sellers blog: http://glenvargarden.blogspot.com/ • Ms. Fajardo’s wiki: http://gmsgreenmath.wikispaces.com/

17. GLENVAR GROWS GREENS!