Sugar-Salem High School
Challenge – Expanding hands-on learning opportunities for students
Solution – One GrowSpan Series 2000 Greenhouse
Size – 30’ wide x 60’ long
Application – Horticulture education and plant production
Location – Sugar City, ID.
At Sugar-Salem High School in Sugar City, Idaho, the greenhouse serves as an extension of the classroom, giving students a place to apply lessons from their horticulture program in a hands-on setting. Throughout the growing season, they raise plants from the seedling stage through flowering, prepare products for the school’s annual sale and participate in research projects.
“Students are involved every step of the way, from plant selection to marketing and selling products,” said Jamie Little, FFA Teacher at Sugar-Salem High School.
For 20 years, the school’s program operated in a 25’W x 35’L greenhouse with limited space and technology. There was no automatic watering system or cooling wall, and unreliable heaters created additional challenges. As enrollment grew, students were increasingly limited by the available workspace, eventually leaving eighty-two students on a waiting list for the greenhouse class.
To address those limitations, the school installed a 30’W x 60’L GrowSpan Series 2000 Greenhouse. The additional space allowed the program to accommodate two classes of twenty-five students, with three to four students able to work at each table. Students can now stay productive throughout the day, spending less time waiting for an open table and more time caring for their plants.
The expanded greenhouse has also increased the program’s production. Students grow flowering plants, along with select fruits and vegetables, based on what the local community will use and purchase during the school’s annual sale. With more space for plants and students, the program has doubled its income from the annual greenhouse sale.
Automation has made the greenhouse easier to manage, while still preserving the hands-on learning experience. An automatic watering system supports hanging baskets and selected tables, but other areas remain manual, so students can learn to read plants and soil and make adjustments themselves. These systems give the program greater control over its growing environment, even when students and teachers are away from the greenhouse.
“With the new watering system, we are able to go to our FFA conferences and spring break, without the stress of ‘plant-sitting,'” said Little. “All of the automation has really helped with the air circulation and cooling, heating, watering and humidity control.”
Beyond the greenhouse itself, Little also appreciates the support she and her program have received from GrowSpan. “Everyone on the GrowSpan team has been so kind and helpful. We’ve received support at every stage, and that support continues whenever we have questions. The resources and videos available have also been so valuable for our program.”
The GrowSpan Series 2000 Greenhouse has given Sugar-Salem High School’s horticulture program more room to teach, grow and experiment. Most importantly, it has expanded the number of students who can participate in hands-on learning and allowed them to see their work progress throughout the growing season.
To see more of Sugar-Salem High School’s GrowSpan Series 2000 Commercial Greenhouse, visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5InGXedWeAQ
