Students hone gardening skills at new greenhouse
École Camrose Composite High School Grade 10 students, from left to right, Jailee McInnes, Hope Haugen and Pay Lavergne are taking a gardening course from teacher Trevor Doig (back) and learning how to propagate plants and grow seedlings. Construction students built the greenhouse in the fall of 2023.
By Laurel Nadon
A gardening class in the new greenhouse built at École Camrose Composite High School is giving students hands-on experience growing plants themselves. The project began when gardening was put on a list of potential courses students could take, and it turned out to be the top choice among students. Last year, there were 85 more students wanting to take the class than they were able to accommodate.
“We do a very good job of academics, but it’s great to have other areas that kids can explore. They get pretty excited about stuff that grows,” said teacher Trevor Doig, adding that the course teaches the students about patience and providing consistent care. “Lots of the kids have never played in the dirt. I grew up fairly poor and we had gardens to survive. It amazes me that so many people don’t know how to grow things.”
With lots of interest expressed in having a greenhouse, Doig ordered books about building greenhouses, propagation (growing new plants from root cuttings) and botany that Olds College uses in their courses. From September to November 2023, construction classes built the 16’ by 22’ and 14’ high structure. The project came in just under its $10,000 budget, using donated lumber and a donated furnace from the old Chester Ronning School.
“I drew it out on a piece of paper and they said, ‘how do you make wood do that?’ It was a good challenge for the construction classes,” Doig said.
A fashion class, art class, and students Tyson, Mike and Nathan from the SAIL program (for students with physical or mental challenges) also helped with tasks like making macramé pot holders, pottery, painting pots, building racks, and plumbing. The greenhouse has a hydroponics area that can grow up to 70 plants without soil, as well as aeroponics where water goes up to the top and then dribbles down. The classes have grown herbs, tomatoes, peppers and lettuce using aeroponics to show students the technology used in farming now.
For Grade 10 students Hope Haugen, Pay Lavergne and Jailee McInnes, the course has been teaching them to be gentle with seedlings, ways to grow new plants and about the technology used at industrial greenhouses.
“It’s surprising how different each plant is and what they need for water and fertilizers,” Haugen said. “I think it’s a really unique thing to have a greenhouse and experience growing.”
Lavergne added that she was surprised by how much work is involved in gardening.
“I really like watching the plants grow, starting as a seed and getting bigger and bigger until they’re a beautiful plant,” Lavergne said, that getting to eat tomatoes they’ve grown themselves has also been a plus.
McInnes said she appreciates that gardening is something that anyone can learn.
“I’ve never had a class like this. I think it’s cool that we get to sell them after,” McInnes said, referring to their Mother’s Day sale. Each year, students sell plants to pay for supplies, selling almost 400 plants their first year and adding in houseplants for the second year’s sale.
Only 20 per cent of the course is classroom learning with botany topics such as what makes up good soil, and the rest of the time is spent in the greenhouse. About 100 students have now had a chance to hone their gardening skills. The first semester students learn about propagating houseplants and bedding plants, with Doig keeping the plants in his office where they can regrow and be ready for the next group of students. The class learns which plants like to regrow in water, soil, or damp vermiculite inside domes. An assignment might be bringing in a plant or cutting from home to share, propagating it, and part of their mark is if the new plant survives. In the second semester, students take care of those propagated plants and also plant seedlings that will grow into bedding plants.
Shane Gau, principal at ÉCCHS, said that the new class, driven by the interests of students and staff, has been a real hit. He noted that Doig was instrumental in the design of the greenhouse, researching the flooring, roofing, insulation and roof angle.
“He has a brilliant mind and a passion for plants and propagation. That will rub off on the students for sure,” Gau said. “There’s a lot of excitement with some of the students who are taking his class. Even when it was -40C outside, we were able to keep a constant temperature in there.”
He added that the students are learning responsibility, how to be committed to a project as well as business aspects. They price the plants to sell, taking into account their expenses for materials.
“I believe it’s a life skill and I like that it brings so many things together,” Gau said. “It’s just another thing that makes our school a special place to be.”
By Laurel Nadon
A gardening class in the new greenhouse built at École Camrose Composite High School is giving students hands-on experience growing plants themselves. The project began when gardening was put on a list of potential courses students could take, and it turned out to be the top choice among students. Last year, there were 85 more students wanting to take the class than they were able to accommodate.
“We do a very good job of academics, but it’s great to have other areas that kids can explore. They get pretty excited about stuff that grows,” said teacher Trevor Doig, adding that the course teaches the students about patience and providing consistent care. “Lots of the kids have never played in the dirt. I grew up fairly poor and we had gardens to survive. It amazes me that so many people don’t know how to grow things.”
With lots of interest expressed in having a greenhouse, Doig ordered books about building greenhouses, propagation (growing new plants from root cuttings) and botany that Olds College uses in their courses. From September to November 2023, construction classes built the 16’ by 22’ and 14’ high structure. The project came in just under its $10,000 budget, using donated lumber and a donated furnace from the old Chester Ronning School.
“I drew it out on a piece of paper and they said, ‘how do you make wood do that?’ It was a good challenge for the construction classes,” Doig said.
A fashion class, art class, and students Tyson, Mike and Nathan from the SAIL program (for students with physical or mental challenges) also helped with tasks like making macramé pot holders, pottery, painting pots, building racks, and plumbing. The greenhouse has a hydroponics area that can grow up to 70 plants without soil, as well as aeroponics where water goes up to the top and then dribbles down. The classes have grown herbs, tomatoes, peppers and lettuce using aeroponics to show students the technology used in farming now.
For Grade 10 students Hope Haugen, Pay Lavergne and Jailee McInnes, the course has been teaching them to be gentle with seedlings, ways to grow new plants and about the technology used at industrial greenhouses.
“It’s surprising how different each plant is and what they need for water and fertilizers,” Haugen said. “I think it’s a really unique thing to have a greenhouse and experience growing.”
Lavergne added that she was surprised by how much work is involved in gardening.
“I really like watching the plants grow, starting as a seed and getting bigger and bigger until they’re a beautiful plant,” Lavergne said, that getting to eat tomatoes they’ve grown themselves has also been a plus.
McInnes said she appreciates that gardening is something that anyone can learn.
“I’ve never had a class like this. I think it’s cool that we get to sell them after,” McInnes said, referring to their Mother’s Day sale. Each year, students sell plants to pay for supplies, selling almost 400 plants their first year and adding in houseplants for the second year’s sale.
Only 20 per cent of the course is classroom learning with botany topics such as what makes up good soil, and the rest of the time is spent in the greenhouse. About 100 students have now had a chance to hone their gardening skills. The first semester students learn about propagating houseplants and bedding plants, with Doig keeping the plants in his office where they can regrow and be ready for the next group of students. The class learns which plants like to regrow in water, soil, or damp vermiculite inside domes. An assignment might be bringing in a plant or cutting from home to share, propagating it, and part of their mark is if the new plant survives. In the second semester, students take care of those propagated plants and also plant seedlings that will grow into bedding plants.
Shane Gau, principal at ÉCCHS, said that the new class, driven by the interests of students and staff, has been a real hit. He noted that Doig was instrumental in the design of the greenhouse, researching the flooring, roofing, insulation and roof angle.
“He has a brilliant mind and a passion for plants and propagation. That will rub off on the students for sure,” Gau said. “There’s a lot of excitement with some of the students who are taking his class. Even when it was -40C outside, we were able to keep a constant temperature in there.”
He added that the students are learning responsibility, how to be committed to a project as well as business aspects. They price the plants to sell, taking into account their expenses for materials.
“I believe it’s a life skill and I like that it brings so many things together,” Gau said. “It’s just another thing that makes our school a special place to be.”
