Carrollton educators nurture garden program built for the future

As Carrollton Exempted Village School District’s greenhouse and garden program continues to grow, the educators who helped build it are preparing to pass it on.

School Food and Nutrition Director Barbara Burns and outdoor educator Kay Russell said the focus now is ensuring the program continues to grow for future students.

Burns said she became involved soon after being hired 13 years ago, when the school received a Straight A grant used to build the Power Center greenhouse.

At the time, Burns said, the idea was to grow fruits and vegetables and save the school cafeteria money on produce purchases.

“That did not happen because the greenhouse is an educational greenhouse,” Burns said. “In order for us to do production, we would need more than a greenhouse. We would need fields.”

Instead, the district shifted its focus to education, using the greenhouse to grow enough produce to supplement school meals and offer taste tests for students.

Burns said sustainability was a major consideration from the beginning, which led to the creation of the district’s annual plant sale.

“We’ve been doing the plant sale at least eight years,” Burns said. “The plant sale would raise money, and we could use that money to fund next year’s plant sale. Also, whatever money we get from the plant sale is focused on providing educational opportunities for students.”

She said the sale typically raises between $6,000 and $8,000 annually, with several thousand dollars left after expenses to reinvest in the program.

Over the years, additional grants helped the district expand beyond the greenhouse. Funding from the Ashton Foundation and other mini grants supported raised garden beds and an outdoor classroom courtyard beside the greenhouse.

A major boost came three years ago through a Healthy Meals Incentives grant for small rural school districts. Burns said the district received $147,000, which was used to expand its hydroponics program and help turn Russell’s role into a full-time position.

Russell, the district’s outdoor educator, now helps coordinate growing projects with teachers and students across grade levels.

“That was really a game changer, because now there is this wonderful individual, Kay Russell, who is committed, dedicated and determined,” Burns said.

“For me, I was in the classroom while the foundation was being built, and now I get to be part of it,” Russell said.

Burns said the hydroponic grow panels were a game changer. While earlier grow towers allowed for 24 to 36 plants, each grow panel can hold 288.

“She actually got it worked out so that we were able to have the grow panels on a rotation schedule so every week we were harvesting 80 heads of lettuce for the school cafeteria,” Burns said.

Burns said the lettuce has about a 30-day turnaround from seedling to harvest. The hydroponic system also uses far less water than traditional growing methods.

“With 95% less water, if I had this planted in a field, you would have to water it and it would take gallons upon gallons every day,” Burns said. “With this, your water usage is like 5% of what it would need for production out in the field.”

In addition to lettuce, students grow Swiss chard and herbs through the hydroponic systems. Raised beds allow for larger crops such as tomatoes and cucumbers.

Russell works with teachers to incorporate the program into classroom lessons and taste panels. Students get to see plants grow from seed to harvest, then sample them in salad bars, taco bars and other activities.

“What it’s all about is upgrading nutrition,” Burns said. “I call it stealth health. You stick it in there, and they don’t know what’s in there, and they’re eating it anyway.”

Burns said the program now reaches students from prekindergarten through 12th grade, with grow towers placed in eight classrooms at the elementary, middle school and high school levels.

She credited early teacher support from Russell, Cassie Nicholas and Lisa Pozderac with helping the idea take hold in classrooms.

When other teachers saw what students were doing, Burns said, interest spread.

The district has also recently received national recognition. Burns said Carrollton earned awards for innovation in nutrition education and innovation in the preparation of school meals, both tied to the greenhouse, raised beds and grow towers.

Burns and others will also present the district’s work at the School Nutrition Association’s national convention in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Burns, who is preparing to retire, said she hopes the program will continue to grow.

“To me, it’s like watching a child grow,” Burns said. “From where it was to where it is now, it’s like seeing your child blossom and grow and be successful. Our dream, our hope, our prayer is that it continues and grows. What we have done is provided the blueprint.”