Greenhouse Updates Support Growing Ag Program in Sugar City

Agricultural science courses at Sugar-Salem High School have been growing in popularity over the past several years. Student enrollment in plant and soil science classes was capped at 40-50 students/year, but wait lists for classes showed many more students seeking to enroll in these classes. 

Desiring to accommodate growing demand and enable more students to engage with the agricultural sciences, staff and faculty in the ag department determined that a greenhouse upgrade would increase usable growing space and extend the growing season, which would allow the school to accommodate an additional 100-120 students per year. An added benefit to this upgrade was increasing the district's capacity to offer more STEM classes and programs for both students and community members. 

The greenhouse's maintenance costs are self-sustaining: income from sales of the plants and floral arrangements produced by students in the greenhouse pay for utilities, supplies, and general upkeep. 

CHC Foundation was able to contribute to this upgrade with a grant that supported the purchase and installation of sixteen space-saving rolling tables. We're pretty excited about the results. Happy gardening, Sugar-Salem High students!