Farmville Central High School

Green & Greet

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Project Narrative:

The Window of Opportunity Grant would enable Farmville Central High School students, staff and community members to beautify the campus. Farmville Central High School as a newly established horticulture program. I am the new horticulture teacher that is looking to expand what limited resources are available to the horticulture program at Farmville Central High School and allow my students to invest in the school community through the agriculture program.

 

There is room for a lot of beautification improvement at Farmville Central High School. There are three main areas on the school’s campus that the horticulture program would invest in during the improvements. The three areas of focus are the Farmville Central High School brick sign at the entrance of the school, the entrance to the main office and the greenspace. The Farmville Central High School sign is located at the entrance of the school. The greenspace is where the high tunnel and raised beds are located. The greenspace is in the front of the student parking lot as well as where the visitors enter the gym and auditorium for sporting events and fine arts events.

 

Not only will the grant bring beautification to the campus, but it will also allow for students to learn about plants. If awarded the grant, I plan to have my students help plant the plants that we were able to obtain with the grant in the greenspace and entrance of the school. Students will make ID cards for each of the plants. At the entrance of the building, the horticulture program will use the gravel as “mulch” for the flower bed with bushes that will be there for a long time. In the greenspace, the horticulture program will plant black berry bushes in the high tunnel. To provide us fruit for many years to come.

 

Farmville Central High School students, staff and community members would greatly benefit from this grant. We have big plans to increase campus beautification and native plants. We would eventually like to incorporate an outdoor classroom and an established “native plant” garden in the greenspace.

 

Not only will it be appealing but it will offer a greater hands-on learning experience for the students that are enrolled in the horticulture classes as well as the agricultural department at Farmville Central High School. The visibility of both spaces will also increase exposure of our course’s role in the Farmville Central community and could increase our class numbers and potential for further donations to improve the campus as a whole.

 

Key Learnings Intended:

 

• For students to learn plants on their NC FFA Plant ID List

• For students to learn how to correctly plant items out of containers (using a capilar)

• For students to know and recall facts about plants that have been planted

• How to properly prune and provide plant maintenance

• Plant systems and how they function in the natural environment (water and soil management, IPM strategies, fertilizer and plant growth photosynthesis)

• Hands on learning experience Impact on Students

• Exposes students to new plants and enrichment in their new ID plants

• Will give students ownership of the project because they will be working on improving their school campus

• Allows for time away from electronics by providing hands-on opportunities to the students

 

Impact to School/Organization

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• Campus beautification

• Warm and welcoming entrance to the school

• Develops more community engagement by the beautification of the campus​​​​​