Oilfields High School aims to grow produce year-round. With the donation of a 40-foot sea can from a community member, the school hopes to start work on its vertical greenhouse by spring. The sea can is equipped with a water containment system, lighting, and shelving but will need some work to set up once it is delivered, said Oilfields vice-principal Mike Horembala.
"The donor wanted us to have it and work with it in conjunction with our community garden," Horembala said. The school wants to tie the vertical garden into its curriculum and provide career skills to students through participation in its sustainability project.
Produce grown in the vertical garden will be used in the school's food program and sold at farm markets, with money raised being used to support the garden's operating costs. Excess produce will be donated to the Oilfields Food Bank.
Volunteerism, marketing, agriculture, horticulture, and industrial arts are some of the areas students would gain skills by working on the vertical garden.
The sustainability program includes the Yellow Fish Road Program, Leave No Trace, and the garden, and students have already been able to share knowledge with the community and other area schools.
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