Plant Sale Helps Grow Champlin Park’s Greenhouse Program
Champlin Park High School AgricultureDepartment’s annual plant sale is coming up in May. High school students are behind the growing tradition.
It’s all a part of a greenhouse management class taken by Champlin Park students in the third trimester. The class largely takes place outside the classroom in the school’s greenhouse. Agriculture teacher Brian Gronski said kids have a very hands-on role in the process.
“They got a quick lesson on: ‘Here’s what we need to do and how we do it,’ and they were thrown right into it,” Gronski said.
Kids get a lesson on plant identification and then began work in the greenhouse. Gronski said they received thousands of seeds to get the garden going. For many Champlin Park students, it gave them a lesson about where their food comes from.
Greenhouse management student Ava Holman stands among the plants she and her classmates grew over the trimester.
“Everything around us is somehow tied to ag,” Gronski said. “Kids don’t really realize that nowadays, without farms all around us or coming off of farm working.”
Students are growing vegetables, herbs, perennials and annuals. Most of the students just learned about them this trimester.
“It’s just really surprising to see how it went from nothing to something,” said senior Mariah Pates.
Everything in the greenhouse was grown by the students in each of Gronski’s class periods. Senior Ava Holman said it’s been a beautiful way to learn plant responsibility.
“I think my favorite part is coming back on a Monday, and you’re just like: ‘Oh my gosh!’ Seeing how much it grew over the weekend is so cool,” Ava said.
Plant Sale Details
The students are also learning to reap the homegrown benefits– both literally and financially with a plant sale.
Gronski said the annual sale generates $18,000 to $20,000 a year in profit. All that money goes back into the department to help pay for trips and services.
That gives these students more opportunities to grow in a variety of ways.
Some of the flowers that will be for sale at Champlin Park’s plant sale.
“It’s really valuable to see the plants growing that we all planted and to know that we did this,” Ava said.
The sale takes place on May 7-9 at Champlin Park High School. Students will run the sale.
The Tuesday, May 7, sale runs from 6 a.m.-7 p.m. Wednesday, May 8, goes from 7 a.m.-6 p.m. Thursday, May 9, runs from 7 a.m.-3 p.m.
Anyone is welcome to check out the plants. A full guide to the plants for sale created by Ava is on this Google slideshow.
Champlin Park High School
