Lowell — Using a moisture meter, ninth-grader Christina Crawford checked the soil of a plant in three different spots.
While her classmates checked on other plants in the Lowell High School greenhouse, deadheading old blossoms and cleaning gardening tools, Christina made sure the houseplants had enough water for the weekend.
The students, who are in the cognitive impairment program, have brought the greenhouse back to life this fall, providing a place for staff members to house their plants for love and care. The students email plant owners monthly about how their plant is doing, complete with a picture.
“These are supposed to be wet; these are supposed to be dry,” said senior Melanie Wade, indicating which plants need regular watering and which don’t.
Teacher Michele Morrell said her 10 students transformed the underutilized greenhouse to provide a space for plants to flourish and to grow microgreens for use in school lunches. (The first attempt at growing microgreens wasn’t successful, so they are trying again.)
Meters, watering cans and spades were purchased with a grant from the class of 2023. Students first decluttered and cleaned the space, and then invited high school and central office staff to bring in plants to care for.
“Doing things like this are way more meaningful than sitting in the classroom. It’s a good job skill also,” Morrell said. “They are practicing following directions and taking care of something, and it gets them more active.”
It’s also an agricultural lesson in gardening and an experiment in growing microgreens.
“This is special,” said senior Molly Wade.
Director of Food Services Brad Stinson said he’s happy to help the crew of students learning to grow microgreens. The plan is to add them to salads, ramen noodles and other dishes.
Read more from Lowell:
• ‘Middle school should be a nice, kind place’
• Another year of practice, perform, perfect
