Carson City Greenhouse Project expands

RENO, Nev. (KOLO) - The Greenhouse Project unveiled two new buildings behind Carson High School.

For a decade, they have partnered with students in the agricultural science program, growing food and donating it to those in need.

“For a lot of these kids, math, English, science, none of that really made sense until they get out here and have to apply it in a practical application,” said The Greenhouse Project President and co-founder Karen Abowd.

Now that their program is growing steadily, from around 10 students, to over 200, they need a source of income.

“The Greenhouse Project needs to expand and create some type of revenue stream because fundraising is getting ever tough,” said Abowd.

They decided to invest in composting with the help of a grant from the Carson City Rotary Club.

“This year, we decided that we were going to help with the purchase and construction of this continuous composter,” said Carson City Rotary Club President Richard Perry.

The Greenhouse Project recieved a grant for over $4,500 dollars to purchase the vermi compost unit.

The team is beginning to fill the 16-foot-long unit with with compost products and worms to break it down. They plan to compost green waste from Carson High School next school year.

Once it’s up and running, they will sell the compost to fund The Greenhouse Project.

A second greenhouse sits nextdoor and they plan to fill it with native plants.

“Being able to be involved as students really start to understand what agriculture is about is really rewarding,” said CCSD Superintendent Richard Stokes.

The Greenhouse Project is encouraging the expansion of agriculture programs to middle schools and hopes to get even more people from the community involved.

“The outreach of the community touches my heart and the importance that it provides for our students, in terms of learning sustainability,” said Abowd.

Donate to The Greenhouse Project here.

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