CREATING AN OUTDOOR, HANDS-ON LEARNING LAB

School:: Freeport Middle School
Subject:: Career/Technical Education
Teacher:: Julia Terrell
Students Impacted:: 90
Grade:: 9-12
Date:: September 20, 2021

Investor

Thank you to the following investor for funding this grant.

The St. Joe Community Foundation - $998.66

Impact to My Classroom

# of Students Impacted: 500

IMPACT STATEMENT

Students in their second year, Agritechnology, at Freeport High School, worked to first design an outdoor classroom located just outside our Greenhouse. It needed to include the equipment from last year (two wooden raised beds and marine sea grass tank constructed during our school's first year offering Agriculture) and expand to include additional raised beds and compost area. Once the design was approved by the school's facilities manager, Mr. Farris, and the princpal, Mrs. Simmons, the materials were purchased using this grant.

Students in all four Agriscience Foundation and Agritechnology classes worked together to construct the new area. The first task was to move the materials acquired last year to our new outdoor classroom space. Last year, our AG program was located in a different location, so the two existing raised beds had to be emptied, moved, and reconstructed in our new outdoor classroom area. Along with moving our marine sea grass tank that will be used to grow native sea grass for Choctawhatchee Bay Restoration projects. The ground had to be prepped next. Students layed out weed cloth and pine straw throughout the area. Clay was brought in to use to level the areas under the new beds. These tasks took longer than planned. Weather delayed us at times. Other times, we were waiting on the district to bring the clay that needed to be leveled.

Materials were finally purchased on January 28, 2022 from Lowe's in DeFuniak Springs. Students began shortly after this date constructing the beds. They had to haul all the material to our outdoor area. A big thank you goes out to Mr. Farris, who worked with students and me to level the first layer of concrete blocks in each bed. This was especially important so the second and third layers were straight. We often had to work around his schedule since he was keeping the whole school functioning too during this time. The pictures attached show some of the students constructing the new concrete raised beds. We only just finished the last bed this month (May) and are now working to fill it with the remaining dirt also supplied by this grant.

We used the greenhouse to seed plants for the beds during this time and have transplanted most plants to the finished beds. Next year, we will work with the school district to sell our harvest to the school's lunch program for 90% the going retail rate. This will provide a direct source of income to replenish seeds, soil, fertilizer, etc.

Students currently have planted successfully both cherry and beef tomatoes, summer corn, potatoes, yellow summer squash, various peppers varieties, two types of onions, melon, and various flowers to attract pollinators in our new outside classroom.

This year over 100 students participated at various times in the construction of this new outside growing classroom. With supporters like you, this growing area will be around for years to come. The concrete blocks used in these new beds will outlast the first two beds we made last year from wood. I expect over the next 5 years to impact 500 students, easily!

Receipt from Lowe's

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Plants added to some of the raised beds

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Students unloading materials

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Students constructing the L-shaped bed

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Students filling the long beds with potting soil a

Original Grant Overview

Goal

My goal is to provide a hands-on, outside learning lab for my agriculture classes. Just outside my back door (next to the greenhouse) is an area approximately 30 feet by 50 feet that I would like to make an outside, hands-on learning lab by adding three raised beds and clearly defining this area so it can function as a demonstration garden for my Agriscience classes.

What will be done with my students

With the help of our school's plant manager, I will supervise students enrolled in 5 agriculture classes (~90 students) as they build three raised beds directly outside the existing greenhouse using cinder blocks to grow seasonal crops and flowers (see the image uploaded as an example).

Students will also create a border that will define the outdoor lab using cinder blocks. These cinder blocks will be placed so the openings are facing up so they can double as planting containers for various flowers to attract pollinating insects, birds, and bats near the beds to assist with fertilizing the vegetable crops.

Staff within the school have access to small stones that can be used to fill in the area after the beds and outside border are constructed.

The timeline is to have the outside growing area completed by January 2022. This will allow for spring crop preparation.

Benefits to my students

Since students will be conducting the construction of the outside lab, so they will learn to work as a team. At various times, they will lead the project and at other times they will have to listen for directions and complete various tasks. Students will have to overcome hurdles that arise and problem solve to keep the project on schedule and ultimately ensure it gets completed.

Advanced Ag students (second year students) are already planning projects or supervised agricultural experiences (SAE) that can be completed in this outside lab. SAE's are projects that advanced agriculture students plan, develop, and completed that provide an improve to the program. Examples of SAE projects being planned this year are 1) setting up dedicated irrigation for this lab area, 2) constructing a compost area, and 3) planning to harvest crops then, working with our culinary program, learn how to can and preserve the crops.

During the project, students will learn soft skills needed to be successful in the work place: teamwork, leadership, problem-solving, and communication. Once completed, students will get direct hand-on learning in the vegetable and nursery industries.

Students will take the CTE exam for this program in the spring. Students will be assessed on the vegetable and nursery industry as well as the dairy, beef, and poultry industries. I will be able to assess each students test score over these topic areas. My goal by providing hand-on, relevant curriculum in the vegetable and nursery industry is that all students will pass these topic areas.

This grant will benefit about 600 students over the next 5 years because the material is primarily concrete, a long-lasting material that will be around for years to come.

Budget Narrative

I respectfully request a total of $998.66 to create an outdoor, hands-on, learning lab to be used by approximately 90 agriculture students this year and 600 students overs the next five years.

This money will purchase 245 cinder blocks to (1) build three raised beds and (2) to provide a border around the outside lab. Each brick costs $1.98 each. The total funds spent on cinder blocks is $485.10.

The money will also provide for 62 Bags of all purpose soil (2 Cubic Ft/bag) that will be split up and added to the three raised beds. Each bag costs $7.48. The total expense for the soil is $463.76.

And finally, $49.80 will be used to purchase 10 bags of mushroom compost (40 lbs/bag) @ $4.98/bag which will also be added to the raised beds.

Items

#	Item	Cost
1	123 Cinder Blocks for 3 Raised Beds @ 1.98/ea	$243.54
2	122 Cinder blocks for border around the outside lab @ 1.98/ea	$241.56
3	62 Bags of All Purpose Flower & Vegetable Garden Soil (2 CuFt) @ 7.48	$463.76
4	10 Bags of Mushroom Compost (40lbs/each) @ 4.98/ea	$49.80
	Total:	$998.66

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CREATING AN OUTDOOR, HANDS-ON LEARNING LAB

Investor

Impact to My Classroom

Original Grant Overview

Goal

What will be done with my students

Benefits to my students

Budget Narrative

Items

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