By Phoebe Coburn, Teton Conservation District Communications Specialist
CLC students lead the way to the new greenhouse.
Though snowflakes are flying down in the valley, a greenhouse in Rafter J is grasping for the last bits of the growing season. When you open the door to the Children’s Learning Center (CLC) greenhouse, the smell of soil and herbs is reminiscent of sunnier days.
The three- to five-year-old students aren’t bothered by the cold though, and are excited to show us how they water and tend to the hardy strawberries, cabbage, broccoli and herbs that have survived well into October. Over the past spring and summer, the students planted and cultivated all kinds of fresh produce in their greenhouse. With the help of Caleb, CLC’s chef, the little gardeners are also learning how to incorporate their harvest into their breakfasts, snacks and lunches. Or, they happily eat the veggies right off the stock. Broccoli and cauliflower were favorites this year, and when we went to visit, the kids were still nibbling on what was left of the broccoli.
Watering (and eating) the broccoli.
CLC’s Executive Director Patti Boyd writes, “As a result of the Rafter J greenhouse project, CLC teachers have made growing plants, learning about food and nutrition, and healthy lifestyles an even greater part of our spring and summer curriculum for all of our kids. We believe that early learning about plants, water and food, etc., is essential to ensure that our children are more invested in their need to take care of our environment and our natural resources as they get older.” Patti also explains that the greenhouse not only provides an opportunity to learn about sustainable food and healthy eating, but the process of planting and taking care of the garden also engages several developmental areas: social-emotional (working together, asking questions, solving problems), fine and gross motor skills (using tools, watering the plants, picking veggies), early math and science (measuring, pouring, counting, learning about plants), and language skills (new words, discussions about the veggies and food, talking to each other).
Carrying water to the greenhouse.
The greenhouse’s predecessor, the hoop house, collapsed under heavy wet snow in the winter of 2016. A group of parents and teachers came together to re-establish this powerful educational program. Instead of constructing another hoop house, they received grants from Teton Conservation District and the Community Foundation of Jackson Hole to construct a sturdier rigid-framed greenhouse. In-kind materials and labor were donated and volunteered by parents, Grow Huts (a local greenhouse manufacturer), Terra Firma Organics, MD Nursery, and students from Summit High School.