Vision

Our school had a fire in December 2021 and two of our classrooms were destroyed. We started thinking about these displaced teachers and all of the items that they lost – including decorative items – and how we could help them. With COVID and the attention to air quality/ventilation and the impact of the air quality after the fire, we wanted to add some plants to “green” our spaces and take advantage of their air-purifying qualities and the positive impact on our mental health. After a few difficult years of “pandemic schooling”, it was nice to be able to enhance our classrooms in this way.

Action

We decided to “green” the classrooms. We purchased plants for all interested classroom teachers and office staff. We researched the best plants (hardy, easy to care for, air purifying) and went to a local greenhouse (minutes from our school!) to select plants. Purchasing locally from a small, independent greenhouse was really important to us. We bought the plants, some pots and some soil and then spent one afternoon repotting the plants and then delivering to each staff member. It was a huge success! The teachers loved their plants. Many students from our group have volunteered to be the plant waterers and keepers for the teachers. Staff will be required to take the plants home to care for them over the summer or they can be left in our greenhouse (waters the plants on a timer). Next year, the horticulture class will learn how to propogate the plants in each classroom in order to supply the classrooms with even more plants during the next school year.

Reflection & Celebration

Students were really proud to give the plants they selected to their teachers for the classrooms. Students will help with the care of the plants throughout the school year. Plants will be propogated in the horticulture classes in the 2022-2023 school year.