At a recent meeting, Marietta’s Board of Education gave its stamp of approval for an outdoor classroom. It may sound a bit out of the ordinary, but Advisor Josh Bazor believes that the prospect is going to be of great benefit for the school’s FFA program.
The outdoor classroom will be a 30 by 48 foot greenhouse with side walls of 10 feet, built on a concrete slab. It will be constructed of polycarbonate material and will include an evaporative cooling system, automated shade cloth, and a gas heater.
Add a programmable fertilization and watering system set up in zones, and you have yourself an outdoor classroom. It’ll sit east of the indoor classroom, behind the Ag barn. Construction is set to begin after the first of the year.
The goal of Bazor’s program is to teach students life skills—those that can be packed up and carried with students after they leave high school. And he’s well on the way with a state-championship winning Ag Mechanics program.
“I feel like I miss some really good kids who could benefit from the FFA program but do not like to work in the shop,” he said. “Currently, my advanced classes are ag mechanics, which we do very well in, but that eliminates kids who don’t want to weld or fabricate.”
Thus the outdoor classroom. Beginning in the 2022-23 school year, Marietta’s FFA program will include a horticulture class.
“We plan to start plants from seeds and plugs,” Bazor explained. “We will start vegetables, ornamental plants, ground cover, succulents, and trees in two sets a year, fall and spring planting seasons.”
Students will learn proper techniques for starting plants, daily care, proper fertilization, transplanting, and pest control in a greenhouse environment. Bazor is enthusiastic about the addition to his program, and so are the kids.
Samantha Cooper, a sophomore and first year Ag student is particularly looking forward to starting garden plants and herbs, and eventually having the ability to grow her own food, while Jacee Arthur, a second-year Ag student is looking forward to learning about the planting of seeds and proper care of young plants.
“I’m interested in ornamental plants,” she said, “anything that’s pretty.”
Of possible interest to the community, another part of the long-range plan is to host both spring and fall plant sales, allowing the public to purchase the fruits – or, in this case, maybe vegetables – of their labor. So in the not-too-distant future, area residents could purchase plants in six-packs, flats, or hanging baskets from the FFA chapter.
“We’re so excited about the greenhouse,” remarked Bazor. “It’s going to give our program additional diversity. Not every kid likes to work with livestock or in the shop, but that doesn’t mean that they can’t benefit from FFA, and the addition of the horticulture classes will give us the ability to reach so many more students.”