ALMAGUIN – When people talk about something being green,
eyebrows tend to rise. What is green? Does it use less energy? Was it
produced
locally?
But when Al Bottomley starts talking about having a green
school, he means a green you can see, smell and taste — literally.
His latest vision for a community-added addition to the new
Almaguin Highlands Secondary School won't just have kids learning but
growing –
plants.
He envisions a greenhouse classroom that will benefit not
only the students taking lessons inside but the rest of the student body
and
their communities with the bounty of the harvest.
Bottomley admits the idea isn't his originally, but it is
one he is getting more and more excited about. It came to him via a
couple of
horticultural societies asking about whether there was an opportunity
for a
greenhouse in the new high school. They proposed a space that could be
shared
with students and the communities of Almaguin for a host of reasons
including
beautification, food and education.
"What they said made sense. The kids could grow their
own food for the culinary program, and flowers and such for the
different
communities, making it a real community facility," said Bottomley.
As he started probing for interest from local high school
teachers the enthusiasm kept coming from different areas.
Life skills teachers in the special-education faculty said
many of their students would receive a lot of benefit from learning
about the
responsibility of doing tasks like weeding and watering.
The forestry program was excited about growing their own
seedlings for transplant.
Then there are the science and environment classes that
would use the space for their own specific programming, not to mention
the improvements
that could be made in locally cared-for beautification programs in
communities
all over Almaguin.
The excitement is leaking out of the Almaguin district to
the Muskoka region. Bottomley recently attended a district meeting where
he
says there was no lack of enthusiasm for the school greenhouse concept.
Beyond that, Bottomley hasn't had many more conversations.
He has contacted one expert in the greenhouse field who gave him a very
tentative estimate of 1,100 square feet to grow food for the culinary
program
and handle the local horticultural societies' needs with a price tag of
$50,000
to build.
"That's pretty exciting. It would be a real plus to the
school and it could even open up some courses for the kids," said
Bottomley.
He notes that a smaller greenhouse had been included in the
school's original design but was axed by the Ministry of Education as a
cost-cutting measure. He's now wondering if there is sufficient
community
interest to build one anyway.