Greenhouses by Wayne County Community Learning Centers (A Learn and Serve America Subgrantee)

Greenhouses by Wayne County Community Learning Centers (WCCLC) project for enhancing the beautification and neighborhood improvement has collaborated with the students in the 21st Century CKCLC to expand their activities by building a greenhouse on site to help them to keep the gardens going year around. Our students currently are working on a garden at their sites and will donate the produce to the local food bank, during reflections the students have come up with ideas for the next step of their gardening and beautification projects. Our greenhouse project will enable the students to have year round planting to better support their gardening and beautification community projects. The group will construct greenhouses on site as well as help repair and update the existing greenhouse at Buffalo Elementary. They will, as a group, learn the vegetation and how it grows by having an expert greenhouse owner come and demonstrate what grows in the area. They will also have volunteers from AmeriCorps, community, parents and grandparents. The students will keep data in their journals, on what will grow in the area, what they will need to grow this type of vegetation, which person(s) will take daily care of the greenhouse, and as a group keep measurements of the plants for reflection. The staff will be responsible for keeping the students on task and the children will be responsible for the property and care giving to the plants.

Greenhouses by WCCLC project will enhance the program of Gardens by CKCLC by allowing the children to work in the greenhouse everyday and have ownership in a garden all year long. In addition to the beautification and gardening projects the students will assess community needs and choose four additional community service projects. Examples of current projects the group is participating in; collecting cell phones for the retirement homes; sending packages to the military; and continue working with the Huntington City Mission. The students will do community need surveys to determine additional projects.