Rural school uses grant to plant new greenhouse

The Flathead Valley’s short growing season is drawing to a close, but people at Marion School already are dreaming of the fresh vegetables they might grow next year.

Those vegetables will grow in the school’s new greenhouse, which Marion purchased with grant money from the Plum Creek Foundation.

Marion was one of 21 schools in Montana that received grants from Plum Creek this fall. Of the $63,000 Plum Creek awarded, Marion received $5,000.

The school asked for $10,000, third-grade teacher Becky Schrade said. She and kindergarten teacher Brenda Knoll put together the grant application at the end of the 2009-10 school year.

Instead, Marion received half that and was instructed to put all of the money into the greenhouse, Schrade said.

It arrived at the school last week — 600 pounds of house in six boxes. When it’s assembled, the greenhouse will stand nearly 12 feet long, almost 9 feet wide and about 16 1/2 feet tall.

Volunteers assembled the greenhouse on a recent Saturday morning on the school’s old outdoor basketball court, Schrade said. For their efforts, they will receive T-shirts, she said.

Once the greenhouse is in place — which Schrade hopes will happen before the snow flies — Marion still has to get soil and seeds to fill it. Schrade said she will write to local businesses to see if anyone might be able to help make the greenhouse operational next spring.

The greenhouse will do more than just supply school lunches with fresh vegetables, she said. She and Marion’s other teachers will incorporate the greenhouse into their curricula.

Schrade already is anticipating ways she can use the greenhouse.

Her third-graders study plant life cycles each year and always start seeds in the classroom. She’s hoping this year, instead of taking those baby plants home, her students can plant them in the greenhouse.

Middle-school students might use plants in the greenhouse when they study cells, Schrade said, and the entire school will get to participate in weeding and caring for the plants.

Over the summer, parents, students and teachers will volunteer to work in the greenhouse, she said.

“A lot of parents are interested — and nothing grows out here,” Schrade said. “They’ll help support it and take care of it.”

Reporter Kristi Albertson may be reached at 758-4438 or at kalbertson@dailyinterlake.com.