ISHPEMING, Mich. (WZMQ) – A new hands-on learning space is now growing opportunities for students in Ishpeming.
Ishpeming public schools opened their new greenhouse today, opening up a whole new world of gardening opportunities.
The Ishpeming Public School District celebrated the opening of its new CTE greenhouse with a ribbon-cutting today at the Partridge Creek Farms Ishpeming Middle School Garden on Cleveland Avenue. The addition of a greenhouse allows for a much longer growing season and a wider variety of crops to harvest.
“Erecting this greenhouse this year, it’s been a long time coming. Trying to grow vegetables in the U.P. gets a lot easier once you have season, extending tools like greenhouses to help you through the coldest months of the year,” said Partridge Creek Farms Co-Executive Director, Mary Andronis.
CTE horticulture instructor Keats Dormont, whose classes tend the garden, has some pretty specific plans.
“Can we have a lime tree? Can we have an avocado tree? Can we grow some tomatoes around it, some onions, and then chop it all up and eat some guacamole?” said Dormont.
Dormont teaches his students about our place in the ecosystem and what crops are best suited for our climate.
“We are intrinsically part of this ecosystem, and finding our way back to the right relationship with that ecosystem just benefits everything,” said Dormont.
The middle school students who work the small farm are learning far more than just how to plant a seed.
“He teaches us about what is inside the soil for the plants and what plants need to survive,” said 5th grader Violet Morrison.
The greenhouse was funded through a state grant and will support applied horticulture classes, helping students grow food for their school cafeteria while learning about soil health and sustainability
