NORTHAMPTON — Greenhouse improvements and a new course in flower growing are in the works at Smith Vocational and Agricultural High School with the help of a $175,000 state grant.
“That would not be possible without this,” said horticulture and forestry teacher Mark Nevin, who helped apply for the grant.
The money was awarded as part of an Oct. 11 package of $9.5 million in Skills Capital Grants to educational institutions around the commonwealth to support career training programs.
Smith Voc’s grant will go toward the upgrading of its two greenhouses and the purchase of equipment that will allow it to begin offering a greenhouse management and floriculture concentration next fall.
The school’s paneled greenhouse will have a computerized system installed that will allow students to control conditions within it from tablets.
“They’re going to be able to control it for best results,” Principal Joseph Bianca said.
Bianca also said that Smith Voc’s hoop greenhouse will be moved nearer to its paneled greenhouse, creating a greenhouse complex on campus.
The offerings inside these greenhouses will be expanded by the grant as well, and Nevin said students will get to grow plants with techniques that include terraponics, aquaponics and hydroponics.
The aquaponic system planned will see the raising of tilapia fish, as well as plants that will clean the dirty water that results from their raising.
“You’re feeding the plants. The plants are cleaning the water,” Bianca said.
Nevin said students will get to grow plants using different methods and compare the results. Salad greens, tomatoes and radishes are some of the products that Bianca said are set to be produced, while Nevin said students will be allowed to experiment with growing different varieties of plants to see what works.
“We’re really trying to get into some of the advanced growing techniques that are happening,” Bianca said.
Nevin said a new staff member will be hired for the program.
In addition to those in the new concentration, Nevin said that the upgrades will get to benefit other Smith Voc students as well. He noted that science classes could utilize the greenhouses, while students in the agricultural mechanics concentration could help maintain them and animal science could work with the fish.
“There’s a lot of possibilities,” Nevin said.
Bianca noted that vegetables grown in the greenhouses would be used in the school’s cafeteria, as well as in its restaurant, just as the beef, duck, pork and chicken from the school’s farm are. He also said a farm stand was a long-term goal for the program.
Bera Dunau can be reached at bdunau@gazettenet.com