"Green Team" Growing Veggies and Fruits at Effingham, IL High School

"Green Team" Growing Veggies and Fruits at Effingham, IL High School

Published on September 29 2017
Written by Greg Sapp

(AVERY LUEKEN DISPLAYS ONE OF THE STRAWBERRY PLANTS BEING GROWN)

Effingham, IL High School's Biology Club, or "Green Team", is busy at work trying to grow a variety of plants as a food source. They are using hydroponics, meaning they are being grown in water, not in soil.

EHS got its first Plant Tower last school year. The program has expanded this year to several Unit 40 buildings..10 at EHS, two at the junior high building, and one each at Central and at South Side.

Three members of the Biology Club...Avery Lueken, Cecelia Castillo and Katie Vahling...were on hand to make a presentation on the project at this week's Effingham Unit 40 School Board meeting, along with EHS instructors Gena McDonald and Melissa Habing.

(FROM LEFT, EHS TEACHERS MELISSA HABING AND GENA McDONALD AND STUDENTS KATIE VAHLING, CECELIA CASTILLO AND AVERY LUEKEN)

Last year, the lettuce grown with the plant tower was sufficient to be used on the salad bar during the lunch hour at EHS. This year, the classes are looking at growing cilantro, basil, sage, banana peppers, bell peppers and hopefully strawberries.

(THE PLANT TOWER CONTAINING STRAWBERRY PLANTS ON DISPLAY AT THE UNIT 40 BOARD MEETING THIS WEEK)

As far as the towers, some assembly is required, but Habing said students watch a video and had one unit put together within 20 minutes.