The Merlo Station Horticulture Program is flourishing in its fourth year of operation! In the past, the Program coordinator, Ryan Hossner, has applied for and received BEF funding for compost bins, water cisterns, and raised beds; this year, a group of highly motivated high school seniors has made a list of expansion projects and are seeking funding to support this growing operation.

Students created the list of expansion projects after 2 scouting trips: one to Pacific University's B Street Farm, and the other to BSD's Terra Nova program. Working with Terra Nova was especially encouraging to the participants, as they could see the benefits of community investment in sustainable, educational agriculture firsthand.

Support for this year's expansion will help 9th-12th grade students to

• Enlarge our current garden space by providing lumber and soil for additional raised beds to cultivate vegetables for families in our Continuing Education for Young Parents program ($500)
• Spruce up the CEYP playground, essentially creating a children's garden with added green space, edible plants, and a Willow tunnel ($200)
• Build trellises and other garden supports ($100)
• Improve our composting capabilities with the addition of rolling compost bins ($200)
• Complete our greenhouse irrigation system ($500)
• Begin incorporating aquaponics ($300)
• Replace, repair, and add to our collection of garden tools ($200)

The students designing and carrying out these projects are inspirational people: they look for ways to improve their community, and to take the lead of big projects. Please support them by contributing to our campaign!

Learning Goals

For Teaching team:

Northwest Ecology targets 08, 09 regarding inquiry process and engineering design; Writing targets 02, 04 regarding informative writing, writing process; scored using district rubrics.

For horticulture students:

Northwest Ecology targets 03, 04, 06 regarding energy, ecosystems, and biodiversity; scored using district rubrics.