Munster High School has received a $2,000 school garden grant from the Whole-Kids Foundation and a $4,000 grant from the North Central Region Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (NCSARE) organization. Both grants are in support of Munster High School’s STEM initiative called project GREEN. Project GREEN, which stands for Growing and Rewarding Educational Endeavors Naturally, is a 3-5 year interdisciplinary project engaging students in, hands on, experiential learning activities through the creation of a 21st century school garden and orchard.
Teachers and students from a variety of departments are working together to create 2 distinct garden spaces within the interior courtyards of the school. The first garden space is located in the North courtyard which houses the school’s greenhouse. Students have begun to plant vegetables from seed in the greenhouse and they will then transplant them into one of three raised beds that were also built by students. The larger Central courtyard will soon be home to a student designed and created orchard.
The next phase of the project focuses on our students designing and building an automated watering system, crafting a menu based on our local produce, and hosting a community dinner at the High School in the fall of 2019. The combination of these grants will allow MHS to purchase tools and equipment to build a Farming robot in its North Courtyard and to purchase supplies for the eventual sale and display of the produce grown in the MHS garden and orchard. Munster High School wishes to thank both the Whole Kids foundation and the NCSARE organizations for their generous support of project GREEN.