Lamar High School Greenhouse
Lamar, AR

With so many fun and hands-on opportunities for learning, agricultural education gets high marks with students at Lamar High School in Lamar, Arkansas. In fact, about 25% of students at the school are members of the National FFA Organization.

The construction of a new greenhouse in Spring 2009 by FFA volunteers—with financial assistance from Campbell Soup Company—gave these students even more chances to take their studies to the next level. Through the school's PALS (Partners in Active Learning Support) program, a mentoring program developed by FFA, the high school students worked closely with kindergarteners to experience firsthand how vegetables evolve from seeds by planting tomatoes, potatoes and green beans. The students also created a composting station to help nurture the growing plants.

To bring the lesson full circle, the students even cooked a delicious vegetable soup with some of the produce from the greenhouse. As these plants continue to thrive, the students hope to harvest more crops and sell them throughout the year to raise funds for future projects—ensuring that new learning opportunities keep growing year-round!

The FFA chapter involved in helping to set up
this greenhouse is: Lamar High School