By SHELLY STRAUTZ-SPRINGBORN
Michigan Correspondent

SIDNEY, Mich. — Growing plants in the Montcalm Area Career Center greenhouse is growing the minds of area teenagers.

Kevin Newell, an 18-year-old senior from Lakeview High School, is finishing his second year in the Career Center’s AgriScience program. He said the experience he has gained will help him as he pursues a Crop and Soil Science degree at Michigan State University in East Lansing this fall.

Newell grew up on a 400-cow dairy farm, which his family owns and operates near Trufant. “I like to do anything in agriculture and natural resources,” he said. “I really like doing crop work.”

During his time at the Career Center, he has focused on topics which will help him in his future studies.

“I have learned about crops, weed identification and pesticides. This year, I have gotten more in-depth in working with a lot of crops,” he said. “I am also learning about field irrigation.”

For a school project, Newell applied his knowledge of landscaping and plants to redesigning and implementing a landscaping project in the yard of his family’s home. In class, he enjoys working in the school’s greenhouse, where a special project of his is growing two coffee bean trees. He also takes pride in growing pineapple plants, a coconut tree and various other plants blossoming in the greenhouse.

The greenhouse is a living laboratory connected to the school’s AgriScience classroom and land lab. It provides students with a supervised environment in which to apply scientific knowledge and gain practical experience in plant biology, integrated pest management, soil science, biotechnology, plant propagation, botanic classification and greenhouse operations.

Built in 2006, the greenhouse was a dream for AgriScience Instructor Merry Kim Meyers.

“It took us 10 years to get the greenhouse,” said the teacher, who has been in this position for 11 years. “We pulled resources together from a lot of areas. When we started, we had grow lights from drug raids.”

In the greenhouse, Kara Zeigler and Laura Byrne busied themselves looking for leaves and flowers to fashion into corsages for an upcoming school event. Zeigler, a 19-year-old senior from Central Montcalm High School, is finishing her first year in the program.

“I wanted to learn more about what the process of growing plants is,” she said of her decision to attend the Career Center. “I have learned how to prune plants and what it really takes to have the right pH levels to grow plants.

“I would like to become a florist. I just love all of the different colors with the flowers. When you have a plant and watch it grow, it’s kind of like it’s yours – it makes you feel good. And, when people come into a flower shop, their faces light up.”

Byrne is a second-year student from Montabella High School. She enjoys working in the school’s greenhouse because “there are so many different shapes and smells and colors – it takes your mind off stuff. It also shows me what I can do for a career in the future.
“This experience has opened doors for me and I’m learning about opportunities that are available.”

Today, visitors wouldn’t know the obstacles the school’s program has overcome.

The classroom and greenhouse tell their own story.

As expected, tables and chairs are clustered neatly in close proximity to a dry erase board at the front of the class. But on the other side of the room, grow lights dangle from the ceiling, providing the heat and light needed for a variety of plants and trees to survive.

On the back counter, an electric skillet simmers with sap collected from maple trees near the school. Central Montcalm High School Senior Alex Williams skims foam off the sap. A second-year student, the 18-year-old became interested in the program because of his grandmother. “She has a farm and garden,” he said.

Williams, like other students in the class, was busy preparing for FFA Career Development Events coming up later this month at MSU.
Seth Wolfe, a 17-year-old junior from Fulton High School, spent much of the morning collecting sap. He came to the program because he plans to pursue a Beef Cattle Management degree at MSU.

“I want to own and operate a feedlot,” he said.

His family is building its cow-calf operation, due in large part to Seth’s aspirations. “I started with one steer,” he said. “My parents sold our camper and built a barn. This year, we have 13 cows calving, plus six more heifers to join the herd.”

He enjoys “the whole experience” at the Career Center, and especially appreciates having Meyers as an instructor.

Another counter is topped with displays about soils and pesticides. “We have soils from all over the country, so when we study soils we can use them for hands-on learning,” Meyers said. “One of my challenges is how to make a topic like soils exciting. I have to make it come alive for students.

“We don’t use the D-word (dirt) in class. If we do, we have to say soil five times,” she added, smiling.

“Our curriculum is aligned with all the science curriculum. My students can either go to college or get an entry-level job when they graduate. They have real skills – that is what we have to focus on.

“Agriculture is constantly changing,” Meyers said, adding that keeping up-to-date on opportunities with renewable energy and other cutting-edge technologies can be a challenge. “MSU extension helps me in a lot of ways. They offer great resources and what they do helps keep me going. We are really lucky to have them. My job is to prepare students for whatever is coming next.”