EAGLE, Idaho — Spring is nearly here, and that means planning out gardens. At Eagle Academy, students are excited to do just that inside of their now-functioning greenhouse.
The structure had been sitting empty for several years until science teacher Erin Salisbury made it her goal to use it again.
"I just figured we have this awesome tool, so why don't we use it?" she said.
Salisbury spent a year coming up with a plan and the funds to bring life back inside of the greenhouse. She was awarded a grant through the CapEd Foundation.
"We bought new supplies and students are really excited about it," Salisbury said. "I'm just really excited for the next few weeks now that we have some nice weather and we can utilize the greenhouse. It's going to be fun."
Salisbury's students are using the greenhouse more and more. They're taking biology and forensics. Soon, the high schoolers will have the opportunity to take a botany class.
Salisbury said the lessons learned in the greenhouse go beyond figuring out how to nurture seeds into sprouts.
"I really see it as a good way to learn life skills: Responsibility, patience, and then a lot of science as well," she said. "At a mastery school like Eagle Academy, we're just trying to teach them the skills that come along with science and I think you can really do that learning to grow and how to make scientific investigations how you expect them to be."
If you would like to nominate a teacher who is going above and beyond, send us an email to innovativeeducator@ktvb.com. Educators, for more information on submitting an application for a classroom grant through the Idaho CapEd Foundation, visit www.capedfoundation.org.
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