Students Growing Renewable Veggies: The Willmar High School Greenhouse Project

West Central Minnesota has been the hub of much excitement with the beginning of the Youth Energy Summit (YES!) program, which engages teams of youth in action projects to literally put energy into our future.

Youth (grades 8-12) participate in four special events during the school year to learn about and discuss renewable energy, energy entrepreneurship, and energy economics. In their home communities, each team undertakes an energy action project of their choosing.

In Willmar, Minnesota, the high school YES! team took a particularly bold approach—fixing up an old greenhouse, heating it with renewable energy, and producing vegetables for their school and local food shelves.

At the two-day YES! program kick-off in 2007, teams brainstormed energy-saving ideas to be implemented in their communities. Willmar’s team came up with the idea of creating a community greenhouse to grow fresh out-of-season produce.

“Our ultimate plan for implementing a year-round greenhouse into Willmar’s community is to build the greenhouse on the Willmar Senior High School’s property and grow fresh produce for the local food shelf and public school food service,” explains Robert Palmer, a science teacher at Willmar High School, and the team coach for the project.

To get started, the team identified an existing greenhouse at the Minnesota West Technology Campus in Willmar that they could use to learn about greenhouses and growing food.

“This greenhouse is exceptional because it uses solar collectors to heat water that then heats the greenhouse. The unique set up here helped us identify new ways to design the new greenhouse to require fewer fossil fuels for heat,” says Palmer.

The water heated by the solar collectors and boiler is stored in a 250 gallon steel tank and distributed by an in-floor heat system. The ultimate goal of the project is to reduce energy use and greenhouse gas emissions, which the solar panels do.

A group of Austin Pakola Eagle Scouts put together a work crew and excavated the west wing to prepare for the in-floor heating system. This project was a perfect opportunity to get some hard labor done, while partnering with a local Scout group and educating people on solar thermal and sustainable agriculture. The design and materials for this system were donated by Empire Heating and Plumbing, a local company that is dedicated to sustainability.

The biomass boiler was installed by Aquatherm. “We are decreasing nonrenewable fossil fuel consumption for heating the existing greenhouse through our use of a hybrid heating system involving solar thermal panels and a biomass burner. We are also applying ash from the burner as a soil supplement,” says Palmer. “We have been able to collect local biomass from the Minnesota Valley Alfalfa Producers to burn alfalfa pellets, and the heater has been working well.”

Produce from the greenhouse was delivered to a variety of locations in the community. Much of the produce is going to the Kandiyohi County Food Systems and Foodshelf, which provides local connections with producers and consumers. Additionally, the Food Service Farm to School program has allowed food grown in the greenhouse to be used in the school’s cafeteria.

“We are providing them with greens they typically do not have access to, such as arugula. If we compare our greens with lettuce typically purchased by the school district, the price paid is similar, but there is a dramatic difference in total food miles. Our salad greens traveled less than 2 miles after harvest, whereas the average head of lettuce would travel over 1,800 miles,” notes Palmer. Any leftover produce is sold at the Willmar Community Market, where the League of Women Voters sponsors a booth for the group.

When asked what he would recommend to other schools looking to do similar projects, Palmer responded, “I would encourage them to form collaborative partnerships with as many community groups and businesses as possible. Working with schools is a win-win situation because the students are gaining knowledge and skills while the project grows and develops more community connections, providing volunteer labor.”

For more information, contact Robert Palmer (Willmar High School) at palmer@willmar.k12.mn.us or Derek Otteson (Empire Plumbing and Heating) at doempire@hotmail.com.

Project Snapshot

• Purpose: To provide a hands-on educational experience in producing local foods and energy efficiency and renewable energy planning and implementation
• Technology: Local food production in an efficient solar-powered and biomass-heated greenhouse
• Project Leaders: Willmar Youth Energy Summit! Grades 8-12
• Grant: $10,000 in grants from WC CERT between 2007-2009
• Total Cost: $25,000

Video about this project from our recent documentary, ENERGIZED: Communities Building Minnesota’s Clean Energy Future, released November 2011.