Award-winning South Harrison High FFA program opens greenhouse sales

“We’re here today at one of the high school greenhouses selling plants, watering them and working with customers as they stream into the greenhouse,” Woods said.

She was working hard early Saturday morning, making sure that the growing beds were clean and that shoppers would have a positive experience.

“We opened last Monday, but this is our first Saturday being open for the season. We are open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and on Saturday we are open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. We will be open until the end of the school year, unless our inventory is high. Then we’ll stay open until we sell as much as we can,” Woods said.

She said FFA has helped prepare her for the work world.

“I’ve participated in FFA competitions like CDE (Career Development Events) that help you get career ready in whatever field you want to work in,” she said.

Nursery landscaping is just about what someone would think it is: Learning through real-world experience which plants look best together and which plants will be long lasting and healthful for the environment, as well as learning about plants, invasive species and crop diseases that may take hold.

“I first took an ag (agriculture) class when I was a freshman here and they asked if I would take part in a competition because they thought I was smart,” Woods said. That is how she got into FFA and really taking it seriously as a potential career. “This got me into nursery landscape and I am looking forward to really teaching others how they can see landscaping differently from what they grew up with.”

John Lockhart is the agriculture instructor and advisor for South Harrison High School. He said the first week saw the group raise about $5,000. Last year, combined with its fall mums sale, the group took in about $25,000. After deducting overhead expenses, the remaining funds go towards supporting the program and helping to defray the cost of travel for the students and faculty to regional and state competitions.

Lockhart is in his fifth year at South Harrison and is excited about the FFA at the middle and high school in Lost Creek.

“We have a really great program and the administration and the school board have been very supportive of our program. We have won nine state titles in the last four years, with two in our nursery landscape program, three in the Farm Bureau State Quiz Bowl, one in livestock, and two in dairy cattle,” Lockhart said.

There are currently two traditional greenhouses, a hydroponic greenhouse, a brand new meat lab (for processing meat), and two workshops.

“The students do the animal processing on site and it is a start-of-the-art lab. We received a $100,000 grant through the Department of Education when COVID hit. We will have our commercial license starting this fall and we can then process animals for people in the area. We ask that any deer be skinned and tagged prior to dropping it off here for the students to process,” Lockhart said.

Besides learning great life skills and earning state and national recognition, FFA provides great opportunities to gain friends and enjoy the social aspects of teen-age years.

“I really like the friends and the family aspect of FFA,” Woods said. “I feel like I’ve grown really close with all of my teammates and I like the opportunity to work in the greenhouse. It’s prepared me to go into the world and start a job.”