Center Receives Greenhouse Grant: An Opportunity for Growing Together
The Betsy B. Currin Child Development Center at Nash Community College has been granted funds provided by the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina Foundation to build a greenhouse, set to be located in close proximity to the Center on campus.
The College’s grant proposal titles the greenhouse project “Increasing Children’s and Students’ Year-Round Access to Physical Activity and Healthy Food.” The purpose of the grant is to educate the younger generation on the importance of sustainable, nutritious horticultural practices and benefits of outdoor extra-curricular activities. This need is exposed by Nash and Edgecombe County statistics that place 29 percent of children in an overweight or obese category before kindergarten. Serving 42 children per year, the Child Development Center faculty and staff welcome the opportunity the greenhouse grant creates to provide children with at least an extra hour of outdoor time each week and knowledge of food cultivation. The establishment of a greenhouse affords the Center classes the ability to add content pertaining to plant systems, relationships between insects and plants, garden-to-table nutrition, seasons, weather, growth cycles and much more to future lesson plans. “We are excited to have this opportunity to expose the children to the greenhouse and all the amazing experiences they will have in learning how to grow their own food and live healthy lifestyles,” shared Angela Nieves, Nash Community College Director of the Child Development Center.
The Child Development Center classes are not the only group on campus set to benefit from the granted greenhouse. Early Childhood Education college students will use the horticultural structure for observations, lesson planning and exploration activities. Nash Community College Early Childhood Education Instructor, Sarah Prezioso said, “The program is looking forward to utilizing the greenhouse for projects for students to complete with children in several courses. This will be a great opportunity to continue to collaborate with the Child Development Center.”
Culinary course curriculum will also be enhanced with the construction of the greenhouse, which will aid in expanding understanding in horticultural, farm-to-table, microgreens and specialty crop coursework. Harvested produce is sure to make its way to the cuisine produced by the College’s Culinary Department, as well as be used to provide the Child Development Center classes’ mini gardeners with snacks and take-home goods for parents.
With approval of the greenhouse grant received, construction is anticipated to begin in the coming months. Project partners, the Down East Partnership for Children and Natural Learning Initiatives, in conjunction with project leader, Nash Community College Culinary, Horticulture and Physical Fitness Instructor, Ken White are building the opportunity for children and nature to grow together.
