Northeast Elementary School receives grant for greenhouse
Northeast Elementary received a GO Grant to create a greenhouse and garden beds, to help their students understand the food chain process and learn about ecosystems in a hands-on environment. Representative Chris Humphrey, Senator Jim Perry, Northeast Elementary principal Rashard Curmon, Board of Education chairman Keith King, Lenoir County Public Schools Assistant Superintendent Nicholas Harvey III and LCPS Associate Superintendent Francis Herring were in attendance to congratulate Northeast Elementary teacher Rubi Blancas Orduna on obtaining the grant.
GO Grants are $250 to $15,000 grants that will be provided to access field study locations and assist with other expenditures that result from taking students outdoors or to build outdoor classrooms. The GO Grants are awarded by the North Carolina Outdoor Heritage Trust Fund for Youth Outdoor Heritage Promotion which is administered by the North Carolina Outdoor Heritage Advisory Council.
“It was an honor to meet Mrs. Blancas and inform her of the grant award,” said Humphrey. “Senator Perry and I have been able to share the good news of many of these grants on behalf of the NC Outdoor Heritage Trust Fund for Youth Outdoor Heritage Promotion. You could easily tell that Mrs. Blancas has a passion for her students and we are honored to present her and her students an opportunity to better understand the food chain process and learn about ecosystems with this grant through the generosity of the Outdoor Heritage Trust Fund,” said Humphrey.
The North Carolina Schools GO Outside Grant funded Northeast Elementary in Lenoir County the amount of $14,650.32 for a greenhouse, beds, gardens and equipment. This project will benefit a total of 28 classes with 522 students from grades K-5.
“Math and science tend to be theoretical and sometimes abstract for students to understand. Different research shows that greenhouse and gardening activities outdoors are a great step to encourage the understanding of ecosystems’ processes,” said Northeast Elementary teacher Rubi Blancas Orduna.
Taking the learning process outdoors is an activity encouraged by staff and students. The main objectives of this project are to:
Promote STEM, Art and Social Studies activities.
Promote healthy lifestyles
Promote environment protection
Promote school- community engagement activities
Promote significant knowledge useful for the future of our students related to sustainable energy, climate impact, economy, and food chains.
Promote teamwork, responsibility, and self esteem
“Students’ hands-on experience directly impacts their learning process, it improves their academic scores because they can engage in the learning process rather than just see or listen to them,” said Orduna. “Gardening is also correlated with healthier eating habits and lower rates of stress and obesity.”
The Northeast Elementary project will seek to partner with the Kinston community. Northeast Elementary hopes to partner with local farmers and gardens that can help then to grow their project with their ideas and expertise.
“We seek to have both the greenhouse and gardens functional for spring 2021. Some outdoor activities that are to be incorporated into lesson plans are planting vegetables, fruits and flowers, different forms of watering and irrigation, composting, recycling, mulching, weeding and replanting,” said Orduna. “Additional craft art activities will add up by using harvested products such as plants and flowers.”
