As part of the legacy of the Village’s 125th anniversary celebration, the Quasquicentennial Committee has invested over $5,000 in renovating an unused greenhouse at Miner School in Arlington Heights. The gift of the renovated greenhouse will engage students in an educational and enriching experience.
Being true to its theme of “Honor the Past, Celebrate the Present and Explore the Future,” the Quasquicentennial Committee believes its gift to Miner School will forge a “homegrown” bond between students and the community through the planting of vegetables and flowers.
Over the past several months, Quasquicentennial Committee member, Jim Platt, has worked with school officials, Arlington Heights Memorial Library, volunteers, students and master gardeners of the Arlington Heights Garden Club to bring the greenhouse back to life and develop a program for planting, growing and harvesting.
School leaders have been instrumental in keeping the Greenhouse project moving forward as well as garnering support from the Northwest Suburban Special Education Foundation. Miner School is a school that offers special education programming and services for students with disabilities.
The collective hard work of the school officials and all of the volunteers has resulted in Miner School’s first harvest that will be collected and donated to the Wheeling Township Food Pantry for families to use in their upcoming holiday meals. Students will also enjoy some of the vegetables grown in the greenhouse.
The restored greenhouse now has lime stone walkways and elevated garden beds to provide the perfect growing environment for future crops. Miner school joins several Arlington Heights District 25 schools that have gardens on school property, which provide students the educational opportunity to experience “green living.” As with the Miner School greenhouse, students also learn the importance of healthy eating.
The funding provided by the Village’s Quasquicentennial Committee, which came from proceeds of the sale of 125th Anniversary memorabilia, enables Miner School to keep the gardening program sustainable, giving future generations of students the gift of exploring an interest in planting and harvesting.
Students involved in this program will be in the process of transitioning from post high school to the adult world. Forming new interest areas, interacting with the community and learning new skills will provide students with what they need to explore new opportunities.
The Miner School’s greenhouse will stand as a symbol of the Arlington Heights Quasquicentennial’s legacy.
Get updates from The Cardinal ALL NEWS FEEDS on Facebook. Just ‘LIKE’ the ‘Arlington Cardinal Page (become a fan of our page). The updates cover all posts and sub-category posts from The Cardinal — Arlingtoncardinal.com. You can also limit feeds to specific categories. See all of The Cardinal Facebook fan pages at Arlingtoncardinal.com/about/facebook …