What looks at first glance like a simple storage container soon will be anything but, Iola High School Principal Scott Carson said Monday.
Carson told Iola City Council members the high school is converting the repurposed shipping container into a state-of-the-art hydroponic farm.
The 320-square-foot container has been provided to USD 257 by Leafy Green Farms of Pittsburg at no charge, with the intention of using it to grow up to 500 heads of lettuce each week, all year long.
The container is being held at 214 N. Colborn St., on the parking lot east of the high school.
With a few alterations, the environment inside the container can be controlled to allow for vegetation to grow 365 days a year, and will allow FFA students access to a controlled-environment agriculture system.
“It’s a state-of-of-the-art, indoor farm that our students can learn from, with lots of hands-on activities and business ideas,” Carson said. “We have lots of things planned out for this thing.”
But in order to create such a classroom, city action is needed, City Administrator Matt Rehder explained.
“We can’t just say, ‘Yeah, you can do this,’” Rehder said. “That’s why we had them come here and ask you” for a zoning variance.
The container also will need electric service, which should not be much of an issue, Assistant City Administrator Corey Schinstock added.
“We’ll have to set a pole and set the meter on the pole,” Schinstock said.
AMANDA Holman, ag instructor at Iola High, was joined by FFA students Blayke Folk and Camryn Wille, as they spoke about learning opportunities such a facility will offer.
“It was presented to us as an opportunity for growing lettuce, but I look at it as a learning tool for experiments also,” Holman said. “Why can’t someone say, ‘Hey, I want to try to grow a peach tree?’ Well, let’s try it, because sometimes the best learning comes from failing.”
Holman said the facility also could benefit IHS life skills and wellness and nutrition classes.
Chanute, Fort Scott, Uniontown and Crest schools have developed similar hydroponic farms, Holman said.
Folk explained she needs a supervised agricultural experience, a work-based learning project that lets students apply classroom agricultural knowledge in real-world settings.
“This would be a cool opportunity,” Folk said. “We’ve been talking about it for a long time, and everyone is really excited about it.”
