Rocky Mountain Youth Corps Creates Greenhouse
for Chrysalis Alternative School
In an exciting pilot collaboration with the Chrysalis Alternative School and local organization, Agriculture Implementation, Research and Education (AIRE), an RMYC AmeriCorps Crew initiated a new project in the Fall of 2011. The goals of the project were to:
- expose local youth to traditional agricultural practices;
The new Grow Dome sits next to older greenhouse at Chrysalis Alternative School.
- create infrastructure to produce food for community consumption and economic development;
- train an RMYC Crew in Grow Dome construction.
The project centers on the installation of a 26 foot diameter geodesic greenhouse kit, a Grow Dome, designed by Growing Spaces® LLC out of Pagosa Springs, Colorado. The Grow Dome is sited at the Chrysalis School, and is specifically designed to flourish in harsh Rocky Mountain environments. It will serve as convening site for ongoing agricultural curriculum and production.
The partnership between the Chrysalis School, AIRE and RMYC combines the assets of each entity: RMYC’s Crew constructed the facility with the support of a licensed Growing Spaces
RMYC Americorps crew assembling Grow Dome at Chrysalis Alternative School.
contractor; AIRE manages the facility and develops the curriculum for student training, and the Chrysalis Alternative School implements the agricultural curriculum and the students’ support planting and harvesting in the Dome.
AIRE’s founder and Head Farmer, Miguel Santistevan is a Ph.D. candidate in biology at the University of New Mexico, in the Sustainable Studies program. Miguel believes that “the students at Chrysalis have embraced our hands-on program of agriculture that is taught from a foundation of science and mathematics. We look forward to taking note of temperature and climatic dynamics inside and outside of the dome to better understand our climate, climate change, and the effects on crop production.”
RMYC crew member learned the intricacies of greenhouse design and construction techniques. Most importantly, they took pride in building a resource for a local school. In addition to providing food for the school (the Dome can produce up to 800 pounds of food per year!) it is a warm, lush, nurturing environment for Chrysalis students to learn more about plants and food sustainability.
Outcomes to this pilot project are being evaluated, to assist RMYC adapt the project to best bolster communities’ food production capacity, youth agricultural education and awareness of the importance of local foods. This project receives support from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.
