Oak Hills Elementary captures grants to construct a greenhouse on its Oak Park campus

Acorn Staff Writer


LEARNING- Principal  Tony Knight  teaches students  at Oak Hills  Elementary  School key drafting  points before the  students start work on a new   greenhouse  to be  constructed  in Oak Park. Grants given by the California State Consumer Agency funded the project for a total of $6,000. And many others have helped to  make this project  possible.

LEARNING- Principal Tony Knight teaches students at Oak Hills Elementary School key drafting points before the students start work on a new greenhouse to be constructed in Oak Park. Grants given by the California State Consumer Agency funded the project for a total of $6,000. And many others have helped to make this project possible.

Oak Hills Elementary captures grants to construct a greenhouse on its

Oak Park campus

Oak Hills Elementary School just received two grants from the California State Consumer Agency linked for a total of $6,000 and will build a 10 x 20-foot greenhouse for future students. The school also received previously a University of California Hansen Trust grant for $750 to fund hydroponics equipment to grow plants without soil, using water only.


The greenhouse is currently being manufactured in England, according to Oak Hills Principal Tony Knight, and will be delivered in early March. In addition to the structure, a Peter Rabbit garden will also be constructed around the greenhouse for the younger students to use after reading the classic tale "Peter Rabbit."


The Peter Rabbit garden will exhibit all the same plants referred to in the story. The school, Knight said, is still seeking other sources of funding for the garden.


Both the garden and the greenhouse will be organic, Knight said. And they’ll be located adjacent the lunch area "so students will be able to eat and enjoy the area on a daily basis," he said.


"I am currently working with seven Open GATE students in grade five to do the landscape design. We are studying the design concepts of the 17th Century landscape master, Capability Brown, and will be designing in his style. This style calls for a natural approach to the landscape that replicates nature," Knight said.


The greenhouse and garden, he said, will be a demonstration project of the Royal Horticulture Society (RHS) in the U.K., which was founded in 1804.


"The RHS wants to profile the project in their newsletter, (reaching more than 1,000 schools worldwide) to schools who also have gardens," Knight said. "They granted us a membership in the RHS. We are the only school in the U.S. to be granted an RHS membership," he said.


"The driving force behind the (greenhouse and garden)," Knight said, "is the district science standards that in every grade level (kindergarten) through five, calls for work related to plants and horticulture. The life science strands of the standards tend to have young students work with plants to learn about the structures and complexity of all life. Currently, many teachers have plant projects crowded into parts of their classrooms throughout the year. The greenhouse and gardens will allow these projects to be completed more easily and accurately as well as allow for more complex projects to be developed."


But Knight said the new addition to the school will be more than just an educational experience. "We want our students to be able to enjoy the artistic aspects as well," he said.


Knight expects the project to be completed in April or May. But as Walt Disney said about Disneyland, Knight similarly said the greenhouse and garden would always be a work in progress—as long as there’s creativity and passion left in the world, the project will continue to grow through the next generations, he said.


Oak Hills is looking for donors who can provide fencing materials, natural stone and labor to remove turf and re-route irrigation. Those interested can call (818) 707-4224.




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