HOULTON, Maine — Ever since she was young, Brittany Fitzpatrick has been interested in gardening.
The 15-year-old said Monday that she has planted flowers with her mother in their garden, and once asked her to buy her strawberry plants so that she could try and get them to grow behind their garage.
“It was pretty successful,” she said of the strawberries. “But the birds kept getting into them.”
Gardening and the science behind it remains so interesting to her that when she enrolled in her sophomore year at Houlton High School last month, Fitzpatrick signed up for the Breaking Ground course.
The agricultural program began in the fall of 2013 and teaches students about growing techniques, identifying species of plants, crop rotation, and planting seeds. The youngsters in the program work in the district’s greenhouse and also participate in community service projects.
Shelly Bouchard, who has been the instructor for the course since the start, said she has seen student interest in the course and the work grow, as well at the desire to bring lessons learned into their homes.
“As students who have taken the class before see how interesting it is and that we spend nearly every day outside really doing hands-on work, they are signing up for it a second year and bringing their friends,” she said. “Not only that, they are going home and starting their own gardens, even if it is on their own window sill. Another focus of our course is on making home remedies, such as herbal teas and using garlic for such things as helping an ear infection. We have made our own toothpaste, so I have had students tell me they have continued to do that.”
Emily Roy said she has become deeply interested in gardening and homeopathic remedies as a result of what she has learned in Breaking Ground. The 15-year-old sophomore is enrolled in the course for the second year, and has used her knowledge to help others.
“I showed my grandfather how to can his own vegetables,” she said. “I also showed him how to save some of the seeds from his vegetable garden, such as his green bean seeds, so that he would not have to buy new seeds next year. It was really great to help him do that and save a little bit of money, and it was also neat to put what I have learned into practical use.”
She also has a small garden of her own, in which she planted carrots, onions, and garlic. Roy said she also enjoys working in the greenhouse that was constructed in September 2013 on property behind the school with the help of grant funding. Some of the vegetables grown in it go to the cafeteria staff, who use the produce to make salads, soups and stews, she said.
Bouchard said that some of the fare also is sold to The Vault Restaurant and The Courtyard Cafe, both located in Houlton.
Fitzpatrick said she has found the class “inspiring” and next year hopefully plans to grow a larger garden of her own.
“It really is interesting to learn about all the things that can impact whether a crop grows,” she said.
