Standing outside on the snowy ground Tuesday in front of the Cayuse Prairie School student body, special education paraprofessional Debbie Kauffman cut the ribbon to the $35,000 greenhouse that was made possible through grants and numerous donations by community members and businesses.

“It’s a magic moment to be in a greenhouse when it’s snowing outside,” Kauffman said. “The intent, the purpose and the goal of the greenhouse is to provide encouragement for learning in a visible and hands-on setting. It will be a place to stir up curiosity and wonder, ideas, hypotheses, observations, record keeping [and] responsibility.”

The idea for a school greenhouse originated with Kauffman, who also is a florist for Memories in Blossom. She had the idea brewing in her mind for about six years.

“I think it can provide job skills,” Kauffman said. “I think kids in special ed can eventually have jobs in greenhouses where they’re tending plants, helping with harvest or boxing up things. To me, a greenhouse is a place of wonder.”

She reached out to special education teacher Kathy Manley-Coburn, who began writing grants for the greenhouse project a year ago.

“We’re always trying to find meaningful ways to engage them and use their strengths and talents,” Manley-Coburn said.

A garden greenhouse committee was formed and members started to fundraise and the momentum caught on school- and community-wide.

What put the fundraising over the edge was $10,000 from Torrent Technologies, whose Chief Executive Officer Travis Pine is a former student.

Torrent Technologies Chief Operating Officer T.J. Johnston said the company became involved when her son Brandon Thornburg, a Cayuse Prairie substitute teacher who helped install the greenhouse, had called her up asking how to go about fundraising.

To see the seed of a dream come to fruition with so much community support was amazing, Principal Amy Piazzola said.

“You never know when a seed is going to be planted in someone’s mind,” Piazzola said to students during an assembly held before the ribbon-cutting ceremony. “If you hang onto your dreams you can make things happen whenever you want to if you’re willing to put the effort into it.”

After cutting the ribbon, students, staff and community members filed through the Riga greenhouse that features heated flooring for all-season use.

“School is in session spring, fall and winter, so we wanted it to be usable year-round,” Thornburg said.

In addition to growing plants to feature in the school salad bar, the greenhouse will become a classroom. Half of the greenhouse will be used for research and educational purposes and the other half will be dedicated to production, according to FoodCorps Service Member Whitney Pratt, who will assist the school with greenhouse and garden projects for the year.

Students from kindergarten through eighth grade shared with the community what greenhouse projects they will work on, including learning the parts of a plant, the plant life cycle, worm composting, soil chemistry and the greenhouse effect.

Pratt said they will grow a lot of greens, possibly cucumbers and cherry tomatoes for the salad bar.

“It’s proven kids eat much more fruits and vegetables and healthy food when they take part in growing it.”

Produce from the school garden planted in May has already been featured in the salad bar, Piazzola said, pointing across the way from the greenhouse.

“I think kids take more of a vested interest. It’s not just that this is a cucumber, but this is a cucumber that I helped plant and I helped harvest,” Piazzola said. “To see everybody take part in planting something last year and then they got to eat kale, a ton of cherry tomatoes and cucumbers in our salad bar and that’s what we wanted.”

In an age of instant gratification, Piazzola said the work that goes into planting, gardening and harvesting also teaches principles of perseverance, patience and dedication.

“I think those types of things give satisfaction and true joy and happiness in life,” Piazzola said.

Reporter Hilary Matheson may be reached at 758-4431 or by email at [email protected].