Editor’s note: I, Raleigh Burleigh, was a student at Roaring Fork High School and in its inaugural agriculture-biology class in 2011. The experience gave me a connection with several local elders in sustainability, as well as a greater appreciation for the wisdom of plants.
In the year 2010, Roaring Fork High School (RFHS) — with assistance from local nonprofits Fat City Farmers and Central Rocky Mountain Permaculture Institute (CRMPI) — welcomed the installation of a new 42-foot diameter “grow dome” greenhouse on campus. This was just a few years after the new high school was built along Highway 133. Yampah Mountain High School paved the way, completing their own grow dome in 2009.
Making use of “climate battery” technology, circulating sun-warmed air via underground pipes, the dome maintains year-round growing conditions without the use of fossil fuels. Eco Systems Designs provided the blueprint, modeled after successes at CRMPI, including the presence of a fig and pomegranate tree.
Illène Pevec, then a University of Colorado PhD candidate, arranged an AmeriCorps program on the site, earning student-interns money toward college along with real-world work experience. Her interviews with students at RFHS, Yampah, Colorado Rocky Mountain School and others resulted in a book: “Growing a Life: Teen Gardeners Harvest Food, Health, and Joy.”
RFHS science educator Hadley Hentschel used the dome for an agriculture-biology class which welcomed local experts to teach about the pitfalls of our industrial food system and potential solutions. With the addition of outdoor growing beds and fruit trees surrounding the dome, students were soon producing food to be used by the school cafeteria for more nutritious meals. In 2014, the project received a visit from Janey Thornton, then an undersecretary for the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
“The mental health aspect of it for kids is enormous,” Pevec commented. “They have time outside, touching the Earth, watching things growing, feeling empowered by what they do. They can see the results of what they’re doing; they work with adults who are in a mentorship relationship with them.”
Gradually, the gardens fell into decline and that program was put on pause. With Hadley now teaching at Carbondale Middle School, RFHS principal Lindsay Hentschel (also Hadley’s wife) is working with RFHS science teacher Megan Ravenscraft to revive the gardens with help from volunteers and the Garfield County CSU Extension. At a Feb. 6 planning meeting, Lindsay attributed the current state of affairs to responsibility falling on individuals, rather than a system. Also, with so much work to be done during the summer months, when students are out of session, it was a losing battle with the weeds.
Nonetheless, “Where else can one be part of a community garden with a greenhouse harboring a year-round Mediterranean climate, complete with a mature and productive fig tree and kiwi vines?” Michael Thompson, an architect who first brought the dome to fruition, mused. “Where else to harvest plenty of pears, apples, apricots and plums in the first year, on mature trees outside?”
Efforts are already underway to rebuild the raised bed soil in the greenhouse, replace the climate battery fans, build a new irrigation system indoors and outdoors, repair the dome roof vents, retape the polycarbonate glazing panels on the outside and replace the insulation in the north side.
This group hopes the community will get engaged as they see fit. There’s even a set-up for keeping bees — complete with an electric fence — that is currently unused, Pevec noted, if any community member desired to take that aspect on. Additional improvements will include a shade structure and benches. There’s also a hoop house on the property in need of a new skin and end walls. Roaring Fork Outdoor Volunteers is already actively hosting projects on the site.
Eventually, the group would like to have an accessible sensory garden planted, to compliment all the other features. Mariah Foley works for the CSU Extension and lives at the new Meadowood teacher housing nearby, thanks to her husband working for the school district. She is optimistic about getting other members of that housing development involved. Lindsay called her presence “a perfect miracle.”
“It can be a really amazing space,” Lindsay said. “There’s no reason that only one class needs to use it. There should be potential for English classes to go out and have writing time, art classes to paint flowers. [Woodshop teacher] Mr. Black wants to build benches and things to go out there.”
RFHS parent Karen Crownhart has also come forth to help shape up the irrigation system and outdoor gardens. She sits on an advisory committee meeting regularly to secure funding and keep projects on track.
“My hope is that with an advisory committee, even if certain individuals leave, because it’s a standing committee, other people would join,” remarked Lindsay. Those interested in joining the committee, or lending a hand (or heavy machinery), can contact lhentschel@rfschools.com
Specifically, a contractor is sought to 1) help bury an electrical line and 2) dig a trench and tap into the water main, ideally this summer into early fall.
Keep an eye out for future volunteer opportunities, including a tour of the property on June 23. Community members are invited to lend a hand anytime from noon to 5:30pm followed by a focused interest meeting and a potluck. The grow dome is located on the east side of the RFHS building. Questions? Contact the garden coordinator at mariah.foley@colostate.edu
