From Seed to Salad: Upton High School Greenhouse Inspires Next Generation of Growers

When the bells rang to signal the start of the 2025 school year, Upton High School students could walk out of their classrooms and into a 24x48 greenhouse next door. 

Preparing, planting, growing, harvesting. The hands-on learning will embody an ongoing collaboration between Agricultural Sciences and General Science classes. 

It also represents Weston County School District #7’s (WSCD) commitment to embrace a personalized learning model to reimagine what a traditional classroom education looks like. 

“The greenhouse is just a little bit of what we do in terms of innovation. We allow students a lot of voice and choice in their learning,” said WCSD Superintendent Dr. Clark Coberly. “We guarantee every one of our graduates will be college, career, or military ready. There are a variety of ways to make a living, and we support them all.” 

Growing Interest

The greenhouse was made possible by a $50,000 Innovative Education Grant from the Wyoming Department of Education and monies from the WCSD’s general fund. 

Similar greenhouse projects have been sprouting up in school districts across the state, introducing students to the joy of getting their hands dirty.

It also encourages a thinking-outside-the-box approach to agriculture, the backbone of Weston County’s economy. Turbulent weather cycles in Wyoming mean an already short growing season can be cut even shorter. 

You never know when the first frost is coming in the spring or when the last one is coming in the fall. It could snow on Memorial Day. Not exactly a conducive environment for successfully teasing something out of the ground. 

The greenhouse removes those limitations by extending the growing season. It allows students to dig into agricultural practices year-round; fresh, hearty greens in the dead of winter, despite a few feet of snow covering the ground outside. 

Academics and Agriculture 

The greenhouse has become part of a normal school day and hums with after-school activities. Bringing textbook theories of science, math, and home economics to life. 

Whether flowering or food source, the greenhouse gives students a front-row seat to the importance of soil composition, hydroponics, aeroponics, and even composting. Challenges and successes. Hits and misses. At its very core, understanding that in agriculture, sometimes even your best takes a back seat to Mother Nature’s worst. But always, you try again. 

“In rural Wyoming, our kids probably have a better understanding of growing than kids in other areas. So it’s a natural fit for us to understand food sources. If kids don’t ranch, they know someone who does,” said Dr. Coberly. “It’s important to know it’s a natural process and you can be self-reliant, but also understand what those natural sources of food are.” 

It’s also hoped that the greenhouse will inspire the conversion of some self-proclaimed Veggie Haters. Thus far, it’s already created a buzz. 

“They’ve been chompin’ at the bit to get in and use it,” said Dr. Coberly. “And this is not just a one-time deal. The greenhouse is well built. We were pretty aggressive in selecting the type of model we put up, so it’s built to last. We look forward to students being able to use it for a number of years.”