4C greenhouse will nurture sustenance, knowledge in Dougherty County

Dec. 25—ALBANY — Like the roots of a healthy plant, the foundation of the coming hydroponics greenhouse at the Commodore Conyers College and Career Academy (4C Academy) stretches deep into the earth.

At the moment, about the only evidence of the 5,800-square-foot greenhouse is the protruding portion of the foundation at the site behind the campus on Newton Road. But the prefabricated structure is completed and will soon arrive.

Megan Verner, 4C's agribusiness instructor, joked that the foundation walls, buried in the ground, are taller than she is, and the source of nutrients for the facility also will be buried deeply.

The underground tanks will provide all of the water and substances the indoor plants will need to thrive.

"The hard part is pretty much done," 4C CEO Chris Hatcher said. "The greenhouse is sitting, waiting to be installed. We're looking at March.

"This will be a temperature-controlled environment, with controlled nutrients."

The hydroponics facility isn't just a make-work project for students, who have helped grow the project from the ground up, including the design and construction of fully automated systems that will plant, water and monitor the plants. It will offer them the chance to plan, budget and manage the growing of crops and their distribution.

Plans are to provide healthy vegetables for the Dougherty County School System's cafeterias. And through a partnership with Feeding the Valley Food Bank, which serves southwest Georgia, the fruits and vegetables grown could help address food deserts in the community.

"One side is (for) leafy greens," Hatcher said. "One side is for vine crops like cucumbers, tomatoes, strawberries or peppers. We'll determine what to grow based on needs."

In addition to the technology lessons learned, the greenhouse will offer business experience for students for years to come.

"I think the thing that's what's really exciting, besides getting the fresh vegetables into the community, is that my students are going to learn business, a real, tangible business that they work in," Verner said. "I feel like sometimes in schools you feel like you're doing assignments just to do assignments. With this, you're doing real-world work."

The instruction at the 4C Academy is very hands-on, from construction to robotics to culinary arts and video production, so the greenhouse will continue that tradition.

Several years ago, with the help of Flint River Fresh, the students built an outdoor garden whose produce has been distributed to community members in need of fresh vegetables. But the greenhouse will bring production to an industrial scale.

It also will help build resumes for students for the future, Verner said.

"They'll be able to say 'I did QuickBooks at 4C," she said. "These are tangible, real-life skills. There's definitely a whole technology pod in this."

The education opportunities include science, technology, mathematics and entrepreneurship, as well, Hatcher said.