Beatrice High School Science Club’s Spring Sale Brings Greenery and Knowledge to the Community

The Beatrice High School science club is hosting its annual spring sale this week, with the event taking place in the school’s greenhouse. This project was initiated several years ago as a grant project by Dr. Joan Christen and has been managed by BHS teacher Paula Heinz for the past five years.

Heinz expressed her desire for her students to gain essential plant knowledge through this project, emphasizing that students are taught about plant structures and processes such as cells, transpiration, nutrients, and water requirements for photosynthesis. Her dual-credit botany class plays a crucial role in the success of this initiative, and she hopes to involve agricultural classes in the future.

The plants sold at the sale are ordered from plugs from commercial greenhouses since BHS holds a distributor’s license and does not develop its own plant varieties. The selection of plants is based on new and interesting varieties that are easy to care for. Heinz hopes that students will learn about plant care, greenhouse maintenance, and skills that could lead to careers in landscaping, plant science, genetics, gardening or lawn care.

The sale primarily features annual bedding plants with a few perennials included. These plants are suitable for pots and landscaped beds. The sale hours are Wednesday to Friday from 3:45-5 p.m., and Saturday from 9 a.m.-noon. Interested individuals are advised to park in the high school parking lot and enter through the front doors before proceeding past the main staircase to the back of the school where the greenhouse is located.

Overall, this event provides an opportunity for students to gain valuable knowledge while supporting their community by generating funds for science equipment purchases and scholarships for seniors planning on majoring in science in college.