A34-Umc»»tef Farming, Saturday, May 17, 1997
Hershey School’s New Hort Center Reveals Ag Program’s Diversity
ANDY ANDREWS
Lancaster Farming Staff .
HERSHEY (Dauphin Co.)
Some of the best programs at the
Milton Hershey School just got
better.
A short time ago, members of
the school student body, staff,
alumni, and board representatives
broke ground on a 18,250 square
foot horticulture building on the
Milton Hershey School (MHS)
campus.
“With this new horticulture cen
ter, hands-on activity will come to
life.” said Marcia W. Paterson,
director of the school’s Agricultur
al and Environmental Education
(AEE) program. 1
The school’s trademark
hands-on educational experience
offered through “real world” pro
jects that has proven so effective
for thousands of school graduates
will be emphasized using some
of the latest technology and tech
niques at the center.
The new building is situated on
131 acres on Meadow Lane just
north of Rt. 322. The center is one
of four MHS AEE centers sche
duled for renovation or new con
struction, according to the school’s
five-year strategic plan.
The horticultural center will be
one of the four centers to serve the
approximately 1,100 students
enrolled at MHS, according to
Paterson.
The center, designed by St
Ruff and Associates, will
Terry Donaher hi is v ig at the >.
School’s dairy and food processing center.
Perspective sketch of the new Milton Hershey School horticulture center on Mea
dow Lane north of Rt. 322.
include compartmentalized green
house projects matched to the
appropriate student age and grade
levels, according to Warren H.
Hitz, associate director, AEE.
Construction is being managed by
Reynolds Construction at a cost of
about $2 million.
Three separate greenhouses on
cement floors each measure 100
feet long by 24 feet wide and are
spaced 20 feet apart. The green
house environment will be com
pletely controlled by computer.
The greenhouses will be enclosed
by clear lexan, said Hitz.
One section of the center, the
greenhouses, will include six com
pletely separate zones. Elementary
school children will be introduced
to the greenhouse environment
with several “beginner” projects.
In another, high school students
will study the control of green
house lighting. They will also exa
mine benching processes, includ
ing ebb and flow and roller
benching.
According to Hitz, students will
examine tropical plants and foliage
systems. Still another will examine
aquaculture and hydroponics
projects.
A headhouse runs the full length
at the end of each greenhouse.
The north section will include
the AEE office, conference rooms,
and administrative offices, includ
ing horticultural staff and faculty.
Research and graduate program
offices are part of this segment.
Milton Hershey School
Agricultural and Environmental Education Program
Horticulture Center
Ground Breaking Spring 1997
From left, jul Clark, MHSdL ir of office v .eject management and Derry Town
ship supervisor; Marcia Paterson, MHS director, Agriculture and Environmental Edu
cation program; Christopher Rand, MHS FFA president and Senior Hall Student; Dr.
William L. Lepley, MHS president and CEO; and William H. Alexander, MHS board of
managers chair.
The middle part of the complex
will include a laboratory area with
a walk-in refrigerator and refriger
ated display cases. Also included
will be a plant tissue culture labor
atory. On the side will be a resour
ce room with computers and a
research library. The computers
will have access to the Internet.
The conference room would be
able to accommodate 50 people.
Hitz indicated that studies will
include integrated pest manage
ment in a greenhouse environ
ment. The entire center is designed
with an "open architecture" to
accommodate projected student
needs.
The “student-driven” design
forms the basis of the hands-on
concept of Hershey’s AEE prog
ram, according to Hitz. “AU the
office space can be redesigned and
reconfigured,” he said. “The entire
greenhouse is computer con
trolled, including the environment,
the lighting, and other items.”
The AEE plan is to combine the
educational aspects of the school
with the hands-on production
approach to the school’s philoso
phy. “We had to meld those
together,” Hitz said. What plan
ners came up with was a green
house center that will adapt to the
projects of the students.
“We think in terms of the educa
tional value in each square foot of
space we have,” said Hitz.
Scott Seibert, instructional
adviser, will be manager of the
new center when it opens at the
beginning of the 1997-1998 school
year in September. A school-wide
celebration will mark the grand
opening, according to Milton Her
shey School officials,
the recent
Milton Hershey School students Brent Frick, left, and
Amanda Estep work part-time after school at the school’s
dairy and center as part of the
Agricultural and Environmental Education program. Mp
dents as productive citizens in the
21st century,” she wrote in the
SepL/OcL 1996 issue of The Agri
cultural Education Magazine.
“AEE links to the future by show
ing students the relationship agri
culture and the environment have
on life in general an in various
career opportunities.”
At the center, projects include
Emit and vegetable trials, specialty
gardens, and a deciduous tree
nursery. Other centers include the
environmental center, located on
85 acres that include environmen
tal landscaping and stream bank
(Turn to Pago A 35)
ing ceremony, MHS President and
CEO Dr. William L. Lepley said,
“The. new horticulture center
serves as an excellent example of
Milton Hershey School hand
related resources, enabling the
nurturing and education of today’s
children while incorporating the
school’s best traditions such as
our agricultural heritage, work eth
ic, and educational values.”
According to Marcia Paterson,
AEE director, die center is one of
four centers to provide “a bridge
between the school’s history and
the future development of our stu-
indbrcak-
The center, designed by St. Onge, Ruff and Associates,
will Include compartmentalised greenhouse projects
matched to the appropriate student age and grade levels,
according to Warren H. Hits, associate director. AEE. Hits
reviews the center’s floor plans.