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Early Bird Plant Sale is a “Blooming”
Success
Over
2500 flowering plants were sold during the Atwater
FFA “Early Bird” Plant Sale on October 18th
and 19th at the Atwater High School
Agriculture Department. The sale represented the
growing horticulture program where “hands-on”
student learning in the classroom resulted in nearly
$2000 in revenue that will help support the 2009
State Champion FFA Horticulture Team and their trip
to the FFA National Finals in late October.
“This
sale represented an early opportunity to provide our
community with flowering annuals and perennials that
were ready to plant,” said FFA advisor Dave Gossman,
“Our main Fall Plant Sale is scheduled for October 8th
and 9th where an additional variety of
student grown plants will be available to the
public.”
The
Atwater High School Agriculture program was recently
recognized by the California Nursery Growers and
Garden Center (CANGC) organization in becoming
California’s FIRST certified high school
horticulture program recognized by the CANGC. The
certification represents the quality of horticulture
program, curriculum and facilities, career awareness
by students in the horticulture industry, and
encourages students to continue their education
towards a career in horticulture. “People don’t
realize that the horticulture industry is a
multi-billion dollar industry in the state of
California”, said Gossman, “There are numerous
opportunities for students to be successful in this
field of agriculture.”
The
goal of the Atwater FFA is to expand and develop
plant products that meet the community’s needs and
interests. This school year students have been
taking part in horticulture class where they select
and grow their own plants to sell at the school’s
plant sales. Profits from their sales will go
towards expanding their projects and funding their
college education.
Mark
your calendars for October 8th and 9th
for the 4th annual Atwater FFA Plant
Sale. For specific plants information regarding
upcoming sale, please log onto the website
www.AtwaterFFA.org
.
Written By: Mekayla Coughran, Atwater FFA
September 2009 |
