FALLS VILLAGE — Bruce Bennett, chair of the Agricultural Science and Technology Education (ASTE) advisory board at Housatonic Valley Regional High School, updated the Region One Board of Education on activities at the Land Lab during its monthly meeting Monday, Sept. 14.
The Land Lab occupies two acres leased from Eversource north of the HVRHS campus on Warren Turnpike.
“It’s a hands-on experience in agriculture education,” Bennett said. “It’s no different than a chemistry lab or a physics lab.”
Students, staff and community volunteers have been working on the property for about 18 months. In that time, an outdoor classroom has been built, and garden beds have been installed and fenced in.
Bennett said the site contained remnants of old houses and barns and was considerably overgrown in places. Students did most of the clearing work.
The site also has, or is slated to have, a rain garden, a pollinator garden and a research garden, along with fruit trees, berries and apiaries. The lab has a solar-powered irrigation system.
Bennett thanked Laurelbrook Farm in North Canaan, Cream Hill Farm in Cornwall, Falls Village Sawmill and Matt’s Landscaping in Falls Village for contributing materials and expertise.
“So it’s been a real community effort,” Bennett said.
In other business, HVRHS Principal Ian Strever reported that the Class of 2030 has 81 members, bringing total enrollment at the high school to 313.
Strever also said the Capstone program, a graduation requirement for HVRHS seniors, has been modified to better publicize students’ project presentations and encourage community interest and involvement.
The final six weeks of the revised schedule are called “Portfolio Synthesis and Public Exhibition.”
Strever likened the exhibition to a science fair, where students present and defend their projects before judges and the public.
