Students use solar power to continue gardening projects

Students use solar power to continue gardening projects

Fall time may be here, and while many gardeners are hanging up their their sheers and spades, middle school students at Ellis School are just now planting a crop of lettuce seeds that, thanks to solar energy, will be harvested in the dead of winter, the Union Leader reports.
According to the news source, the school's educational greenhouse program will soon use a solar hot water system to keep the plants warm throughout the frigid New Hampshire winter. The program, which began last year, has been helped by a host of volunteers and generous contributions, including a $5,00 grant from Lowe's "Toolbox for Education" fund program.
"There are so many different lessons this can give to the students," said Jen Rydeen, vice president of the school’s Parent-Teacher Association.
The school sought the help of the Seacoast Area Renewable Energy Initiative to install the solar system, and also recruited skilled and knowledgeable volunteers to help with the process, the media outlet stated.
New Hampshire and the Northeast as a whole are reporting more widespread use of solar technologies, which has been attributed to the many rebate and incentive programs that are available in several states, including Maine and Connecticut.