By Lisa Emerson, Parent Volunteer
Background
George Washington High School has a wonderful greenhouse that was originally built in the early 1960s, around the time that the school was built.  At 1,024 square feet, it is a good size and is attached to the building outside the science rooms in the lower level of the south wing.  Hail and age have left the polycarbonate roof with holes, dirt and mold, affecting the light transmission, temperature, and overall growing quality of the space.  The temperature is difficult to regulate – it’s too cold in the winter and too warm in the spring, summer and fall.  A group of students came together to lay the groundwork to restore the greenhouse, and they have made impressive strides towards bringing the old greenhouse back to life. 
Currently, GW students use the greenhouse during the short season that it is functional to start vegetable seeds and transplant seedlings.  Some of these seedlings are sold in the annual plant sale, and some are planted in the student plots of the community garden.  In the fall, students harvest vegetables for the school cafeteria through the DPS Garden to Cafeteria Program, and for the George Food Pantry to help school families. 
Funding
Through hard work and a great application, the students won a $24,750 award through the Climate Champions Grant, offered by Denver Public Schools (DPS) Sustainability Team and Denver’s Office of Climate Action, Sustainability & Resiliency (CASR).  Students have also raised approximately $10,000 through plant and veggie sales over the past 6 years.  These combined funds are slated to go towards improving the cooling systems and repairing the walls.  
Cooling
Upgrading the cooling systems includes adding a MicroCool Fogger system, fans, and vents.  The fogger system is a sophisticated evaporative cooling system that will also raise the humidity in the greenhouse, improving the growing environment year-round.  The venting solution involves automating an existing side-wall vent that runs the length of the building to open as temperatures warm.  This vent, in conjunction with an existing roof vent and fans, will provide excellent passive cooling to the space. 
The Greenhouse Committee has received 2 bids from qualified contractors and has found that it needs to raise additional funding to pay for the fogging system.  A Colorado Gives Fundraising Campaign has been established for anyone who is interested in supporting this effort.  Any amount helps, can the students count on your support?  The donation page can be found here. 
Walls
The walls require some panel replacement and repair once the old fan units are removed, and new fans are installed.  Funding for this work is included in the grant.
Roofing
Luckily, DPS will replace the roof through an insurance claim, and the Greenhouse Committee is hoping to upgrade the glazing to a more durable material. The current roof is polycarbonate, a material that becomes brittle with UV exposure, and is susceptible to hail damage, increasingly with age.  Through research and talking to greenhouse consultants, they have found a material called ETFE that is much more durable with UV exposure, is said to withstand 2” hail and should be compatible with the existing roof frame.  The committee is hopeful that this new material can be used as a longer-term alternative to polycarbonate. They are now in the process of getting the ETFE solution approved through DPS.
The Future of the Greenhouse
The Greenhouse Committee is excited to restore the greenhouse to make it functional throughout the school year. As a functional greenhouse, students and teachers will be able to use the space for classes, special projects and clubs, exploring many topics including biology, botany, life cycle, agriculture, health and wellness, horticulture, history, cooking and more.  A restored greenhouse also enables students to expand what they are already doing – to produce food for the cafeteria and to provide fresh produce to the George Food Pantry year-round. 
Join Us!
The Greenhouse Committee welcomes new students who are interested in helping with this effort, and encourages interested students to reach out to co-leaders Abby Wenig at [email protected] or Graeme Elson at [email protected].  Meetings are held every Thursday morning at 8:45 in Room 030.  Please contact Lisa Emerson at [email protected] if you have any questions or would like to get involved in this project. 
Check us out on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/gwhsgreenhouse/
 

We had a truly amazing event on April 27, 2019 Go Green Day!  Perfect weather. Perfect accomplishments. Perfect teamwork and enthusiasm by over 80 student, parent and community volunteers.  We installed eight really nice picnic tables and planted five gorgeous trees.  The picnic tables were funded by the P3 Be Inspired Fund - and they are definitely an inspired addition to the campus.  Kareen McIntosh - Ault coordinated with the Grounds Committee for several months to prepare for the installation and the other P3 leaders - Libby Neid, Jay Clapper, Suzannah and Mike Brown, Maura MacIntosh, Elizabeth Sopher and Leslie and Paul Stratton all contributed leadership and sweat equity yesterday as we dug the pads, filled them with crusher fines, and loaded all the dirt and sod into disposal trucks. Dr. Waters handily wielded a shovel herself! Barb DeSarro led the construction of the tables before the heavy tables were carried to the pads.  Lisa Emerson organized the trucks that arrived  during the morning to drop off crusher fines and collect (for environmental reuse) the hills of sod and dirt we dug. Grounds Committee members Lisa Emerson, Kevin Wanebo, Jon Gottesfeld, Jill Dreier, along with  returning dynamo Michael Trujillo (and many spouses and friends) engineered and readied the sites, some on slopes under shade trees. The volunteers students were already using the tables to eat the pizza we served to celebrate our morning's work!

​We planted five more trees of different species to add to the amazing tree diversity we already have on campus. Mr. Lopez, and Grounds members Martha Tucker, Jana Roush, and Susan Lurie led this work, although the fireman from District 11 planted one tree themselves. Then we mulched many campus trees, with the invaluable help of David from Facilities.  The beautiful trees were supplied by the Denver Office of Forestry and coordinated by Darren Potucek there.  The Office of Forestry has donated and delivered dozens of trees to GW over the years, including the twenty they recently planted on the ball fields and in the Monaco right of way. Such a gift to the school.

Alyssa Richason has been recruiting volunteers and publicizing the event for weeks and handled registration and pizza service yesterday with great aplomb.

Tools and mulch were contributed by DPS Facilites.  Thank you, Efren Martinez. Sarah Pezoa, another GW alumni parent who continues to give service to the school, organized tool distribution and collection all day.

My heartfelt thanks goes to every member of the Grounds Committee who spent month  preparing for the annual Go Green Day.  It is such a pleasure to be part of a group of volunteers who have served the GW community for years with so much expertise, time and dedication.

Congratulations, everyone!

Lee Ann Huntington for the GW Grounds Committee
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by Barb DeSarro, Dedicated Grounds Committee Leader
 
The weeks leading up to our 11th annual Go Green Day on Saturday, April 21, 2018 were mild and sunny.  We had weeks of planning and 15 beautiful trees delivered to campus ready to plant on Friday, so despite the rain and snow on Saturday morning we want ahead with our day of planting and improvements to GW’s campus.
 
Thanks to our 100 hardy and hardworking volunteers, we accomplished our mission.  Our volunteers were students, parents, teachers, staff, our new principal Dr Waters, alumni parents, alumni, community members, and a group of 19 volunteers from the 2U, Inc. Denver employee volunteers.  Improvements were made to the GW Community/School garden with the addition of many, many wheelbarrows of crusher fines for pathways and compost for the garden plots.  We planted redbud and gingko trees on the east side of the building, filberts and horse chestnuts on the south side and Kentucky coffee trees on the west side next to the pool wall.  Prior to Go Green Day volunteers weeded and turned the soil in the area below the big wall on the south side of the building.  Eight Staghorn sumacs were planted and mulch added to this area.
 
We want to thank all of our volunteers listed below (and please let us know if we missed anyone).  It was a gratifying experience to get all the trees planted and watered despite the inclement weather.  Afterward we enjoyed pizza and hot chocolate inside the cozy warm Community Room!  Well Done GDubb Community!!

 By Lee Ann Huntington, Dedicated Grounds Committee Leader

My heart is very full of gratitude, affection and pride as I think about how much we accomplished at George Washington High School yesterday.  We planted 15 gorgeous trees of several species (Kentucky Coffeetree, Redbud, Gingko, Filbert, Horse Chestnut).  We completely made over the”Leetsdale Wall” by clearing out all the unattractive shrubs and weeds, regrading and planting sumac shrubs which will grow to be beautiful against the stone wall with the George name on it.  We also transformed the appearance of the pool wall facing the tennis courts; we planted 5 Kentucky Coffee trees, which will become 50 feet tall with dramatic branch structure.   And we completed the crusher fines deposits along all the paths in the community garden.

And  . . . . we did it in the mud and snow.  (Prizes for most mud-covered go to Martha Tucker and Jon Gottesfeld!)  I know it was unpleasant for every one of you to get out of bed yesterday to face the elements, but you did it with grace and commitment.  Your attitude was a wonderful example to the 60 students who also came and who will proudly remember what they accomplished so cheerfully in the wet and cold.

Some specific acknowledgements:

The Denver Office of Forestry donated the amazing, huge trees (wait until you all see those redbuds in bloom!); DPS Grounds did so much to prepare the sites (thank you Efren and team); the wonderfully supportive George administration facilitated planning and student recruitment - Scott Lessard inspired and supported our designs and projects, Dr. Waters shoveled all morning and Alyssa Richason did registration and pizza and handed out the really lovely t-shirts that the Grow Club designed (I love them!); the George facilities team obtained and moved mulch all morning; Mr. Lopez came again - teaching a little practical biology as he wielded a pickaxe! Senior Gigi Emerson was the coldest person out there as she kept track of the tools while having to stay in one place.

Local company 2U sent 20 volunteers led by Elizabeth Weintraub; these adults were phenomenal  - finishing one project and then asking “What next? What next?” and interacting so positively with the students. Since the 2U mission is educational  - partnering with universities to provide digital education platforms -  it was particularly lovely that 2U gave such great support to our large public high school, with many aspiring college students.

And then, how about those firemen! They provided excitement and an amazing amount of manual labor!

The planning process for the annual GO GREEN events is months-long and the GW Grounds Committee was there every step of the way in the preparation and execution - thank you Lisa, Barb, Jana, Steve, Martha, Ann, Roxana, Susan, and Jon.  Particularly heartwarming to me are the loyal friends who showed up to contribute their expertise and leadership many years after their student has graduated - Martha, Ann, Sara, Mark, Ross, Jennifer, Susan and Michael.  The Grounds Committee is like The Firm - once you are in, you can never safely escape.

And thank you to the intrepid family members, parents and, of course,  the students who came through yesterday, despite the conditions.  You are true troopers!

I apologize that I do not have the name of every person that helped, but I send appreciation nevertheless.

A Proud GWHS tradition - Go Green Day

by Lee Ann Huntington, Dedicated Grounds Committee Volunteer Leader
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For the last ten years, the GWHS community has come together on a Saturday in April to accomplish major upgrades to the outdoor campus.  The tradition started in 2008.  A group of parents had recently formed - the GW Grounds Committee - to plan improvements to GW’s huge outdoor campus.  GW has one of the largest public school footprints in the state, but years of budget-cutting had left the grounds sorely in need of some love.  The first major project of the Grounds Committee was to plant 14 trees and clear the boxes in the south courtyard, which were filled then only with thigh-high weeds and lots of trash. There were 125 student, teachers, administration and alumni volunteers. The students included student leaders, athletes, students seeking community service hours, special education students and many other groups from the student body.  The day was hugely successful and great fun, ending with pizza for lunch . . . and a GW tradition began.

Every year since, the community has come together for an annual April outdoor campus project, which is now known as Go Green Day. Over this time, we have added over 80 trees to the grounds, of many different species, and have transformed the planting beds on the north, south and east of the building.  One year, as part of a student initiated project, we planted an orchard, which thrives on the Leetsdale side of campus and has already produced some fruit. Over several years, we planned and participated in projects which transformed the North Entrance to the school. This door to the school is now used as the main entry, but over fifty years ago was originally designed primarily as a loading dock.  We have added a gateway, planting beds and lighting, which makes arrival at the school a much more enjoyable experience than it was before the improvements.  Last April, we did the major, final work installing a community garden by the greenhouse.  Plots are used by the Grow Club, the DPS Garden of Youth program and community members who rent plots. It was such a joy to return to the school this past fall and see the thriving produce gardens.

Each of our Go Green Days has generated lots of memories for members of the GW Grounds Committee and volunteers who have participated.  The one that stands out most forcefully in my mind was in April 2009 when a wet blizzard shut down the Denver Digs Trees distribution.  We decided to forge ahead and planted 15 trees that day! We were so proud of our valiant volunteers  and I am sure  each will always remember which tree they planted on that snowy day.  Almost always, however, the weather gods are with us and we enjoy our pizza lunch outdoors in sunshine.
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The Grounds Committee is gearing up for our eleventh April outdoor campus event on April 21, 2018.  The morning starts at 8 a.m. and ends with pizza at 12:30 pm.  Stay tuned for sign-up information.  We would love to have help from students, student groups, teachers, staff, alumni and community members.  We promise it will be one of your all-time favorite service projects.  And, you will see the results at GW every time you pass by!

                       Lee Ann Huntington for the GW Grounds Committee
                        For more information:  [email protected]

New School/Community Garden to be Built at GW!
GWHS is excited to announce the addition of a school/community vegetable garden on campus.  Michael Buchenau, Executive Director of Denver Urban Gardens (DUG), met with Scott Lessard, the GWHS Grow Club and the GWHS Grounds Committee this week and reported that he has secured funding to build a beautiful garden to benefit the school and surrounding community.  The garden will be located just outside of the biology classrooms, in the walled area below the south courtyard, adjacent to the greenhouse.

With its proximity to the science classrooms, the garden is in the perfect location to be utilized as an outdoor science classroom.  In conjunction with GW’s large greenhouse, this valuable addition presents endless opportunities for learning – including studies of botany, life-cycle, soil science, ecology, entomology, horticulture, agriculture, health and wellness, and more.  Through the established DPS Garden to Cafeteria Program, produce from the school plots can be sold to supply the school cafeteria.  In addition, a school-run farmer’s market could be developed, presenting wonderful opportunities for students interested in learning about business.  

The garden, designed by Buchenau, will be built with supplies, tools and construction expertise provided by DUG.  GWHS will provide volunteers to help on the scheduled construction days.  The ADA accessible design is comprised of eighteen (18) individual garden plots, a tool shed, a compost area and multiple water spigots.  Some of the plots will be designated as school plots, assigned for specific purposes including science class projects and Garden of Youth use, and the rest will be available for community gardeners to rent.
  
Planning for the garden is happening now.  We are actively looking for interested partners to help make this project a success.  We need parents, students, teachers, alums, administrators and school staff who can provide input, expertise, organizational skills, or financial contributions towards this effort.  If we work together, GW can create a powerful new asset that will benefit the school in many ways, and improve year by year.
    
If you are interested in helping, or would like additional information, please contact Lisa Emerson at [email protected].  More information about Denver Urban Gardens is available at their website at https://dug.org/.
Construction is slated for spring, 2017, and will take place over several community service work days.  We anticipate that the bulk of the work will be done on Go Green Day, scheduled for Saturday April 15th, 2017.  Mark your calendars now, and plan to join us for a fun day of building a great legacy for GW! 
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To donate to this exciting project, please click the link below.  100% of donations benefit the GWHS campus through GW Grounds Committee projects.   

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