Green Thumbs: Beatrice High School’s Annual Plant Sale and Botany Class

This week, Beatrice High School’s science club is hosting its annual spring sale. The school’s greenhouse, which was a grant project initiated by Dr. Joan Christen several years ago, has been managed by BHS teacher Paula Heinz for five years. Heinz shared that the science club and botany students assist during the sale days and the proceeds are utilized to purchase science equipment and fund senior scholarships for those planning to major in science in college.

The ultimate goal of the plant sale is to educate students on plant care and greenhouse maintenance. These skills can potentially lead to careers in areas such as landscaping, plant science, genetics, gardening, and lawn care. The selection of plants is based on new and interesting varieties in relation to interest and ease of care.

Heinz expressed her hope that her students are acquiring essential information about plants through her dual-credit botany class. She mentioned that her class plays a crucial role in the success of the project and it is anticipated that agricultural classes will be incorporated in the future. BHS holds a distributor’s license and does not create its own plant varieties, so the plants sold are ordered from plugs from commercial greenhouses.

The sale is scheduled to take place Wednesday through Friday from 3:45-5 p.m. and on Saturday from 9 a.m. to noon. Interested individuals are advised to park in the high school parking lot and enter through the front doors, walking past the main staircase to the back of the school where the greenhouse is located.