Green House Venture will break ground on a new education center on DeTonty Street in St. Louis' Shaw neighborhood. The new $4.7 million, 9,500 square foot structure will feature classrooms and laboratories, a greenhouse with aquaponic growing, rooftop rain gardening, vertical farming, multi-purpose gallery and office space.
Courtesy of Green House Venture
Simon Ricks, 11, of Tower Grove Christian Academy, gently pours dirt into a tray while planting his own small plant during an after-school Green House Venture gathering on Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2020, at St. Margaret of Scotland. Each Tuesday, student ambassadors come from St. Margaret of Scotland, Mullanphy, Tower Grove Christian Academy and the Saint Louis Language Immersion School to learn about the methods of sustainability and the benefits of proper nutrition. Photo by Lexi Browning, lbrowning@post-dispatch.com
Lexi Browning
Students lean in to look at live fish in the Food Computer during an after-school Green House Venture gathering on Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2020, at St. Margaret of Scotland. Each Tuesday, student ambassadors come from St. Margaret of Scotland, Mullanphy, Tower Grove Christian Academy and the Saint Louis Language Immersion School to learn about the methods of sustainability and the benefits of proper nutrition. Photo by Lexi Browning, lbrowning@post-dispatch.com
Lexi Browning
Traison Diedrich, a mentor and Saint Louis University sophomore in English and philosophy, goes over the day's activity with students Aubrey Schaus, 11, left, and Simon Ricks, 11, during an after-school Green House Venture gathering on Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2020, at St. Margaret of Scotland. Each Tuesday, student ambassadors come from St. Margaret of Scotland, Mullanphy, Tower Grove Christian Academy and the Saint Louis Language Immersion School to learn about the methods of sustainability and the benefits of proper nutrition. Photo by Lexi Browning, lbrowning@post-dispatch.com
ST. LOUIS — Construction is expected to start Thursday on a new $4.7 million agriculture education center in the Shaw neighborhood for students at four nearby schools.
Green House Venture said its new 9,500-square-foot facility at 3966 DeTonty Street will provide lessons in urban agriculture, bioscience, nutrition and dietetics for students in fourth through eighth grade at Mullanphy Investigative Center, St. Margaret of Scotland, Center Cross Academy and Lafayette Preparatory Academy.
“Our students learn by doing — planting, harvesting, experimenting, and discovering,†Green House Venture President Tom Purcell said in a statement. “With this new facility, the Green House Venture will be fully equipped with state-of-the-art technology to deliver cutting-edge learning to inspire a new generation of home-grown scientists, agriculturalists and environmentally-conscious citizens in St. Louis to support our region’s plant science and biotechnology industries.â€
The facility will include classrooms, laboratories, office space, a greenhouse and a rooftop garden.
Green House Venture launched in 2015.
It said in a release that it develops and implements its programs in partnership with local universities, the Missouri Botanical Garden, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Danforth Plant Science Center, St. Louis Zoo and St. Louis Community College, as well volunteers from the St. Louis Master Gardeners.
Construction of the new education center is expected to take 12 months.
Hercules Construction Management is the owner’s representative during construction. Bush Construction, which acquired St. Louis-based Urban Improvement Conglomerate last year, is the project’s builder.
Green House Venture will break ground on a new education center on DeTonty Street in St. Louis' Shaw neighborhood. The new $4.7 million, 9,500 square foot structure will feature classrooms and laboratories, a greenhouse with aquaponic growing, rooftop rain gardening, vertical farming, multi-purpose gallery and office space.
Simon Ricks, 11, of Tower Grove Christian Academy, gently pours dirt into a tray while planting his own small plant during an after-school Green House Venture gathering on Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2020, at St. Margaret of Scotland. Each Tuesday, student ambassadors come from St. Margaret of Scotland, Mullanphy, Tower Grove Christian Academy and the Saint Louis Language Immersion School to learn about the methods of sustainability and the benefits of proper nutrition. Photo by Lexi Browning, lbrowning@post-dispatch.com
Students lean in to look at live fish in the Food Computer during an after-school Green House Venture gathering on Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2020, at St. Margaret of Scotland. Each Tuesday, student ambassadors come from St. Margaret of Scotland, Mullanphy, Tower Grove Christian Academy and the Saint Louis Language Immersion School to learn about the methods of sustainability and the benefits of proper nutrition. Photo by Lexi Browning, lbrowning@post-dispatch.com
Traison Diedrich, a mentor and Saint Louis University sophomore in English and philosophy, goes over the day's activity with students Aubrey Schaus, 11, left, and Simon Ricks, 11, during an after-school Green House Venture gathering on Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2020, at St. Margaret of Scotland. Each Tuesday, student ambassadors come from St. Margaret of Scotland, Mullanphy, Tower Grove Christian Academy and the Saint Louis Language Immersion School to learn about the methods of sustainability and the benefits of proper nutrition. Photo by Lexi Browning, lbrowning@post-dispatch.com
