[February 07, 2011]

Colorado Garden Show Awards $100,000 Grant to Westminster High School and $25,000 Grant to Concerts for Kids

Colorado Garden Show, Inc., a non-profit corporation that provides funds for horticultural-related grants, scholarships and events for the benefit of the greater Denver area and the state of Colorado, along with its board of directors, awarded a $100,000 grant to Westminster High School and a $25,000 grant to Concerts for Kids. The Westminster High School grant specifically supports the construction of a greenhouse for the school's horticulture program. The Concerts for Kids grant will support two of the organization's projects - a community garden and greenhouse at the Serenity Learning Center (for children with autism) in Centennial, Colo., and an organic community vegetable garden at one Denver Public Schools elementary school.

Colorado Garden Show provides grants and scholarships from proceeds generated from the annual Colorado Garden & Home Show and the Colorado Fall Home Show to support Colorado's horticulture industry. Since the 1970s, Colorado Garden Show has awarded more than $4 million for horticultural projects and scholarships throughout the state. In 2010, the organization awarded a record-breaking amount of more than $600,000 in horticulture scholarships and grant projects to 42 Colorado organizations including a $100,000 grant to Care and Share developed in direct response to the Colorado community's food support needs due to individuals' economic difficulties.

"Our organization is proud to support Westminster High School's horticulture program as well as the important efforts by Concerts for Kids to bring the benefits of gardening to students in and around Denver," said Jim Fricke, executive director, Colorado Garden Show. "Our hope is that these gardens and greenhouses will instill in these students a passion for gardening and an appreciation of fresh, locally grown produce."

Westminster High School Horticulture Program Grant

Westminster High School - part of Adams County School District 50 - opened in its new building in the fall of 2010 and features one of only two surviving horticulture programs in the Denver area. While the new campus boasts a 3,000-sq.-foot shop/classroom, a 3-acre tree farm and more than 100 students enrolled inthe program, it desperately needs a greenhouse in order to provide a robust hands-on learning experience for students looking to pursue skills in landscape construction/maintenance, crop production, urban farming and other related fields. The program's current greenhouse is more than 40 years old and sits off-site, requiring transportation to and from the school. A new greenhouse was in the original plans for the new school but had to be eliminated due to budget constraints. The new "warm" greenhouse funded by the grant from Colorado Garden Show is slated for completion in September 2011. It will be a state of the art 40' x 60' gable structure and will provide students with the opportunity to learn basic skills for watering and water management, soil composition and chemistry, plant physiology, fertilizers, maximum photosynthesis and optimum growing requirements.

"We are so grateful for this grant from the Colorado Garden Show," said Phil Love, teacher, Westminster High School horticulture program. "Many people discover their affinity for green plants and environmental issues by working in a greenhouse, and employees who are the most successful in the green industries understand the basics and appreciate the advanced technologies of all plant science. This greenhouse will enrich the educational experience of horticulture students and many others as well. This investment for the green industries and the other sciences will continue to benefit Colorado into the future as these students turn their passion for agriculture into careers."

Concerts for Kids Grant

Concerts for Kids (www.concertsforkids.org) is a non-profit organization that raises funds for and awareness of children's charities through annual events and community service projects. The projects that will benefit from the Colorado Garden Show grants through Concerts for Kids include a community garden and greenhouse at Serenity Learning Center's main developmental vocational center in Centennial, Colo. Serenity Learning Center is Colorado's first school focused on children with developmental delays and autism. The garden and greenhouse will serve as a therapeutic tool and learning center for the students. Crops produced from the garden and greenhouse will benefit The Serenity Learning Center either by providing food to the students or through the sale of the crops at local markets.

In addition, Concerts for Kids will fund a community organic vegetable garden at a local Denver public elementary school. The garden will allow the administration to educate students, staff and parents about the advantages of fresh, locally-grown food and encourage them to make smart food choices through balanced meals. It also supports science and health study programs and provides hands-on learning experiences around sustainable agriculture and horticulture in the community and ecosystem. In addition to providing fresh food to the students, the crops will be distributed among three non-profit organizations that benefit from the work of Concerts for Kids. Both Concerts for Kids projects have an estimated completion date of April 2011.

"The grant from Colorado Garden Show could not have come at a better time," said Christie Isenberg, president and CEO, Concerts for Kids. "With childhood obesity at an all-time high, children deserve an education on the benefits of locally grown produce and smart food choices. Students at the Serenity Learning Center and the Denver public elementary school where the gardens will be developed have an opportunity to learn valuable life lessons early on thanks to this grant."

About Colorado Garden Show, Inc.

Colorado Garden Show, Inc. (CGS, Inc.) is a non-profit corporation that provides funds for horticultural-related grants and scholarships and events for the benefit of the greater Denver area and the state of Colorado. To date, CGS, Inc. has awarded more than $4 million for horticultural projects and scholarships throughout the state. CGS Inc. presents the Colorado Fall Home Show focusing on home renovation, remodeling and sustainable living and the Annual Colorado Garden & Home Show, the Rocky Mountain region's largest, oldest and most prestigious consumer garden and home improvement show west of the Mississippi. For more information visit, www.gardeningcolorado.com.

[ Back To greentechnologyworld.com's Homepage ]