Illaria Dana, Education Major   

On Tuesday, November 24, Phi Theta Kappa began building a greenhouse at Dyer Elementary School in South Portland. Phi Theta Kappa is the honor society at Southern Maine Community College that emphasizes service in the community and on campus. They had been collaborating with the principal of Dyer Elementary School, Elizabeth Fowler. Six members of Phi Theta Kappa joined together in collaboration with three local carpenters who donated their time for the project. The supplies for the project were donated by Home Depot.

Students of Dyer were at recess and sat watching the builders. The children displayed a mixture of curiosity and roguishness as they eyed the power tools and the adults working with them. The intended use of the greenhouse is not just as an accessory for the school. Phi Theta Kappa plans on setting up garden beds with winter vegetables, such as lettuce, with the students. In the spring, they will return with members of the Horticulture Department to teach students about caring for plants. Lessons will include soil texturing, planting seeds, and trimming and harvesting flowers and vegetables.

The vision of this project was to integrate students of SMCC with the larger community and to provide a service for students of all ages. Students at Dyer will benefit from lessons on sustainability and practical lessons about how to grow plants. Students in the Horticulture Department at SMCC will be able to pass along the knowledge they have gained to eager participants. Members of Phi Theta Kappa got to grow and use their carpentry abilities, communication skills, and create a new link between the college and the community. The President of Alpha Chi Nu, the chapter of Phi Theta Kappa at SMCC, Erik Squire, said, the greenhouse has been, “a huge collaborative effort between our chapter Alpha Chi Nu and Jane Eberle, Director of Business Partnerships, South Portland School Department, SMCC’s Horticulture Program, Home Depot [who donated the materials], SMCC’s Cinema and New Media Program [who will be creating a documentary for of the whole project], and Dyer Elementary School.”

The project was continued on the following Wednesday, and the building was completed on Thursday, December 3. This project sets a precedent for community involvement that SMCC hopes to continue. Learning cannot exist in isolation but must spread out into the surrounding communities.