MARYSVILLE — The greenhouse at Marysville Pilchuck High School seemed beyond saving.
Dense blackberry bushes hugged the exterior. Grass, weeds and wildflowers obscured the surrounding paths.
The interior was no better. Vines and branches reached from floor to ceiling, covering rows of wooden tables. Even what was once a complex irrigation system was filled with even more blackberries.
A before photo shows the greenhouse’s state of disrepair before the June cleanups. (Courtesy of Kayla Carter)
The greenhouse is a relic, left over from the Marysville School District’s extensive agriculture program that boasted an off-campus farm with horses, goats and chickens. The greenhouse was a space on the school’s campus for students to learn how to grow plants for themselves.
When a teacher’s retirement, lack of funding and declining interest led to the end of the agriculture program, the greenhouse followed suit. It continued to deteriorate through the years, a derelict mystery just steps away from the school’s classrooms and day care.
Earlier this year, biology teachers Kayla Carter and Claire Luvera decided to act.
“It started with us coming out here one day, just kind of for fun,” Carter said. “We looked around and we just thought, ‘There is so much potential here. What could we do?’”
The teachers got to work. They began with emails to nonprofits. Both young teachers, who started their careers during the pandemic, were prepared for rejection.
But the project struck a chord. They received a flood of support from businesses and groups offering to help, including Best Schools Marysville.
When they saw their goal was a real possibility, they decided to take action and hold a public event to clean up the greenhouse.
Kayla Carter talks about how dense the blackberries were that filled the space on Monday in Marysville. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
The turnout exceeded expectations. In the first cleanup weekend, over 50 students, parents and community members showed up in the summer heat to lend a hand.
“We thought it would just be the two of us shoveling dirt all summer, and we were totally fine with that,” Carter said. “We just had so many people come and that was really amazing.”
They managed to clear out almost all of the overgrowth, uncover buried concrete pathways and salvage most of the wooden structure wrapping around the perimeter.
Now, the sun lights up the greenhouse, the entrance is fully accessible and weeds have nearly disappeared.
This project is a welcome change of pace from the troubles the school has faced in recent years, Best Schools Marysville volunteer Ron Friesen said.
“There is a community out here that cares about them,” Friesen said. “They have not been getting that message.”
Between the 2014 shooting at the school, the pandemic and financial turmoil at the school district, students needed a win.
“I want to see their faces when they see this,” Friesen said.
Carter and Luvera will host one more community cleanup 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday, Aug. 23, through Sunday, Aug. 25. Before school starts in September, the Tulalip Tribes will lead a celebration of healing and blessing of the land.
They will post more information and updates on Facebook as MPHS Greenhouse Project.
While work remains, the teachers hope to start using the greenhouse in a limited capacity in the fall.
”Finding two young, innovative, energetic teachers with great ideas and aspirations for engaging their students, it’s like bingo,” Friesen said. “That’s exactly what we need.”
When the school year begins, Carter and Luvera can start accepting more donations to return the greenhouse to its former glory.
The duo hopes their actions show students how much they care.
“Your teachers love and care about you way more than you’ll ever know,” Luvera said. “A lot of our kids need that message.”
Connor Zamora: 425-339-3037; connor.zamora@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @cgzamora02.
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