Help us build a greenhouse at Longneck Elementary!

All skill levels are welcome! We have an assortment of tasks and activities for you to participate in during this SNAC work day. If you are a parent or guardian of a student at Longneck Elementary or SNAC community partner, we encourage you to RSVP to shandra@snacgardens.org. If you are not a parent or guardian of a student or this is your first time volunteering with SNAC, RSVP is MANDATORY.

What to bring

Please feel free to bring any extra personal items such as bring garden gloves, hat, sunscreen, kneeling pads for weeding, or personal tools. Please wear clothes that you do not mind getting dirty in and warm layers. Gloves are recommended for winter work. If you do not have gloves available to you, please contact shandra@snacgardens.org and we will do our best to accommodate you with an extra pair. We will provide wheelbarrows, shovels, hoes, small trowels, and any other necessary tools for the project competition. If you would like to work on carpentry projects, please bring a drill, saw, and any other materials you may need depending on the nature of the project. We will provide water, light snacks, and a smoothie bar thanks to a produce donation from the Harris Teeter in Longneck. We will have some plastic water bottles available but we encourage you to bring a reusable water bottle to refill.

Greenhouse

We will be building a 20ft greenhouse with the guidance of an experienced contractor. He will need help to put packing soil in the foundation of the greenhouse, life and hold pieces in place while they are being attached, and lay down the flooring (landscaping paper).  

 Garden Pathways

We will be laying down cardboard in our secondary garden space to suppress weeds in places we plan to plant over the summer, and then creating pathways with landscaping paper, patio pavers decorated by students, and brick edging. This entire area will then be mulched to prepare for the season. You will learn how to sheet mulch with cardboard, or compost in place, in order to build healthy soil and garden beds.

Garden weeding

There is a light amount of weeding to be done in the main garden bed. This can be done with minimal supervision. This area is mostly annuals and some greens overwintering. There is also some weeding to be done in the native pollinator beds near the walls.

Compost bins

Our compost piles are getting pretty big, and we will be using pallets to build walls around the area to contain waste.

 Natural paint pigment demonstration

We will have a natural pigment demonstration where you’ll learn how to make paint out of natural materials. We will then paint a banner together to hang in the greenhouse when everything is finished.