Clarke Central High School FFA President Kathleen Dykes, a senior, waters plants at the CCHS FFA chapter’s Spring Plant Sale on March 29, 2023. Career, Technical and Agricultural Education department teacher Levi Carr Brooks, the FFA adviser, feels that the chapter’s plant sales benefit the surrounding community. “It is something that can brighten someone’s day, whether they’re on a bike or walking down a sidewalk and look to their left or right and see a nice, newly planted garden bed,” Carr Brooks said. “It’s also an opportunity for our community to give back to CCHS. That is a number one priority that our community should be willing to do.” Photo by Maya Clement
The CCHS FFA chapter’s Spring Plant Sale will take place from March 28-30 from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. in the CCHS greenhouse.
The Clarke Central High School FFA chapter will hold their Spring Plant Sale from March 28-30 between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. in hopes of raising money for the chapter and encouraging connections within the surrounding community.
The plant sale will be held in the CCHS greenhouse and is open to the public. According to Career, Technical and Agricultural Education department teacher Levi Carr Brooks, the FFA adviser, the plant sale offers a wide selection of plants, including vegetables, herbs, and more.
“This year, we started planning in July and August where we actually placed our plant order and ordered our seeds,” Carr Brooks said. “As advertised, it says that we have over 80 different varieties (of plants), but we’re actually pleased to announce that we have over 90 different varieties offered in our plant sale.”
The Spring Plant Sale, according to Carr Brooks, has created a revenue of tens of thousands of dollars for the program, which is put towards attending competitions and other events. Since the beginning of the year, Carr Brooks states that students have worked inside and outside of class to plant for, oversee, and advertise for the sale.
“The majority of the work is done inside class time, especially with the help of our Horticulture class and (Basic Agricultural Science) class that we have this semester,” Carr Brooks said. “But there is a lot of time that FFA members and student volunteers participate in outside of class time because there’s a lot of different things that go on outside of school hours that need attention.”
CCHS FFA Historian Julianna Hardman, a sophomore, feels that the plant sale unites both the school and the surrounding community.
“It brings staff and students closer. It also brings Clarke County closer because it’s open to the public,” Hardman said. “It gives the opportunity for staff, the public and students to talk to each other or share things that they have in common.”
According to Carr Brooks, the plant sale is not only FFA’s largest fundraiser, which but also a chance for students to learn how to sale plants effectively and connect with the community.
It’s something that’s truly magical, to see here kids’ hard work going home with new people. Seeing the joy and excitement of my students in action and (seeing) all of their hard work truly pay off is something that’s super rewarding,” Carr Brooks said. “It’s quite amazing to see these students naturally have the capability from these lessons that have been taught to them prior to the day of and that they are responsible, young humans that are going to go out into this world and do great things.”
