PERRYSBURG, Ohio — A classroom at Penta Career Center wants to share its year's worth of work with the public as the schoolyear comes to a close.
Students in Penta's horticultural program have spent the year learning the ins and outs of growing and tending to plants in the school's greenhouse. The goal of the three-year program is to have students prepared to jump right into the workforce upon graduation.
"We incorporate plant production, as well as sales, plant maintenance, care and growth," horticultural instructor Jody Germann said. "Our floral program incorporated design. And we even have a retail flower shop available to our students and general public."
While their instructors are on-hand to teach, everything in the greenhouse is a direct result of the student's work.
"I really love how we potted these plants by ourselves," said Samantha Davis, a second year greenhouse student. "We all worked together and built all of these plants in our greenhouse."
And to cap off the school year, Penta holds a plant sale every Spring. 100% of the proceeds go back into the program for the next schoolyear.
The act of working with customers, teaching them about the various plants' needs, and ultimately making a sale is also valuable experience these students wouldn't get anywhere else towards their future careers.
"Their goal is to raise these plants and how to promote them and sell them so that the general public can enjoy them," Germann said. "So the public plays a crucial role in what we do."
The Penta Career Center plant sale runs Thursday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Stock is limited and customers will be helped on a first come, first served basis.
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