
Amy
Beard,
an
algebra
and
horticulture
science
teacher,
organized
an
annual
plant
sale
at
Brentsville
District
High
School.
According
to
Beard,
the
plant
sale
has
taken
place
at
Brentsville
District
High
since
the
mid-1990s,
when
the
school
built
their
greenhouse.
As
a
part
of
the
curriculum,
horticulture
students
are
largely
responsible
for
growing
and
selling
the
plants.
Several
of
the
students
are
also
members
of
the
national
Future
Farmers
of
America
Organization
(FFA).
In
years
prior,
people
browsed
the
plants
for
sale
in
the
greenhouse
and
the
students
were
the
salespeople,
giving
them
the
opportunity
to
learn
about
the
business
side.
This
year,
due
to
the
coronavirus,
students
were
only
able
to
plant
the
seeds
and
see
a
few
germinate
before
the
school
closed.
To
help
the
community
at
large
and
demonstrate
to
students
the
importance
of
helping
the
community
in
difficult
times,
Beard
organized
a
modified
sale.
Beard
posted
a
list
of
available
plants
on
social
media
and
took
orders
via
email.
She
named
it,
"Pay
What
You
Can
If
You
Can,"
asking
people
to
donate
what
they
could
for
the
plants
if
they
were
able.
On
the
designated
dates,
people
were
able
to
drive
up
to
the
school
parking
lot
and
Beard
loaded
plants
into
their
cars.
People
were
also
able
to
make
a
donation
by
driving
up
to
a
mason
jar
to
place
their
donation.
Almost
all
the
plants
were
sold
by
the
end
of
the
"Pay
What
You
Can,
If
You
Can"
sale.
There
was
approximately
$3,500
in
profit
from
the
donations.
Other
results
from
the
Brentsville
greenhouse
include
approximately
150
tomatoes,
cucumbers,
squash,
zucchini,
and
bell
peppers
donated
to
members
of
Greenwich
Presbyterian
Church
for
the
Plant
a
Row
for
the
Hungry
(PAR)
program.
PAR
is
a
national
people-helping-people
program
that
encourages
gardeners
to
grow
extra
vegetables
and
donate
the
produce
to
local
soup
kitchens
and
food
pantries
serving
the
homeless
and
hungry
in
their
local
communities.
An
additional
400
plants
were
donated
to
community
members
in
need.
The
spirit
of
generosity
at
the
event
did
not
end
there.
Several
other
community
members
offered
to
donate
some
of
their
home-grown
produce
to
local
churches
and
food
banks
this
summer.
Beard
highlighted
the
FFA's
long
history
at
Brentsville,
"From
what
I
can
find
there
has
been
an
FFA
program
at
the
school
(formerly
the
Nokesville
High
School)
since
as
early
as
1936."
She
continued
enthusiastically
about
her
involvement
with
FFA
and
the
positive
effects
it
has
on
students,
"This
is
my
first
year
as
the
FFA
advisor
and
I
am
so
excited
about
it
and
proud
to
be
involved.
It
is
a
student
group
that
focuses
on
premier
leadership,
personal
growth,
and
career
success
through
agriculture
education.
It
is
so
important
to
teach
students
about
agriculture
and
all
the
different
aspects
and
opportunities
that
are
there."
Learn
more
about
the
FFA
and
their
values.
Other
notable
connections
were
made
with
the
community,
such
as
a
the
owner
of
a
bee
farm
and
honey
producer
who
wants
to
offer
Brentsville
students
internships,
and
Stephanie
Cornnell,
an
owner
of
Kettle
Wind
Farm,
LLC.,
who
wants
students
to
take
care
of
approximately
10
acres
of
turf
from
seed
to
harvest
starting
in
the
fall.