US (NC): Former prison becomes sustainable farm
About a dozen young people along with GrowingChange founder Noran Sanford, worked on Saturday to build a “greenhouse” to grow hydroponic greens at the Community Garden behind First Presbyterian Church. They were joined by students from St. Andrews University.
The Laurinburg greenhouse will serve as an educational site for GrowingChange, according to Sanford.
“As we transform the closed Wagram prison into a sustainable farm and educational center, this will be a Laurinburg site to demonstrate some of our work,” Sanford said.
The greenhouse, also called a high tunnel, will use a hydroponic system which allows for crops to be grown without being planted in the ground, a technique said to limit the chance for contamination. High tunnels are an integral part of local food production systems in many parts of the United States. They aid fruit and vegetable crop production by extending the cropping season, providing protection from the elements.
The crops grown in the greenhouse will also provide another tie for St. Andrews to the community. The university plans to use some of the greens — kale, Swiss shard, spinach and lettuce — grown in its cafeteria.
“Specifically, the young greens that will be grown in the hydroponic system will go to the food service at St. Andrews to create a micro food system,” Sanford said.
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