Patti Gregory, Bryan Stewart and Cindy Kinnaman were recognized as “Partners in Education” by Newberg Public Schools Superintendent Paula Radich at the 2011 Chehalem Valley Chamber of Commerce awards banquet April 7th. The trio of Master Gardeners is credited with helping Newberg High School horticulture teacher Peter Siderius revive a declining program into a thriving, community-supported program.

2011 Partners in Education are Bryan Stewart, Cindy Kinnaman and Patti Gregory

Gregory, Stewart and Kinnaman brought their varied backgrounds to help Siderius develop a greenhouse operation.

Patti Gregory’s 30 years of experience in the horticulture industry put her in charge of the seeding program – what to plant, when to plant it, how much to plant, when to move it out of the green house and into the cold house.

Cindy Kinnaman’s gardening background and expertise nurtured the hanging basket projects, including designing, ordering and organizing the plantings.

Bryan Stewart, who serves as the City of Newberg’s groundskeeper, took on the physical improvements, including irrigation, raised beds and eventually construction of a new state-of-the-art greenhouse.

Siderius took on the horticulture classes and expanded opportunities for students.

All four have enlisted additional partners during the last four years, including:

• Early Bird Rotary Club provided seed money for the new greenhouse. Today there are 300 baskets in the NHS Greenhouse for the upcoming Rotary plant sale.
• Chehalem Park and Recreation District, who collaborates with the NHS Greenhouse program to restore riparian zones, mostly at Chehalem Glenn Golf Course. This year CPRD has donated funds for plants that 200 high school students will plant on Earth Day this month.
• Yamhill County Master Gardeners continue to volunteer their time, share their expertise and work with students.
• The Master Recyclers of Yamhill County created a county recycling demonstration site at the greenhouse. Students compost and recycle plant material and soil and tend the worm bin.
• The Bureau of Land Management donates native plants.
• In addition to donating hours of expertise and knowledge, Newberg Steel designed and supplied the materials for the overhead rack system that holds three to four hundred hanging baskets in the new greenhouse.
• Local landscaping and nursery companies including Aspen Landscaping, Bailey Nurseries and Al’s Garden Center have generously donated plants, pots and plant tags.

Today the Newberg High School Greenhouse is thriving in ways Bryan, Patti, Cindy and Peter never imagined.

• Enrollment in the NHS Greenhouse program has more than tripled.
• Students can now earn dual credit from Newberg High School and Portland Community College for their horticulture classes.
• Senior projects now include outreach such as landscaping the new dog park, an herb garden for the school culinary program and working on the Camellia Festival.
• Eagle Scouts are getting involved and have re-sided the old greenhouse and built a potting shed.
• Students are starting to realize that careers in landscaping or horticulture are something to look in to.
• The annual NHS Plant Sale has grown the greenhouse budget thanks to over $20,000 in sales last year.

The community volunteers? They continue to multiply!