School board members get closeup look at farm life at The Hill
School board member Michelle Henley visits with Dottie the pig on the CHHS Farm. Henley and other school board members toured the farm May 6.
Angel Pilcher, far right, speaks to school board members Shelia Riley, left, and Michelle Henley about operations on the CHHS Farm. Located behind the cafeteria and cared for by Pilcher and her students, the farm is home to a pig, a turkey, 21 chickens, six ducks, 14 quail and five rabbits. “This is the seventh year we have had our farm,” Pilcher said. “We grow garlic, carrots, onions, potatoes, tomatoes, corn, peas, beans, kale, parsnips, watermelons, blackberries, herbs and flowers.”
School Board member Milton Nichols, right, holds Cypress, a Flemish Giant rabbit, while talking to Resource Management students, from left, Barrett Dempsey, McKenzie Warner and Shainah Walker during a tour of the CHHS Farm May 6. “Y’all do a great job out here with this farm,” Nichols said.
School board member Shelia Riley, left, pets a rabbit held by sophomore Shainah Walker.
Sophomore McKenzie Warren waters the Coreopsis growing in a raised bed on the CHHS Farm.
Freshman Catherine Bolhuis, left, holds a duck while 9th-grader Iris Corral feeds it kale.
Emmie Gevers, left, looks on as Lillian Martin holds a baby duck.
In its seventh year, the CHHS Farm is located behind the cafeteria. “We grow garlic, carrots, onions, potatoes, tomatoes, corn, peas, beans, kale, parsnips, watermelons, blackberries, herbs and flowers,” Resource Management teacher Angel Pilcher said. These pots contain raspberry and carrot plants.
Freshman Mylee Castille munches on farm fresh kale while visiting the CHHS Farm May 6. “When we make food in the classroom, we usually use the chicken or duck eggs,” the Resource Management student said. “We get to come out here and help on sunny days.”
Milk and eggs don’t just come from the grocery store.
“I think it’s a good idea for children to learn where their food comes from,” District 3 Board of Education member Ann Jolley said during a tour this morning of the CHHS Farm. “I grew up on a 100-acre dairy farm, which is where our milk and eggs would come from. My husband grew up on a farm, so we still grow our own food and plants. With a little bit of effort, you can raise anything.”
The farm, located behind the cafeteria and cared for by Angel Pilcher and her students, is home to a pig, a turkey, 21 chickens, six ducks, 14 quail and five rabbits.
“This is the seventh year we have had our farm,” Pilcher said. “We grow garlic, carrots, onions, potatoes, tomatoes, corn, peas, beans, kale, parsnips, watermelons, blackberries, herbs and flowers.”
Pilcher, who teaches Resource Management and Food and Nutrition, often uses products from the farm in the classroom, and her students sometimes pitch in to tend the plants and animals.
“When we make food in the classroom, we usually use the chicken or duck eggs,” said freshman Mylee Castille, a Resource Management student who was munching on farm fresh kale during the school board’s tour. “We get to come out here and help on sunny days.”
School board members Milton Nichols (District 1), Michelle Henley (District 2) and Shelia Riley (District 4) joined Jolley on the farm tour, petting the animals, chatting with students, and learning about seeds and plants.
“Y’all do a great job with this farm,” Nichols said as he cradled a Flemish Giant rabbit named Cypress.
Pilcher said it was important for the school board to see the farm.
“We wanted to showcase the hard work that our students are putting in every day for this project,” she said, adding that the farm gives students the ability to put the 21st century skills of problem-solving, collaboration and creativity into practice.
Ella McAlister (she/her)
Editor-in-Chief, The Pony Express.
“Aww, she's ugly.” — John Mulaney
Ella McAlister is a senior at CHHS and the Editor-in-Chief...
Tony Macklin (he/him)
Staff/Reporter, The Pony Express.
Tony Macklin, member of the class of 2024, is a staff reporter for The Pony Express. He is also...
