All five Isle of Wight County schools now have greenhouses, courtesy of the developer of two large solar farms.

Arlington-based AES Clean Energy, the developer of the 1,750-acre Cavalier solar farm spanning the Isle of Wight-Surry county line that went active in October and the 2023-appproved, 2,200-acre Sycamore Cross solar farm slated for the westernmost edge of the Isle of Wight-Surry line, recently donated 9-foot-by-14-foot greenhouses to Carrollton, Carrsville, Hardy, Windsor and Westside elementary schools.  

Isle of Wight County Schools held a ribbon-cutting ceremony at Hardy on Dec. 3.

The donation was not a condition of approval for either solar farm.

“AES reached out to IWCS for a STEM-related project or materials they could support with a donation to the division,” said IWCS spokeswoman Lynn Briggs, referring to the acronym for science, technology, engineering and math. “IWCS asked to fund greenhouses at the five elementary schools, which they supported.”

“As part of our social impact partnership with Isle of Wight County Public Schools, AES recently donated greenhouses to each of their five public elementary schools,” said Tamara Slade, senior manager of stakeholder relations for AES. “We hope that this addition to their curriculum will offer an opportunity to provide hands-on, innovative learning experiences through growing food and plants, enhancing their understanding of agriculture and sustainability.”

Each school has something slightly different planned for its greenhouse. At Carrsville and Hardy there are raised planting beds outside the structures. Carrollton plans to incorporate its greenhouse into an outdoor learning space and has retained Suffolk-based Nansemond Lawn & Garden Inc. to draw an illustration of the project.

“They are working on securing various grants to fund the project,” Stacey Rodgers, the division’s instructional coordinator of elementary math and science, told the School Board at its Dec. 12 meeting.

Westside, Rogers said, is doing a combined project with its ecology club and art classes, which will be unveiled to the School Board in March.

Carrsville held its kickoff celebration on Nov. 20 with representatives from the federal Natural Resources Conservation Service and Virginia’s Peanut Soil and Water Conservation District, one of 47 districts established in the 1930s to prevent soil erosion and floods.

“We all know that hands-on learning is where it sticks with students and science is a part of our strategic plan, so the greenhouse became part of our strategic plan at Carrsville,” said Carrsville Principal Tara Outland.

Carrsville, located in the southern tip of the county, received a donation of spring and summer seeds from the Lowes store in nearby Franklin.

“Our students PreK through fifth grade were all hands on deck involved in planting the greenhouse,” Outland said.

Students rotated by grade level in and out of the greenhouse in 30-minute increments, she said.