Early this spring, just as the signature Petite Knock Out® miniature roses at Star® Roses and Plants began to bloom, the idea of donating 100 of them became a talking point between the West Grove-based plant grower and the Garden Media Group in Kennett Square, a public relations firm and long-time partner of Star®.
“The question was, ‘Where would they go?’” said Susan Bacus Morgan, marketing manager at Star® Roses and Plants. “We had a lot of options to choose from, but the question then became, ‘Who needed them, and what inspiration could come from making this donation?’ It really became about finding someone who wouldn’t otherwise have access to a donation like this.”
Bacus Morgan then reached out to two Philadelphia schools, both of whom offer agricultural programs. The first, W.B. Saul High School of Agricultural Science, offers a range of agriculturally related programs that include horticulture, natural science management, animal science, and food science and processing. In addition to taking traditional college-prep classes, students at the 130-acre campus in the Roxborough section cultivate a working farm, vegetable and flower garden, dairy barn, greenhouses, pastures, small animal facilities, and a seasonal farm stand.
The second, Abraham Lincoln High School, also offers a horticulture program whose building blocks are botany, biology, chemistry, and science, all of which are supported by the school’s “Wellness Quadrant” area that provides opportunities for students to pursue careers in landscape contracting & design, retail floristry, conservation biology, wellness food production, and research.
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