Gothic Arch Greenhouses
History of the...
Five-Phase Recommendation for a Comprehensive Horticulture Training Center
In the mid 1960's our father, Bill Sierke was working with the
National Headquarters of the FFA and with Mr. Neville Hunsicker, then Chief of
Agricultural Education in Washington, DC. Recognizing my father's
expertise in the field of horticulture, greenhouse facilities and related
equipment and supplies, Mr. Hunsicker appointed him guest Horticultural
Consultant to the Department of Agricultural Education in Washington, DC.
One of Dad's first projects was the creation of an outline for the development of a Comprehensive Horticultural Training Center. This was intended to assist mainstream production Agriculture teachers who were planning to add horticulture to their curriculum. Mr. Hunsicker saw the need to expand traditional agricultural training to include horticulture. He realized the diverse areas of job training which could be provided with a minimum of space and cost. Important job opportunities existed in forest management, turf grasses, landscape design and maintenance, greenhouse and garden center management, tree surgery and spray service, fruit and orchard management, just to name a few. He knew that these and many areas of horticulture did not require university training. Even the disadvantaged student could be adequately trained in high school to fill some of these highly rewarding vocations.
So Dad developed the Five Phase Recommendation for a Comprehensive Horticultural Training Center, providing facilities and equipment which would encompass all of the training areas Mr. Hunsicker wanted addressed.
The Training Center was designed to provide spacious, adequate, functional work areas, sturdy, maintenance free construction, attractive design and economy. Where the entire center could not be obtained at one time, a staggered plan was correlated for continuity of phases. Each phase was intended to be independent, yet coordinated with the preceding phases.
The design was initially geared to serve a large scale Vocational Technical Center which could accommodate a sizable student enrollment level of at least 100. Since the original plan was drafted, we have added three smaller size programs to address scaled-down student enrollment levels and limited budgets.