Martin Luther High School is in the process of building a greenhouse, but not just your average greenhouse.

Principal Paul Steinhaus refers to it as an “energy classroom.” It will be a 36-foot by 32-foot building that will be half greenhouse with a classroom/shop. It will be heated by a geothermal system, biomass and solar power.

“I call it an energy classroom because of all the different aspects we hope to promote and use,” Steinhaus said. “It is more than just a greenhouse.”

He shared his thoughts on some planned uses of the classroom.

“[The high school] built a car that runs on ethanol and we want to make our own fuel in the classroom,” Steinhaus said. “We want to use not just the passive solar dynamic of the greenhouse, but we also want to capture it in electricity form.”

There will be four aquaponics systems in the classroom.

Aquaponics is the combination of aquaculture (raising fish) and hydroponics (growing plants without soil). It grows fish and plants together in an integrated system. The fish waste provides an organic food source for the plants while the plants naturally filter the water for the fish.

The school has one aquaponics system in the science classroom that is being utilized, but the greenhouse will allow space for four systems.

“That way, we can use it to try different variables and grow some plants in one and different plants in another and then we can do some comparative analysis,” Steinhaus said.

He said building a greenhouse has been a considered at Martin Luther for quite some time.

“And it needs to be,” Steinhaus said. “We sit in agricultural America here and we need to have a dynamic that affords you a good connection to the agricultural setting that we’re in.”

The school had about $25,000 to get started and has been applying for additional grants to make the greenhouse a reality. It received funding from the Schmeeckle Foundation, 3M Foundation, Cargill Cares, Fox Lake Conservation League and other area businesses.

Steinhaus said any of the science classes at the school can find a way to utilize the greenhouse.

“We hope to get the Lutheran grade schools involved out here if they have a section they want to utilize the classroom for,” he noted. “If they want to do planting in the greenhouse or something like that. We want to make sure it’s open to the community as much as possible.”

While the school had been wanting to construct the greenhouse for quite some time, it needed funds and the staff willing to help.

“In order to do something like this, you have to have a teacher who has interest, and that we do have in Nathaniel Watt,” Steinhaus said. “He’s just a great resource for us. He’s got the interest and the creativity to pull it off, and not everyone’s got that.”

Watt is an adjunct professor with Concordia University-St. Paul and teaches a variety of science classes at Martin Luther. He is spearheading the project along with Steinhaus, who also has a science background.

“In a small school like this, you have to be able to wear many hats,” Watts said. “But I kind of like it; it keeps things interesting.”

Another interesting aspect to the greenhouse is the fact that students will help build it. Martin Luther is offering a construction class that will take place outside of the regular school day, such as on Saturdays, evenings or in the summer.

“It’s specifically tied to this,” Steinhaus said. “The kids can log hours. and if they log enough hours they can earn a half-credit or a full credit. It’s an opportunity for a learning experience.”

He explained that students will be part of a work crew that includes local businesses.

The foundation has been set and the plans are in place. Students soon will help put up the greenhouse, and Steinhaus hopes they will be in it this upcoming school year.

“There’s a good percentage of kids who are going to benefit from this,” he said. “As a school, you have to plan to reach out to all of the kids that walk through the door whether it’s music, or sports or math or science.”