RAVENNA, Mich. — There are some incredible things happening within the agriscience classes at Ravenna High School. After winning a massive grant several years ago, they have parlayed the momentum into a series of out-of-the-box projects.
FOX 17 first reported back in December 2020 that the school had been selected to receive a $100,000 rural tech grant from the U.S. Department of Education. Ravenna was one of just five schools across the United States selected for the grant.
One of those schools will win an additional $100,000 in summer of 2023.
Agriscience teacher Melanie Block has championed the school's agriscience program for about the last 24 years.
Ravenna will have to submit documentation of their outcomes in a final report to the U.S. Department of Education, who will then pick a single grand prize winner.
READ MORE: Ravenna students win $100K grant to build a beehive of the future
Initially, the group had intended to purchase a pre-constructed, automated beehive with the grant money, but they found that option too large for their starting point.
They ended up with a whole lot of bees, and a whole lot of honey to be processed.
The students processed the honey into products now available for sale— designing every aspect of their products.
Now the students have partnered with Grand Valley State University to help collect data on the water quality of nearby Crockery Creek.
The school was also recently able to hire a second agriscience teacher named Kera Howell.
That is in addition to a new agriscience classroom and a new greenhouse being constructed on campus.
