Douglas High School FFA students Sarah Brown, Anna Jones, Hailey Latshaw, Saria Dempsey, and Izzy Lindstrom in the greenhouse on Thursday.
Photo by Sarah Drinkwine.
Douglas High School students were hard at work Thursday in the greenhouse planting and transferring jalapenos, strawberries, tomatoes and more in preparation for their Spring Sale beginning noon Mother’s Day.
FFA teacher Rosealee Rieman said due to recent weather, some of the plants prepared for the sale were lost and the variety of plants for sale is a little more limited this year.
“Unfortunately, we lost a lot of what we had prepared, but the students have been hard at work making up for what we can,” said Rieman. “We do have basil, tomatoes, a couple other vegetables, and a variety of flowers.”
The first sale is scheduled for Mother’s Day with additional sales planned after school during the week of 3-5 p.m. May 12-16 with another weekend sale May 17-18.
FFA Students said they enjoy the experience and hands-on learning they receive. Their lessons including feeding the animals on campus, including chickens and goats, working in the greenhouse, learning about different fertilizers and why they are important for what you want to grow, and more.
“There’s a lot that comes out of it, and it’s interesting,” said freshman Saria Dempsey.
The student sale helps students interact with customers and improve their customer services skills and providing them with hands on sale and business skills.
Rieman has been teaching the program since 2023 but has been involved in the program since she was a student at Douglas High School and even before with family history in the program.
“I was born and raised in Gardnerville and the third generation to go through this FFA program,” said Rieman.
After graduating from Douglas High School in 2017, she went on the University of Nevada, Reno, and obtained degrees in agriculture and secondary education. She began her career teaching in Spring Creek and Smith Valley before returning to Minden and taking on the Douglas High School position.
“It’s very rewarding to come back and be a part of a program you were involved with in high school and giving back to the community that you were born and raised in is really cool as well,” said Rieman. “My students are amazing, and they are the reason I enjoy what I do.”