Our new Agricultural Instructor, Coleman Cooney, joined the Julian High staff at the start of the 2023 calendar year. Mr. Cooney has a strong background in viticulture; that's the art of growing grapes. Capitalizing on his experience and passion, he has the agriculture students creating a nursery for unique and exotic grape cultivars. The plan is to create an FFA student run business selling cuttings of these cultivars to vineyards and winerys around the state and the country.
In the Agricultural Chemistry class students have learned about the biodiversity necessary for healthy soil as they have been amending the ground prior to planting the nursery. Activities have included moving wheelbarrow loads of compost to the nursery site, planting nitrogen fixing cover crops to replenish nutrients in the soil, and checking the Ph balance of different sites around campus.
Future projects include creating planter boxes and planting an on-campus garden between the Agriculture classroom and the Science Building.