{"id":16917,"date":"2026-10-21T07:52:24","date_gmt":"2026-10-21T12:52:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wordpress.morningside.edu\/thecr\/?p=16917"},"modified":"2026-10-21T07:52:25","modified_gmt":"2026-10-21T12:52:25","slug":"morningside-university-builds-high-tunnel-to-expand-hands-on-learning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wordpress.morningside.edu\/thecr\/archives\/16917","title":{"rendered":"Morningside University Builds High Tunnel to Expand Hands-On Learning"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong><em>By Tayden VanPelt &#8211; <\/em><\/strong>A new outdoor classroom structure aims to extend the growing season, increase food production, and strengthen community connections. Morningside University\u2019s Applied Agriculture and Food Studies Department is constructing a new high tunnel in its outdoor classroom to expand hands-on learning opportunities and increase food production for campus and surrounding communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Construction began in June 2026 following approximately a year and a half of planning. According to Dan Witten, associate professor of Agriculture, the project involved securing grants, determining the structure\u2019s size and location, placing orders, and obtaining city permits to meet local requirements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A high tunnel is a plastic-covered structure that protects crops from wind and other environmental challenges while extending the growing season. Although the structure is unheated, it traps heat from the sun, creating a warmer environment that allows crops to grow earlier in the spring and later into the fall. Witten said the high tunnel will provide students with additional opportunities to learn about alternative farming techniques, crop production, and agricultural management decisions through hands-on experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The structure is also intended to help increase the supply of food available to campus and local communities. Plans for what will be grown inside the tunnel will depend on the needs of the community. The department hopes to finish construction by the end of October 2026, with the first growing season anticipated for summer 2027. Remaining construction includes stretching the plastic covering over the structure and installing the blower motor, which helps maintain proper air pressure between the tunnel\u2019s plastic layers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Beyond extending the growing season, the project is expected to create opportunities for students to apply classroom concepts in a practical setting while building connections with community members. \u201cI\u2019m excited to see the learning opportunities it will provide students and see the connections we will make in the community,\u201d Witten said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Once completed, the high tunnel will become another resource for Morningside University\u2019s Applied Agriculture and Food Studies Department, combining experiential learning with local food production and community engagement.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Tayden VanPelt &#8211; A new outdoor classroom structure aims to extend the growing season, increase food production, and strengthen community connections. Morningside University\u2019s Applied Agriculture and Food Studies Department is constructing a new high tunnel in its outdoor classroom to expand hands-on learning opportunities and increase food production for campus and surrounding communities. Construction&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":105,"featured_media":16918,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[203],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16917","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.morningside.edu\/thecr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16917","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.morningside.edu\/thecr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.morningside.edu\/thecr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.morningside.edu\/thecr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/105"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.morningside.edu\/thecr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16917"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.morningside.edu\/thecr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16917\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16919,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.morningside.edu\/thecr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16917\/revisions\/16919"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.morningside.edu\/thecr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16918"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.morningside.edu\/thecr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16917"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.morningside.edu\/thecr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16917"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.morningside.edu\/thecr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16917"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}