Houlton High School Sugarhouse Project receives grant

HOULTON, Maine — Houlton High School recently received a Toshiba America Foundation grant for their Sugarhouse Project. Every year Toshiba chooses grants in two categories: K to 5 (worth up to $1,000) and 6 to 12 (worth up to $5,000). HHS was chosen for the latter category. The Toshiba America Foundation grant is one of several grants that the school has received for the Sugarhouse Project.
    Todd Willard teaches 7-12 physical education and outdoor education at HHS. He created the Sugarhouse Project.
Willard previously made syrup with his outdoor education class when teaching at East Grand High School. Because the Bird Farm where HHS is located has so many sugar and red maples, he decided to do it there as well. Willard said that component of outdoor education has been one of the most enjoyable for his students, and many of them even go on to make syrup for themselves outside of school.
Willard wanted to create a building using modern equipment to house a sugaring operation. He said that modern methods give students a look at scientific applications instead of theories.
According to Willard the project wouldn’t have happened without the grants and donations received.
“Dan Jacobs (a forester for MFS) thought we could apply for a grant through Project Learning Tree to establish a building in which to house our stuff, and it has grown from there,” Willard said.
“We also got a grant from Toshiba and the Stephen and Tabitha King Foundation. Those grants helped tremendously, but the local donations have been extremely generous. Donations have included labor, equipment, materials, and knowledge.”
Marla Menninger is a program assistant at Toshiba America Foundation. She explained why HHS was chosen for the 6 to 12 category grant.
“We were reviewing a very competitive batch of grants, and Houlton High School stuck out. The project proposed by Todd Willard was something we were excited to support,” said Menninger.
“We fund teacher-initiated projects that happen in their classrooms. These projects focus on a hands-on learning experience for students in either math, science, or both. And we felt that Mr. Willard’s proposal was very much in line with this criteria.”
The Toshiba grant has already been put to use to purchase evaporating equipment. In the future Willard plans to set up a business model that will have students doing everything from purchasing, sales, labor and management while under supervision.