Joshua Harvey

Designed, fundraised for, and constructed a greenhouse for the local community farm. While in high school, I was working towards the rank of Eagle Scout in the BSA Scouting program. One of requirements for Eagle rank is completing a community service project for one of the communities of which you are a member. I talked with members of the community farm, which sells shares of organic produce every year and then uses the profits to donate shares to local families in need, about the needs of the farm. We decided that a greenhouse would be highly beneficial, allowing the farm to start seedlings in earlier in the year and add months to their growing season.

 

The general design consisted of a metal frame covered with multiple layers of plastic sheeting and then affixed with wooden rails. Wooden endwalls were constructed on either end, which served to seal the structure while still allowing access through large doors. Materials were carefully chosen to meet the requirements of structures on organic farms, which precluded the use of elements like pressure treated wood and certain types of paint and primer.

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The greenhouse frame was purchased from a metalworking company and was then incorporated with the endwalls of my own design. Each endwall was centered around a hinged door, created from a piece of plywood and braced with a cross of two 2x4s. The walls on either side of the door were supported by vertical blocking (again, consisting of non-pressure treated 2x4s) and covered with sheets of plywood anchored onto the base plate, which was sunk into the ground. Two layers of polyethylene sheeting were spread over the structure and bolted into place using hipboards and baseboards. A small fan was then attached to the frame, which served to inflate the air gap between the polyethylene sheets and provide superior insulation properties.

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On the day of construction, I divided the volunteers into two teams, woodworking and metalworking, and walked them through the assembly steps, while providing them with an instructional packet that I drew up. Technical advice was provided by my father, a mechanical engineer himself.

 

The greenhouse, constructed in the Fall of 2016, is still in full use by the community farm of Littleton, MA as of the Fall of 2019. Several years of crops have been successfully started in the greenhouse, bringing fresh, organic produce to the locals of Middlesex County.