FORT RILEY, Kan. - Volunteers, personnel of the Warrior Transition Battalion and a representative from Kansas AgrAbility with Kansas State University Research and Extension worked together March 25 and 26 to renovate and repair the WTB Hoop House.
The hoop house, also referred to as a high tunnel, is a large, covered structure like a greenhouse used for growing plants and crops and it relies on sunlight to heat the interior. It was built through a grant and with the aid of Kansas State University Extension to assist Soldiers with traumatic brain injuries and others in occupational therapy at the WTB.
"K-State Extension and Kansas AgrAbility proposed a greenhouse to help Soldiers with TBI as therapy," said Sally Sowell, SFAC director. "We had it up on the hill behind the Victory Center and then, last year, we brought it down here so it would be closer to the WTB, the hospital and OT."
The hoop house was relocated by volunteers from the Kansas American Legion to be closer to the WTB so the Soldiers using it had closer access to it, as well as use of other assets, such as closer parking, electrical outlets, a pavilion and sidewalk. It was originally built four years ago on Custer Hill behind the Soldier Family Assistance Center, said Kerri Ebert, coordinator for the Kansas AgrAbility and part of K-State Research and Extension.
"We picked this site because of the pavilion being close, so you could have classes and what not," Sowell said. "We're close to water, electricity -- so that's why this seemed to be the best location."
The hoop house is an SFAC asset, but it is the staff and Soldiers in the occupational therapy department of the WTB that use it. It provides Soldiers with a place to manage stress and get away while also teaching them to grow their own food -- a skill that can also become a family activity, said Jill Sump, battalion occupational therapist with WTB.
"We use the greenhouse with our occupational therapy group," she said. "There's a lot of different benefits to it, but it lets them come in and learn how to grow plants. They can come here anytime and use it as a getaway and they can just pull weeds and use it as a stress reduction and stress management tool."
The hoop house has eight raised beds and several planters. Last year, the Soldiers also planted in ground pumpkin and watermelon patches, as well as a sunflower bed, Sump said.
While the relocation brought it closer to the Soldiers who need it most and gave it access to more sunlight to produce better and larger amounts of produce, it also took away the wind breaks and protections it had on Custer Hill. This caused the plastic sheeting that made up the sides to be destroyed multiple times last year, Sowell said.
"When we brought it down here, the wind was like a tunnel and so the wind destroyed it a couple times last year and the last time that the cover blew off we did not repair it," she said.
As volunteers, WTB staff and Soldiers tried to determine the best covering for it with each repair; they also had to deal with the greater height of the hoop house. To prevent Soldiers from feeling trapped or overwhelmed inside, the structure was built to larger dimensions than normal, Ebert said. These larger dimensions mean additional equipment, such as scaffolding, must be rented to conduct any repairs and maintenance, which can slow the process.
"There's a huge difference between this and most of the high tunnels people put up in Kansas," she said. "Because of the nature of Soldiers who would be using it and potentially some claustrophobia issues, we went with 8-foot side walls and that's really been our challenge. Most of them have 5-foot side walls and that makes the peak about 10 to 15 feet. This one goes 18 to 20 feet up."
Although the greater dimensions complicate the repairs, Ebert and Sowell both said it is worth it to ensure the Soldiers feel comfortable and safe when they work inside. Even when they were waiting for equipment between repairs, plants grew comfortably inside.
"It grows great," Ebert said. "Even without the top. We had spinach that over wintered. We had cilantro that over wintered and a strawberry patch that came back."
Determined to keep the hoop house going, volunteers repaired it by installing polycarbonate sides and reinforced plastic on the top, she said.
Shortly after the repairs were completed, occupational therapy groups returned to start planting.
"It's their garden," Ebert said. "It's for the Soldiers."
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