When parents and caregivers begin to drop off their students at Wiscasset Elementary next week, many might notice some improvements to the school grounds.  In addition to upgrades to the playground (an exciting project led by the school’s Partners in Education, or P.I.E.), they’ll also see a greenhouse rising in the space next to the school’s pavilion.

The greenhouse traces back to an inspired “what-if” conversation between a few members of the Garden Club of Wiscasset. In early 2025, Annaliese Incháurregui had already been exchanging ideas about a greenhouse with some elementary school teachers, including fourth grade teacher Becky Hallowell. Garden Club member Ann Light then learned that Water Street Kitchen and Bar was planning to replace nearly all of its windows overlooking Sheepscot Harbor.  What if the Garden Club salvaged Water Street’s wide, gracious windows and used them as the basis for the greenhouse?

Garden Club president Sheila Scott then made the tactical blunder of offering her barn as storage space for the windows until the project got truly underway. Fast forward nearly 12 months — during which Annaliese Incháurregui moved to the other side of the planet — and the windows finally made their way to the school parking lot.

Meanwhile, Hawkins Building Group, based in Boothbay Harbor and in Massachusetts, had been engaged in a substantial renovation project on a Wiscasset residence. When approached about contributing their expertise to the design and construction of the greenhouse, the team at Hawkins readily agreed. Rounding out this effort by good, local corporate citizens, Hancock Lumber of Damariscotta generously contributed many of the necessary materials.

At this writing, a week before classes resume, the frame of the greenhouse is taking shape. The Garden Club wishes to express its gratitude to the donors and benefactors to this project — particularly Hawkins Building Group and Hancock Lumber — and to others who contributed to this effort.

Special thanks also go to George Chase, Wiscasset code enforcement officer, for enduring an extensive email exchange about the structure, and to the Scotts, for giving up barn space for a year.

Stay tuned for the next chapter: When students grow, they grow.