Boys & Girls Club members get lesson in Colorado urban gardening

Four stories above the ground, member of the Shopneck Boys & Girls Club are learning about roof top gardening.

"They're growing nature, inside and outside," said Giselle, a 10-year-old club member.

Education Associate, Corrine Hinton, explained that gardening on the roof is an efficient use of light, water, and space in an urban setting. She also told the kids that the garden bed provides a layer of insulation for the building, keeping it warm in the winter and cooler in the summer at the CSU Spur campus in Denver.

"I got to see some plants that weren't in dirt, and usually you see them in dirt," explained Jennissa, another 10-year-old club member.

As the tour moved into the greenhouse, horticulture grad student, Oliver Fulton, explained hydroponic gardening.

"There will be no soil involved, and that's because this is actually ground up…this is a type of rock that's formed around volcanos," Fulton told the students.

"We saw some plants that grew in tubes," Jennissa recalled.

They also saw trees that have been grafted to better suit their environment. Beyond urban gardening, this lesson serves to expand the students understanding of different jobs and areas of study at college.

"So students will actually come here to plant these plants, and they're doing research," Hinton explained to the children.

The hope is that these seeds of knowledge will blossom in various ways.

"I want to work to make more plants and make the world more healthy," Jennissa told CBS4.

The tour is part of a partnership between CSU and the Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Denver to expand members understanding of different college and career opportunities.