OVERLEA, MD—Delegate Carl Jackson will be sponsoring a volunteer project to install potted plants at Overlea High School next month.

The event will take place at 8:30 a.m. on February 17, 2024.

Delegate Jackson says the project’s overall goal is to interior-scape, or install potted plants inside, at Overlea High School. The indoor plants will not only enhance the overall appearance of the school but will provide tangible benefits to the students as well – studies have shown that the presence of plants can boost moods, increase creativity and concentration, reduce stress and anxiety, and eliminate air pollutants, just to name a few benefits.

Delegate Jackson’s team is working with the BREATHE Center at Johns Hopkins to study the effects of CO2 before and after plant installation through the use of sensors throughout the school. The school will also be comparing the behavioral effects of this program before and after the plants are installed. The ultimate goal is to have these positive effects studied and to produce enough data for this to be a pilot program that can be copied at other schools throughout Baltimore County and the State of Maryland.

Delegate Jackson has partnered with Bell Nursery and Gary Mangum (former CEO of Bell Nursery), who will be donating the plants for this project, and with Isonem to provide their product called “soil water trap,” a 100% environmentally friendly soil additive that can absorb water up to 600 times its volume and allow plants to go months, or even years, without needing additional watering. This will help with the sustainability of the plants in a school environment.

Once the plants arrive, there will be a day of service for students (and the students will receive community service hours) and volunteers to unload the plants, mix the water trap additive with the soil, water the plants, and deliver the plants to their designated locations throughout the school.

The Potted Plant Project is one that has brought businesses, BCPS, volunteers, students, and legislators from both state and county together.

“(This project) is a collaboration that I am extremely proud of and one which I think will have short and long term benefits for the students at Overlea High School, and possibly for many more students in Baltimore County if the program is a success, which I believe it will be,” said Delegate Jackson.