The new section of the UW-Madison”s Walnut Street Greenhouses was dedicated at a ceremony Sept. 1 at the greenhouses.
The updated greenhouses will provide state-of-the-art facilities to UW-Madison researchers and students. Parts of the facility have been replaced; other areas have been remodeled and refitted. While the new setup has slightly less area under glass, the design and technology will allow it to accommodate significantly more research activity.
“The newer houses are much more efficient,” explains horticulture professor Brent McCown, who helped plan the reconstruction. “The space is divided into smaller units, and the environment in each unit is more controllable. They also have better climate control, including air-conditioning, and provide higher intensity of light – both natural (glass panels are wider and divided by less framework) and artificial. All environmental controls are electronic and programmable.”
The Walnut Street facility, with 18,000 square feet of bench space, is the UW-Madison”s main research greenhouse space, used by researchers in about a dozen departments. Much of the $7.5 million project cost was underwritten by private support from individuals involved in Wisconsin”s agricultural and horticultural industries.
The new greenhouses will supplement the many facilities already in operation, including the D.C. Smith Instructional Greenhouses, the greenhouses at the West Madison Agricultural Research Station, the O.J. Noer Turfgrass Research and Education Facility, and field research facilities at the Arlington station and at other research stations around the state.