Spring Break
The Daily OrangeESF | No place to grow
Lack of greenhouse space challenges students, professors trying to plant in cold
By Megan Preston
Posted: 11/28/07, 1:28 AM EST Section: News
Three words say it all.
"Empty greenhouses = opportunity."
These words begin a proposal to use space in the greenhouses near Marshall Hall as facilities for a student garden, an endeavor undertaken by the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry's Green Campus Initiative student group. The group hopes to grow vegetables in the greenhouse in an effort toward developing a self-sustaining campus.
The project's key members, senior Julia Morse and sophomore Hannah Morgan, submitted a proposal to ESF Provost Bruce Bongarten the week before Thanksgiving break asking for the greenhouse space. Student gardens attempted in the past have failed, but the two students are confident that this time will be different.
Charles Maynard, ESF professor and co-director of the American Chestnut Research and Restoration Center, is skeptical. He uses some of the greenhouse space for research.
"Growing food crops indoors in our climate. … I don't know," Maynard said. "It's a learning process."
Fellow professor and Chair of Environmental Resources and Forest Engineering James Hassett agrees.
"There's a shortage of greenhouse space on campus," he said, noting that competition from faculty and other student groups may prevent Green Campus Initiative from acquiring the space.
The decision rests on the shoulders of Bongarten, the provost. He said he will give the students an answer by the beginning of January.
"We're certainly hoping to be able to provide the space," he said, but he'll need to evaluate the space available and the amount needed by researchers.
"We're looking to use the space more efficiently. … This is something we very much support," Bongarten said.
Professors Maynard and Hassett know all about the space constraints in the campus' greenhouses - a necessity for eco-research in Syracuse's frigid climate. They each control their respective greenhouse of the three "old greenhouses" located on the hill behind Marshall Hall.
"Empty greenhouses = opportunity."
These words begin a proposal to use space in the greenhouses near Marshall Hall as facilities for a student garden, an endeavor undertaken by the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry's Green Campus Initiative student group. The group hopes to grow vegetables in the greenhouse in an effort toward developing a self-sustaining campus.
The project's key members, senior Julia Morse and sophomore Hannah Morgan, submitted a proposal to ESF Provost Bruce Bongarten the week before Thanksgiving break asking for the greenhouse space. Student gardens attempted in the past have failed, but the two students are confident that this time will be different.
Charles Maynard, ESF professor and co-director of the American Chestnut Research and Restoration Center, is skeptical. He uses some of the greenhouse space for research.
"Growing food crops indoors in our climate. … I don't know," Maynard said. "It's a learning process."
Fellow professor and Chair of Environmental Resources and Forest Engineering James Hassett agrees.
"There's a shortage of greenhouse space on campus," he said, noting that competition from faculty and other student groups may prevent Green Campus Initiative from acquiring the space.
The decision rests on the shoulders of Bongarten, the provost. He said he will give the students an answer by the beginning of January.
"We're certainly hoping to be able to provide the space," he said, but he'll need to evaluate the space available and the amount needed by researchers.
"We're looking to use the space more efficiently. … This is something we very much support," Bongarten said.
Professors Maynard and Hassett know all about the space constraints in the campus' greenhouses - a necessity for eco-research in Syracuse's frigid climate. They each control their respective greenhouse of the three "old greenhouses" located on the hill behind Marshall Hall.
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