Room to grow
Construction is nearly complete on a new research greenhouse slated to open this spring at U of T Mississauga. The $3-million facility will provide expanded and up-to-date space for plant research in biology, geography and anthropology.
“UTM is actively improving research structure and that’s driven by student and faculty growth,” says Bryan Stewart, Vice-Principal, Research at UTM. “We have new faculty whose research programs require highly functional greenhouse space,” he says. “The new greenhouse will be big enough to grow all kinds of plants, from small flowers to tree seedlings and will offer technical capabilities not available in our current facilities.”
UTM’s existing greenhouse, located on the roof of the Davis Building, was built in 1967 and suffers from aging technology and space constraints. The single-room structure is currently used to grow specimens for demonstrations in undergraduate labs, but lacks the temperature- and humidity-controlled environments needed for conducting experiments.
The new greenhouse features a 201-square-metre glass pod with six self-contained compartments and a corridor housing a common work area outfitted with microscopes, Wi-Fi access, workstations and other amenities. A 231-square-metre concrete support building will house utilities. “It will be a high-quality space with sensitive environmental controls for temperature and humidity to facilitate different kinds of experiments in different regions of the building,” Stewart says.
The facility will be used by about 14 faculty members and up to 80 undergraduate and graduate students working in plant biology research. Two chambers, to be used by climate change researcher Ingo Ensminger, will feature extra cooling capabilities, running 10 degrees cooler than the outdoors, even in the heat of summer. Another section, to be used by Marc Johnson in his research into plant defenses against insects, will feature fine mesh screening to provide extra control of the insects.
Biology department chair Angela Lange says the infrastructure investment plays a key part in expanding plant research at UTM. “Two new plant researchers will be joining the university over the summer and they are really keen on having access to the new greenhouse,” she says. “This investment in research infrastructure is an important element in attracting new researchers and enhancing the research already taking place on campus.”
The site, behind the Hazel McCallion Learning Centre, was one of a number of locations considered for the project. “There are a few factors that influenced that decision. It had to have good sun exposure and easy access to utilities and deliveries,” Stewart says. The site also has space for future growth, and can accommodate up to three more greenhouse pods, which would be connected to the concrete support section of the facility. “The support infrastructure will be in place, so as new plant researchers come on board, we can expand research capacity,” he says.
“The existing greenhouse will continue to be used for non-research purposes. As long as it can continue to function as a space for teaching specimens, we’ll keep it going,” Stewart says.
