WEST PLAINS, Mo. – Officials with Missouri State University-West Plains and the West Plains Area Chamber of Commerce will host a ribbon cutting ceremony and open house at 11 a.m. Tuesday, June 16, to mark the grand opening of the university’s new greenhouse.
The approximately 720-square-foot facility, which will be known as the Grizzly Greenhouse, is at 201 Pennsylvania Ave. on the Missouri State-West Plains campus.
Brief remarks will be given by Dean of Academic Affairs Dr. Dennis Lancaster, Assistant Professor of Agriculture Dr. Linda Wulff-Risner and Sheila Barton, project manager of the U.S. Department of Labor’s Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College and Career Training (TAACCCT) Grant Program at the university, which provided funding for the greenhouse’s construction. Those attending also will be able to tour the facility and will receive bedding plants grown in the greenhouse, organizers said.
The greenhouse, which cost an estimated $110,000 to construct, will provide a teaching laboratory for students enrolled in the university’s agribusiness educational programs developed as part of the $2.5 million TAACCCT grant program, university officials said. The facility is designed to teach a variety of horticultural techniques, including conventional horticulture, companion plantings, raised beds and aquaculture (the cultivation or farming of marine plants and animals in a controlled environment), officials said.
“Our goal is to have several techniques used in modern horticulture for students to experience and practice with,” according to Risner. “Students in such classes as Plant Science, Introduction to Horticulture and Greenhouse Management will use the greenhouse for hands-on learning in propagation, fertility management, managing the environment, insect scouting and management. In addition, they will gain experience in fruit tree and cane fruit management.”
Several classes being offered this fall will utilize the greenhouse’s facilities, university officials noted. A complete list of courses scheduled this fall can be found at www.wp.missouristate.edu/admissions/schedule.htm.
For more information about the June 16 ceremony or the greenhouse, call the Missouri State-West Plains academic affairs office at 417-255-7272.