New greenhouse larger, more advanced

Though the Sampson-Hoffland Laboratory building is less than one year old, its surroundings have already received a facelift. Three construction projects are taking place around Luther’s newest building— a rain garden, an oak savanna and a new greenhouse.

The rain garden and oak savannah are composed of native wet prairie plants and are meant not only to be aesthetically pleasing but also serve functional purposes according to Professor of Biology Kirk J. Larsen, who pushed for the planting of both.

“This garden reduces runoff that would otherwise be added to the storm sewer system by soaking up rainwater and replenishing groundwater supplies,” Larsen said. “It’s designed to mimic the native plant habitat, and water is absorbed much better than regular grass because of roots that go down 20 to 50 feet down. It will evolve over the years because of how the plants grow and how they respond to the weather.”

The rain garden and the oak savanna will be integral in restoring the native landscape of northeast Iowa around Sampson-Hoffland Laboratories.

The new greenhouse will be the third generation in the evolution of greenhouses at Luther College. It was part of the original plans for Sampson-Hoffland but was delayed due to budget concerns.

The greenhouse will allow for student research projects to expand their range of topics, according to Assistant Professor of Biology Eric Baack.

“It will be used for the botany teaching collection, and it will provide more space for student research projects,” Baack said.

The previous greenhouse was built in 1993. Almost immediately, the number of student research projects exceeded the available space. Students and faculty also had to walk through the nursing department in order to get inside the building.

In addition to making a greater number of research projects possible, the new greenhouse will be much more energy efficient than its predecessors.

“It has a thermal side that will be extended at nighttime to conserve energy, and it also doubles as a shade during the day to aid in cooling the greenhouse,” Robert Fitton, director of projects and laboratories in biology, said.

There will also be an intelligent network system that will be able to control the ventilation.

However, the old greenhouse has not outlived its usefulness. According to Baack, Larsen and Fitton, the old building will be used to preserve plants in the winter and possibly for college gardens to start their plants in the springtime.

Completion of the new greenhouse is expected in late November
of this year.