New cutting-edge greenhouse from Niagara College

Added on 17 July 2023

Tags

New cutting-edge greenhouse from Niagara College

Niagara College has broken ground on a new, state-of-the-art greenhouse, which will plant the seeds for more innovation to benefit students and industry. The site of the future greenhouse was recently fenced off behind the existing Teaching Greenhouse at the College’s Daniel J. Patterson Campus in Niagara-on-the-Lake, and construction will soon be underway, scheduled for completion by March 31, 2024.

The new greenhouse will be a hub for the College’s Horticultural & Environmental Sciences Innovation Centre(HESIC), which aims to meet growing demands for applied research services from industry and together, with the existing Teaching Greenhouse, will provide an expanded learning environment and new opportunities for students in NC’s School of Environment and Horticulture.

One of four research and innovation centres within NC’s award-winning Research & Innovation division, HESIC specializes in performing growth trials with horticultural crops that evaluate innovations and improvements. Currently, HESIC utilizes space within the NC Teaching Greenhouse, which is primarily used for academic purposes. HESIC offers extensive experience in innovations that are close to commercialization, including assessing technologies, production practices, packaging, media and pots, pest and disease control approaches, and more.

Next-generation greenhouse features

Once built, the 1,258-square-metre greenhouse will include a horticulture laboratory to meet research needs for HESIC’s industry partners, as well as a new vertical grow room to allow expansion into this area of research to expose students to vertical controlled environment agriculture.