Located in the heart of main campus sits the UW-Superior Oexemann Greenhouse. Connected to Barstow Hall some could say that although the Greenhouse gives and protects life to the plants inside, it also gives life to the students who visit.
Why is the greenhouse such a great place for students to visit? To answer this, Kate Stone, the manager, and horticultural technician at the greenhouse said, “It’s just gorgeous in there…The plants are all so happy, there’s a climate for everyone if you like it more humid or more dry…It always smells so good.”
The greenhouse is open to students any time the door is propped open in the Barstow Hall lobby. | Photo by Isaiah Wiita
The greenhouse has three different rooms inside it, and inside each room is a different climate that is required for the plants inside.
“The majority of the plants in there are foreign because it is a greenhouse setting, so the plants in there are used to having year-round temperate climate,” said Stone.
Many foreign plants call this place home, and it is believed, according to Stone, that the greenhouse is home to the largest orchid collections in the northland.
The orchid collection is in the greenhouse’s first room, the tropical climate. Stone has been kept busy by planning out the best times to plant so that the plants bloom at the exact time she desires them to.
“Springtime, which we’re in now, is just the peak of planting for plant tax… I started planning that out in winter. So, from November ‘till now I have been planting seeds at certain times so that they bloom at certain times,” said Stone.
Stone stated that the greenhouse has collaborated with the Wellness Center recently, and has set up chairs inside the greenhouse for students to be able to relax, and breathe in the fresh plant air.
The hours that the Wellness area of the greenhouse are Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Stone is in the Oexemann Greenhouse on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 9 a.m. to 2 a.m..
Stone says that you can email and request a tour, or you can just show up while she is there, she would be happy to give a tour. “No matter what time of year it is, it (greenhouse) smells amazing…It’s just a really calming space, cause humans need nature,” said Stone.