CNS Research and Education Greenhouse
Overview
The CNS Research & Education Greenhouse is a $10.8 million, 15,000-square-foot facility design that balances the university's historic, agrarian roots with the spirit of cutting-edge plant research. The facility is both greenhouse and laboratory. The headhouse consists of two laboratories, a potting/classroom, a growth chamber room and office for the greenhouse superintendent. A renovated greenhouse provides four rooms of upgraded teaching and research facilities.
The 2011 glass greenhouse facility maximizes research capability and provides an open, flexible environment for introductory botany instruction. The greenhouse, which is a Silver-rated LEED facility, has 12 separate rooms arranged in two wings. One wing contains four 1,000 square-foot rooms; the other wing offers eight rooms of varying sizes, two specifically designed as propagation rooms, and two with full air temperature control for research requiring intensive regulated controls. Sophisticated automated systems control natural and artificial lighting, temperature, humidity, irrigation and fertilization, adapting the interior environment in response to the sun, the wind, and the weather.
Using the facility
Space in the greenhouse is limited and availability is decided by a greenhouse committee approximately three weeks prior to the start of a quarter. To reserve space, researchers should complete the Greenhouse Space Request Form.
The greenhouse operates on a system of quarters:
December-February
March-May
June-August
September-November
Usage fees are segmented by tiers and are charged by the square foot for a three-month period as follows:
Tier 1: Plastic Houses $ .96
Tier 2: Bowditch 1-4 & Clark, Morrill $1.74
Tier 3: CNS $2.40
Tier 4: CNS – AC $3.00
Morrill Growth Chamber Fees
Tier 5: 7 - Conviron E7/2 are 4ft2 per compartment and charged out at $40 per quarter
Tier 6: 2 - Percival E41L1s are 6.8 ft2 per chamber $70/quarter
Tier 7: 1 – Percival E41L2 is 13.7 ft2 per chamber $140/quarter
Tier 8: 1 - Percival E75L1 is 10.8 ft2at $110/quarter
Tier 9: 1 - Conviron PGW40 is 40 tf2 charged out at $400/quarter
For more information, please contact Greenhouse Superintendent Chris Joyner via email: joyner [at] cns [dot] umass [dot] edu (joyner[at]cns[dot]umass[dot]edu), or phone: (413) 545-5233.