The greenhouse was renovated in 2004 when Becker Hall of Science was expanded and renamed the Science Center.  We have many plant species including banana, a variety of cacti, aquatic species including Papyrus in our goldfish tank, and plans to add more.  The greenhouse currently has computer-controlled louvers to help maintain desired temperatures, and plans are to increase air movement with new fans.  Besides having items that you’d expect to see in a greenhouse, we have two computer-controlled growth chambers.  These chambers allow us to perform research under controlled conditions including temperature and daylight variations.  Many students have already used both the greenhouse and the growth chambers; and faculty are using these facilities for research.

The Lageschulte family graciously gave this prairie to Wartburg in 1980, and it is still a much-loved facility.  This remnant prairie is located just northeast of Waverly’s city limits; and as such it offers wonderful outdoor field opportunities for classes and research performed by Wartburg biology students and faculty.  This resource is especially valuable because it is such a rare ecosystem.  As of today, 99.9% of all of Iowa’s native prairie has been lost to other uses, yet remnants contain wonderful amounts of interesting plants and insects.  This prairie is just under 2.3 hectares (a little larger than 5 acres), so it is not large enough to support the famous indigenous bison or prairie dogs.  Yet, there are several prairie plant species that are known to represent undisturbed prairies:  a small gem in northeast Iowa.  For example, the bottle gentian, Gentiana andrewsii is not listed on the USDA plants database website as occurring in Bremer County, yet it is present on the prairie.

If you see something here that piques your interest please send an e-mail to Dr. Johanna Foster, johanna.foster@wartburg.edu.