Research greenhouse hosts open house

Located on the fittingly named Botanical Lane in Durham, with over 25,000 square feet of space, the Macfarlane Greenhouses are a hub for research and teaching at the University of New Hampshire (UNH). The greenhouses are home to a variety of different plant species, some for courses like the Green Thumb Workshop and others for agricultural and breeding research.

On Saturday, April 18, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Macfarlane Greenhouses will be hosting their 54th annual open house event. The open house will include talks and presentations from researchers and specialists. Presentations range in topics from raising healthy transplants to preventing and managing common plant diseases. Students and community members are invited to attend and learn more about the research and innovation within the greenhouses.

The main branches of UNH associated with the greenhouses are the New Hampshire Agricultural Experiment Station and the College of Life Sciences and Agriculture (COLSA).

Greenhouse Manager Matt Biondi took The New Hampshire (TNH) on a tour of the greenhouses. Biondi has been working for Macfarlane Greenhouses for just under three years, and was drawn to Macfarlane’s research programs: “It was very exciting to see a place dedicated to research and helping the local community through agriculture,” said Biondi.