Hundreds join ‘Plant Parade’ to new McMaster Greenhouse

Hundreds of plants were moved Wednesday morning in a transplanting parade from an old McMaster greenhouse to a newly constructed one.

Over a hundred volunteers registered to help move the last of the remaining plants from the old Biology Greenhouse to the recently finished McMaster Learning and Discovery Greenhouse.

Biology professor Susan Dudley and project manager Sam Sargeos spent the last three months slowly transporting hundreds of plants to the 11,500 square-foot space.

The trees were the first to be moved, which were handled by specialists. More than 40 facility services workers volunteered on July 24 to transport a portion of smaller plants before a heavy downpour interrupted the move.

The university says over 61,000 kilograms of bark compost was moved to the new space taking at least two weeks and about 800 trips to complete.

The new greenhouse offers a large space under a white-frame structure. It will feature new customizable lights, automated watering systems and sustainable geothermal systems focusing on regulating heating and cooling.

The building plans to house over 200 plant species by the fall semester and will be open to the public.

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