There’s a place in Hubbard Hall most students aren’t allowed: greenhouses.

They were built on the roof to help researchers replicate the sun for experiments. The greenhouses provide space for teaching and plenty of opportunity to conduct ecological testing.

Biology assistant professor and greenhouse caretaker Greg Houseman recently had students up on the roof working with Kansas’ fungi, searching for ways to stop them from growing.

“Some smaller classes go up there sometimes,” Houseman said. ”But it was designed to conduct big experiments in ecology. Some researchers who have used the lab have gone on to help farmers.”

The greenhouses have been up there for years, but Houseman said any student who wants to get involved in ecological research should contact him directly.

The greenhouses have been there for decades.

“It’s been here since I arrived 22 years ago,” said Isabel Hendry, research assistant. “It was old then, too.”

The Hubbard Hall greenhouse is not the only one on campus. In fact, several more are tucked away underneath the power plant.

The purpose of the greenhouses in the power plant is to help WSU be self-sufficient and grow its own plant life and flower bulbs.

A team of about 30 people on the WSU maintenance team makes sure the campus is taken care of. A few of those 30 make up the floral department, the caretakers of the flowers.

The tulips that have sprung up all over the main campus were specifically designed and planned by the WSU floral department. Those bulbs were grown in the greenhouse under the power plant.

Many students have noticed the tulips on campus located in front of Ablah Library and the Rhatigan Student center, including Andrew McCoskey, a sophomore studying secondary education.

“I did notice the tulips on campus,” McCoskey said. “They really make campus more vibrant.”

Both greenhouses are not open to students or the public. Kara Ossman of the WSU Landscape and Ground Maintenance said it is meant to be that way.

“The flowers are a service to the students,” Ossman said “Our job is to make sure campus looks nice for them.”