Tucked away inside the Marshall Mayberry Arboretum next to Dean Hall is a place that’s dry even when it’s pouring rain outside. It feels like summer in there when it’s really spring. The humidity envelops you with sweat while your lips crack and dry up just a step outdoors. This place, with a much different climate than ours, is the CWU Greenhouse. It’s a place where CWU students can come to study, relax and even grab a plant or two.
The greenhouse, primarily used by the CWU Biology Department, is relatively the same size as a typical one to two bedroom home. Thanks to the power of large fans, pumped in moisture, and a whole lot of electricity, the greenhouse allows hundreds of different plant species to grow.
It holds four separate rooms designed to simulate four unique climates: a jungle room, a tropical room, a desert room and a research room. These different rooms allow plants that would not ordinarily survive in the Ellensburg weather to grow and thrive in a place they are more familiar with.