Forestry and Horticulture Facilities

The Tree Improvement Center is part of the University Farms system and is located approximately four miles west of the main campus. It includes forty acres dedicated to hardwood research demonstration.

Ongoing activities encompass a wide array of areas, including walnut breeding and cultivar evaluation; disease susceptibility studies, white ash flowering and grafting; pruning and thinning demonstration; and stand management strategies.

Resources: To learn more about some of the interesting things going on at the Tree Improvement Center, follow the links below:

• "SIUC Developing Nation's First Cane Nursery" [The Saluki Times, 06/25/2008]
• "Forestry Program Plan 'Teaching Forest' on Campus" [SIUC Press Release, 03/02/2007]

Mailing address:

The Experimental Forest is made up of thousands of acres of forested land, owned by Southern Illinois University Carbondale. It is made available to students and faculty for scientific research and hands-on teaching and learning opportunities.

A number of diverse experiments are conducted at the Experimental Forest. These range from building experimental horse trails and a test facility with custom instrumentation to study trail erosion and minimizing user impact on trails and the surrounding environment to figuring out new techniques in the effective management of recreational areas, natural areas and productive forested land. 

The experimental forest includes portions of forested land in: 

• Touch of Nature Environmental Center
• Thompson Woods, immediately adjacent to campus
• The rugged, non-agricultural land section of University Farms 
• Various other tracts of forested land (many received as Estate gifts for agricultural research) throughout Southern Illinois

The forest becomes a living lab for students, helping them conduct practical field exercises and learn about the natural management of forested resources.

The Experimental Forest serves as a vital, indispensable resource, helping students and faculty alike pursue a variety of tier-one research that is collaborative in nature and breaks new ground.

At the Sustainability Center we believe that everything we need for our survival and well-being depends, either directly or indirectly, on our natural environment.

Located approximately two miles southwest of the main campus, the Center houses the following:

• Sustainable Vegetable Farm
• Paper Recycling Plant
• Vermicomposting Center

The facilities jointly improve our community by:

• Producing food grown by organic methods
• Recycling food and paper waste
• Reducing organic waste going into landfills
• Providing students and faculty plenty of research opportunities

The Horticulture Center is part of the University Farms system and is located approximately three miles west of the main campus. Used extensively for both research and teaching, the Horticulture Center includes space for small and large plot horticultural crop research in addition to some crop production acreage. Ongoing research activities encompass a wide array of areas, including turf grass production and management; vegetable breeding and production; tree fruit and small production; viticulture; and soil physics and fertility.

Research infrastructure includes extensive apple and peach orchards, research and demonstration vineyard, and dedicated areas for turf grass activities.

• Miller, John

For additional information about the Horticulture Center, please contact:

• Greg Osman

Horticulture Center
Mailcode 4415
Southern Illinois University
Carbondale, Illinois 62901
Phone: (618) 453-1150, or (618) 453-2496
Fax: (618) 453-7457

• Bradley Taylor

Horticulture Center [Orchards]
Mailcode 4415
Southern Illinois University
Carbondale, Illinois 62901
Phone: (618) 453-1150 or (618) 453-2496
Fax: (618) 453-7457

The Research Greenhouses are part of the University Farms system and are located approximately three miles west of the main campus. Used extensively for both research and teaching, the Research Greenhouses provide facilities and support for production of agronomic, horticultural, ornamental and forest plants. In addition to two separate greenhouse complexes, facilities include several cold frame and poly house structure for plant overwintering.

• John Miller

Resources:
The Research Greenhouses consist of 16,000 square feet of growing space for researchers and graduate students. Within this growing space are water baths to control root zone temperatures, mist benches for plant propagation and areas with controlled temperature and lighting to maximize growth and/or induce flowering.

Location:

623 Rowden Road
Carbondale, Illinois

For additional information about the Research Greenhouses, please contact:

• John Miller, Greenhouse Manager

Mailing Address:

Research Greenhouses
Mailcode 4415
Southern Illinois University
Carbondale, Illinois 62901
Phone: (618) 453-2793, or (618) 453-2496
Fax: (618) 453-7457

• Bradley Taylor

Horticulture Center [Vineyards]
Mailcode 4415
Southern Illinois University
Carbondale, Illinois 62901
Phone: (618) 453-1150 or (618) 453-2496
Fax: (618) 453-7457

The Student Sustainable Farm is located two miles southwest of the main campus, at the Vermicomposting Center at 3373 Pleasant Hill Rd. The student farm is presently six acres with 2.5 acres in vegetable production. The farm offers students the opportunity to run a small farm to develop the planning, production, food handling and marketing skills needed to find employment in the exploding sustainable/organic food industry.

Supported by the SIU Carbondale Green Fund and by University Housing through their dining hall program, the SIU Student Sustainable Farm started out small in 2010 and has slowly expanded to now include six acres of field and two polytunnels. With 2.5 acres in vegetables, we are looking to expand into small grains, dried beans and cover crops.

Organic methods are primarily employed to grow a variety of vegetables and supply them to the Dining Halls at SIU. The farm grows and supplies potatoes, onions, tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, peppers, melons, cucumbers, Asian greens and salad mix in the fall semester. In spring, a polytunnel is used to grow cold season vegetables such as lettuce, salad mix spinach and Asian greens. Produce is sold to the public at farm stands on campus and at community farmers markets though out the year. We also offer a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) from June – Oct. Please contact Meredith Stamberger for more information (siussf@siu.edu).

The farm provides many exciting research and work-study opportunities. Past projects have included the use of vermicompost in vegetable production, the difference of nitrogen isotopes in organic vs. conventional greenhouse tomato production, consumer acceptance of and nutritional differences between Asian greens cultivars, the use of beneficial rhizobacteria in organic strawberry production and the benefits of fall planted cover crops.

Our Paper Recycling Project serves a dual purpose- recycling paper and reducing costs for bedding for our animals. Our Collegiate Future Farmers of America (FFA) organization received a $3,000 Living to Serve: Environmental Grant from the national FFA in September 2012 to launch this project.

The grant helped fund repair and maintenance of the shredder at the Vermicomposting Center and the purchase of supplies including trash bags, gloves and goggles. Volunteers collect discarded paper from the College of Agriculture and take it to the center for shredding. From there, it goes to University Farms where it is mixed about half and half with other bedding materials to provide comfortable, environmentally friendly bedding for our animals at a greatly reduced cost.

For more information, contact Karen Midden.

SIU’s Forced Air Compost Facility opened in 2014 as an initiative to increase sustainable practices across campus. The creation of this center was headed by multiple campus entities such as: the College of Agricultural Sciences, Facilities and Energy Management, the Office of Sustainability, and University Housing. All entities work together to collect and convert dining hall food waste into rich organic compost that is then used to add organic matter and nutrients back to farm fields. This initiative was made possible through the hard work of Myron Albers (College of Agricultural Sciences), Phil Gatton (Facilities and Energy Management), Justin Harrell (Facilities and Energy Managment), Karen Midden (College of Agricultural Sciences), and Kris Schachel (Office of Sustainability).  

The facility, which is IEPA regulated, collects about 20-22 tons of material annually that would have otherwise ended up in landfills. The finished material has been used across the University Farms to improve soil health and replenish supplemental nutrients and microbes back into the fields. Most of the finished product is used at SIU’s Student Sustainable Farm which oversees the daily processing of materials brought from the dining halls. 

Recently, the collection of materials has expanded to different seasonal events such as The Great Southern Illinois Pumpkin Smash and International Food Festival. Both events are run by the Office of Sustainability. 

For more information contact: 

Student Sustainable Farm Management: siussf@siu.edu 
College of Agricultural, Life, and Physical Sciences: (618)-453-2469