The Henry F. Hall Building officially opens. It included a greenhouse on the 13th floor which was used by the Biology and Geography departments.
Loyola College and SGWU merged to create Concordia University. Biology/Botany faculty and students continued to use the greenhouse for research such as flower pigmentation. The technician grew tropical plants in the atrium, while the room at the far end was used for studying parasites in water fowl. The Greenhouse also worked on several commercial contracts, including growing the plants for the Concordia campus landscaping and vineyard twig propagation.
The Biology department greenhouse operations moved from the Hall building to the Renaud Complex on the Loyola Campus. The greenhouse in the Hall building was vacant, except from clandestine sprouting of vegetables by the People`s Potato.
The Sustainability Coordinator and a Sustainable Concordia student coordinator proposed to Concordia’s administration to rejuvenate and repurpose the greenhouse. The Concordia Greenhouse Project was formed under the umbrella of Sustainable Concordia.
The Concordia Greenhouse Committee entered into partnership with the department of Geography, Planning and Environment.
The preliminary opening of the greenhouse occurred in April 2006.
It was the formal launch of the revitalized greenhouse, an organic space for education and research, sustainable horticulture and community building. At the same time, the indoor Greenhouse composting operation was launched, part of a campus-wide composting project. In the Greenhouse alone, about five million worms composted up to 24 metric tons per year of organic waste generated by food facilities in the Hall Building.
Paul Fournier is hired as the part-time Coordinator of the Concordia Greenhouse.
Under the hard work of Arlene Throness, the revitalized Greenhouse atrium was opened to the public, and compartments began to be rented to groups interested in working on independent projects.
In 2009, a group of Concordia engineers designed and built a solar dehydrator in the atrium lounge. This solar dehydrator utilizes the power of the sun to dehydrate tea leaves (mint, rosemary, oregano) from tea garden without electricity. Each week these leaves are harvested from our tea plants during our volunteer sessions. The dried teas are then made available to our community in our community kitchen.
In 2009, the aquaponics project, system integrating fish and plants, was built. The fish waste provides an organic food source for the plants, while the plants filter the water for the fish. In 2015, the aquaponics unit was shut down. Additionally, the hydronic project, now known as HydroFlora, was started by students and community members. HydroFlora is a working-group of the Concordia Food Coalition (CFC) that promotes the practice of growing plants without the use of soil.
In 2010, the cob bench located in the atrium was a group project in sustainable building design, constructed out of a mixture of straw, clay and sand which when combined hardened to a rock hard surface perfect for the greenhouse environment. A decorative mosaic base was later added in 2018.
In 2010, Jackie, the current City Farm School coordinator along with Chesley, started working at the Concordia Greenhouse as an honorarium. From helping develop the CFS year-long apprenticeship to making the Concordia Greenhouse fee-levy separate from Sustainable Concordia, Jackie has tremendously helped the Concordia Greenhouse evolve.
Sheena is hired as the Media and Outreach Coordinator for the Concordia Greenhouse.
The City Farm School (CFS), being an initiative of The Concordia Greenhouse to develop partnerships and expertise in urban agriculture, was created in 2011. The CFS first offered a 5-day training school on urban agriculture. Forty students attended the school including the eight students who responsible for the creating of the Loyola City Farm, an urban garden located at the Loyola campus that grew vegetables, medicinal herbs and mushrooms. Today, the CFS offers internships, workshops and volunteering opportunities on urban agriculture that are open to all.
In 2012, the 8-month long curriculum was put in place. Through an experienced-based model, this year long training program offers one the opportunity to grow, harvest and then sell ecologically-grown food at a market stand! The 16 students enrolled that year played a significant role in expanding the garden by twice its original size!
The Greenhouse collective applied for a Student Fee Levy of $0.12 per credit per undergraduate student, which is now the main source of the projects funding.
In 2013, the balcony demonstration garden was built. This involved demonstration balcony in the atrium lounge, online balcony demonstration guide and an on-going series of garden workshops.
In 2017, Hydroflora constructed a new demonstration system called the Greenwall system in the atrium lounge. A Greenwall system is a hydroponic growing system useful for vertical gardening in an urban environment
In 2015, we expanded to offer two new streams of education: Medicinal Herbs and Schoolyard Gardener, along with the return of the Market Gardener internship. Today, the CFS is composed of two main streams: market gardening and medicinal herbal gardening.
Once again, Paul Fournier is hired by the Concordia Greenhouse, but this time as the houseplant and atrium coordinator.
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