Kwantlen a first in North America

By Kassandra Linklater [News Editor]

On Friday Oct. 16, Kwantlen launched their grand opening of Institute for Sustainable Horticulture (ISH). The event’s honoured guests included Langley MLA Mary Polak and Langley Major Peter Fassbender.
Guests also had the opportunity to hear special guest speaker Mike Harcourt speak on sustainable communities in his capacity as Associate Director, Center for Sustainability and Continuing Studies at UBC.

According to Kwantlen’s press release, the mandate of the ISH is “ to work with local industries and communities in our move towards sustainability on issues related to growing plants (horticulture) for all human purposes.”
“Combining the capacity for early commercial production of environmentally sustainable biological control products with a research laboratory,” according to Kwantlen, is an academic first in Canada.
One of the goals of the institute is to develop new biocontrol products as well as work with local companies in the development of new productions.

The facility will also feature a research lab which will include: “plant growth chambers, insect rearing rooms, and incubation rooms for producing various beneficial insects, fungi and baculoviruses.”
The lab will also feature a 700 square metre geo-thermally heated greenhouse which will be located across the street. The greenhouse will provide researchers, according to the Kwantlen media release with “the opportunity to explore alternate energy options for greenhouses to reduce the carbon footprint of food production.”

Construction for the greenhouse is expected to be completed in January 201o