The Eric Allen Greenhouse

The Eric Allen Greenhouse was built in July of 2005 with $100,000 in funding from the Department of Defense (DoD) for switchgrass (Panicum virgatum) research. This initiative was led by long-time Natural Resources professor Mr. Bill Welton, and Dr. Diane Mann (DoD), where over 30 different ecotypes of P. virgatum from Kansas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Texas, and Louisiana were gathered for research, planting, and traditional Caddo thatching. The greenhouse was named after a past environmental science student, Eric Allen, with the blessing of his parents.

For the past 20 years, the greenhouse has provided a space for the Haskell community to come together and grow a variety of different plant species, care for the land, (re)connect with their cultures, build relationships with people from all walks of life, and learn to lead themselves and their Tribal communities into the future.

The Eric Allen Greenhouse operations are fully funded by the USDA-NIFA Tribal College Equity Grant, which Haskell receives due to its 1994 land grant status. The USDA Equity funding at Haskell focuses on promoting student leaders, building professional and academic skill sets, and sharing methods of traditional and contemporary land stewardship practices.

The COVID-19 pandemic ceased all greenhouse operations in the Spring of 2020. It was not until the Fall of 2021 that the greenhouse began to be utilized again. By the Fall of 2022, the greenhouse would begin restoration the woodlands, wetlands, and prairies on HINU lands. Student researchers participate in growing traditional vegetables and herbs, harvesting and preparing traditional medicines for the Indigenous community, and utilizing both contemporary and Indigenous practices to better care for the land, among other activities.

Currently, the Haskell Greenhouse team comprises 7 interdisciplinary student researchers representing 8 Tribal Nations.