Story by Zeke Hansen / Inform Muncie
Editor's Note: This story was originally published in October, 2022
Southwest of Ball State University’s campus lies the Dr. Joe and Alice Rinard Orchid Greenhouse. It’s a 3,400-square-foot conservatory that hosts a wide array of orchids and other plants, as well as a honeybee display and a turtle named Beaker.
The greenhouse guards the entrance into Christy Woods, a large expanse of woods with towering deciduous trees that stand out amongst urban Muncie’s Japanese Maples.
The greenhouse is split amongst three rooms. The first room visitors step into is dedicated more towards plants other than orchids, although there are a few orchids present. This room is by far the most decorative. Students from Ball State display art such as butterfly and turtle figurines that help recreate walking through a tropical environment. It certainly feels like a tropical environment. A water dispensary system sprays mist from the ceiling throughout each room every few minutes to provide the plants with their nutrients. The water system synthesizes the humid climate these plants would naturally find themselves.
The second room is the orchid haven. Containing over 2,000 orchids, this greenhouse stands as the largest university-based orchid collection in the country. Some of these orchids can be found within Indiana, however many couldn’t even be found in the United States. The greenhouse receives many donations of exotic orchids that are typically illegal to house. These donated orchids are often seized from the properties of individuals who are caught cultivating or trafficking illegal plants. After the exotic orchids are collected, they’re sent to the greenhouse to be preserved.
In the orchid room, orchids can be observed from the ground all the way to the ceiling. The orchids vary in size, color, and type. Some orchids follow the traditional methods of plants, meaning that they have to be rooted in soil to get their nutrients. Others don’t need soil at all. They can be cultivated on trees or on crates in the air. The greenhouse contains what are essentially makeshift trees that, while they aren’t real, still suffice as attaching points for these orchids.
The third room is the smallest. It houses the plants that require a slightly colder climate, hence why it has the name “the cool room.” Exhibited in this room are more orchids, but also some carnivorous plants, as well. These plants serve the double-purpose of keeping the greenhouse cleans of little bugs as well as keeping the interest of the little kids that visit.
The Dr. Joe and Alice Rinard Orchid Greenhouse’s primary function has been for education. Biology students from Ball State are frequent visitors, as is students from neighboring grade schools. The greenhouse saw around 13,000 visitors around 2021, and they’re on pace to shatter that in 2022.
Erica Oliver, the Environmental Education Program Coordinator, oversees that the greenhouse presents educational opportunities for college students and grade school students alike. She was recently able to take a group of students from nearby Burris Laboratory School into Christy Woods to learn about foraging, a moment she says was one of her favorites.
What the greenhouse and Christy Woods present is an educational opportunity that not many schools. Ball State is the only school that can boast having the largest orchid collection. For Oliver, it’s her job to ensure that opportunity becomes a reality.
All Inform Muncie articles are written by students in the School of Journalism and Strategic Communication in a classroom environment with a faculty advisor.
Read More
Cultural sensitivity in the community
December 7, 2023In Sra. Kelsey Pavelka’s past classroom, students were greeted with a calendar that featured eye-catching construction paper behind each day of the week. But something was more notable than the colorful decoration behind the numbers: the words December and Diciembre above the days of the week.
Southcentral Muncie’s Zeus Currie: Big as life
December 7, 2023Zeus Currie is, in multiple respects, a larger-than-life character. Firstly, he shares the same first name as a Greek god. Secondly, he is simply a mountainous man. 6 foot 9, with more than enough weight to play as a nose tackle in the NFL, he will be the first to admit that he is an intimidating person when you first see him. Having that size greatly helps him in his work as a security guard.
Mama and Son Soul Food Kitchen: Family matters
December 7, 2023Mama and Son Soul Food Kitchen, formerly named Mama Bond’s Soul Food Kitchen, is located inside Historic Rose Court and marked by its circular image of Dominique Isom, “Son,” and Consuela Nixon, “Mama,” at the storefront.
