Biology Education Enhanced by New Research Greenhouse

Thanks to a major gift from Cleveland philanthropists Mort and Iris November, Case’s Squire Valleevue Farm is now home to a state-of-the-art research greenhouse. The new facility will be an important resource not only for faculty and students in the department of biology, but also for local educators and schoolchildren who visit the farm to study concepts and methods of environmental science.

Mort and Iris November

Named in memory of Mr. November’s daughter Debra Ann, the research greenhouse was dedicated on June 4 of this year (see accompanying photos). In its design and construction, the Debra Ann November Research Greenhouse is much more environmentally friendly—more “green,” so to speak—than the 47-year-old structure it replaced. Its walls are made of polymer rather than glass, tripling its energy efficiency, and it is equipped with a rain-harvesting system to water the plants in its six temperature-controlled classrooms.

Squire Valleevue is one of two farms (the other is Valley Ridge) that make up University Farm—386 acres in the Chagrin River Valley that include deciduous forests, ravines, waterfalls, meadows, ponds, and a selfcontained natural watershed. The Novembers’ donation is the first major gift for improvements to the farm, where several historic facilities are used for research, educational, and recreational purposes.

Ana Locci, Iris November, and Harriet Wadsworth (CAS development office) cut the ceremonial ribbon to officially open the greenhouse.

The Debra Ann November Research Greenhouse is the latest in a series of projects serving children and promoting education that Mort November has sponsored in his daughter’s memory. The greenhouse is also intended, he says, to honor his wife Iris, an alumna of Flora Stone Mather College and an avid supporter of the farms’ educational outreach programs. These include a two-week summer course for teachers interested in current ecological problems and a handson program in ecology and environmental science for middle and high school students.

Ana B. Locci, adjunct assistant professor of biology and director of University Farm, will be one of the faculty members most actively involved in the Debra Ann November Research Greenhouse. The others are her biology colleagues Paul Drewa, Andrew Swanson, and Mark Willis.