The Plant Care Facility hosts many important research projects of different regulatory levels along with unique plant collections and class materials. It is the responsibility of everyone who visits or uses the Plant Care Facility to help maintain the security of the greenhouses. We ask that you notify PCF staff if there are issues with doors or locks, close greenhouse room doors securely when done working in the space, and ensure exterior doors are secure after-hours during the week and on weekends/holidays.

All exterior and main hallway doors to the greenhouses should remain locked outside of our normal staffed hours and on Holidays. The garage doors for Turner Greenhouses should also be closed and locked outside of our normal hours and on weekends and Holidays. Both garage doors are spring-loaded in Turner Greenhouses, rolling up and pushing down with minimal force, there are latches on the lower right side to secure the garage door.

Please close the PSL courtyard doors and Turner alleyway/side doors when you’re done if you’re working on weekends and holidays and want to open them up for fresh air. PSL courtyard doors and Turner alleyway doors will auto-lock when closed. Turner side doors have bolt latches at the top of the door that can be locked back into place to secure the door.

Heating and Cooling Concerns

Turner Greenhouses have rooms that share a common hallway for 1W, 2E-7E ranges. The double doors must be closed between rooms for heating and cooling to function properly. An example of this in-action would be one greenhouse room that is programmed to heat to 80F at night and a neighboring room that only heats to 65F at night: if the shared doors are left open, the cooler air from the neighboring room will not allow the warmer room to maintain heating.

PSL Greenhouses have individual doors to greenhouse rooms which should be closed when you’re done working in the space to prevent warm air from escaping the room when it’s cold outside and maximize airflow through the cooling wall during warm weather.  On a hot day, if you leave the greenhouse room door open in PSL, air will take the path of least resistance through the open door and decrease airflow through the cooling wall causing the room to warm up over time and potentially overheat.

Regulated Materials, Insect and Pathogen Projects

Greenhouse rooms that host regulated materials or pathogen and insect projects should remain locked and have signage posted on the individual room door. Securing these rooms keep labs in compliance with DRS or other regulatory requirements and helps us ensure sensitive materials and biologicals remain in their assigned spaces. If your project changes regulatory status or project type, inform your greenhouse manager right away so we can update your project file and ensure proper signage is posted.

How to Request Keys

If you require access to a secure greenhouse room(s) or need access to the greenhouses after-hours/weekends/holidays,

submit a key request: https://pcf.aces.illinois.edu/key-request/

Remember to bring your keys with you to the greenhouses, especially when it’s outside our normal hours.