At Youngstown State University, there’s a glass enclosure that goes highly unnoticed on Lincoln Avenue connected to Ward Beecher Hall.
The glass enclosure is The Sandy Simon Greenhouse. According to Ward Beecher’s rededication in 1987, the research area was an addition to Ward Beecher to replace the former rooftop greenhouse.
In 2016, it was dedicated to Simon, a Youngstown local who loved nature and raised horses on her farm — the Double S Ranch in Vienna. She also started a business named Moonhawk Herbals, where she grew and processed herbs on her farm, and taught educational classes about herbal benefits.
Simon passed away in 2016, but her legacy lives on through YSU. When she passed, her estate’s sale proceeds went into naming and renovating the greenhouse, according to ysu.edu.
A few years later, the funds brought the dormant greenhouse back to life. Construction began in October 2021 with Simon’s proceeds used to renovate, clean up and separate the greenhouse from Ward Beecher’s power source. The renovations finished in 2022.
For years, the landmark stood mostly as a display case rather than an ecosystem that mirrors life on campus. It is a symbol of wasted potential on a campus that prides itself on experiential learning. The greenhouse’s recent revival gives staff and students the chance to correct that.
The greenhouse can be a beacon of student success. For example, in 2016, Student Government Association and the Youngstown Environmental Sustainability Society collaborated to create the “Adopt-A-Plant program.”
The initiative gave students the opportunity to plant and grow their own produce on campus. Although Cafaro House prohibited residents from keeping live plants in the residence halls, YESS began to donate the vegetables they grew to the Rescue Mission of the Mahoning Valley.
The utilization of the greenhouse could benefit the Penguin Pantry. Student-run gardening and hydroponics can supply the Penguin Pantry, a resource to help alleviate food insecurity for students on campus, with fresh produce alongside shelf-stable items.
The Sandy Simon Greenhouse acts as a bridge between the university and the Youngstown community. Beyond donating food, it can host workshops again to promote sustainable gardening in an area classified as a food desert.
More attention should be brought to the Greenhouse to honor Sandy Simon’s legacy as well as the work alumni, current students and staff put into this campus landmark.