By Quintin Page
Names fill the guest list at the Herrick Conservatory, a greenhouse on campus and an escape from the February cold for students.
Hosting a variety of plants and some fish, the Herrick Conservatory is a greenhouse connected to Cunningham Hall at 蹤獲扦, used for educational purposes, research and outreach programs.

As the university continues to participate in the Race To Zero Waste, a competition for colleges to reduce institutional waste, the Herrick Conservatory is working to inform students about sustainability.
���Our purpose here at the conservatory is to educate and teach people about the ways we can help to live more sustainably,��� Horticultural Facilities Director Melissa Davis said.

Davis mentioned many programs the facility has for students to practice sustainable living, such as gardening.
���We try to promote gardening, as well as providing fresh foods and resources for people who may not have land to farm or have farms very close,��� she said.
Faculty and students in the Department of Biological Sciences conduct their studies in the conservatory���s research space, which is closed to visitation.
Davis said she loves the conservatory because ���it���s open to our university community all year long during these winter months, and students can come here and visit.���

Quintin Page is a reporter. Contact Quintin at qpage@kent.edu.