UCLA’s life sciences department is pressuring a student-run botanical club to vacate an educational greenhouse it has used for the past two years, students said.

The UCLA Botanical Club uses a greenhouse in the Plant Growth Center located near the UCLA Mathias Botanical Garden to maintain hundreds of plants, including dozens of orchid species, more than 30 species of carnivorous plants and California native plants, said Nikita Burger, the club’s 2025-26 president.

The life sciences department wants to reclaim the space for classes and researchers to use, according to an email to club members and obtained by the Daily Bruin. The department is also concerned about students’ potential exposure to chemicals in the research facility, the email said.

The club’s plant collection would be allocated to members or moved to other greenhouses – including one in Santa Barbara – if it was to leave the greenhouse, 2026-27 events chair Elly Wurts said.

“It sets a precedent of discouraging student innovation,” Burger, a UCLA alumnus, said.

The club created a Change.org petition May 25 asking the life sciences department to allow the club to access the space, though the department has not informed the club of a final decision, Burger said. The petition has reached 446 signatures as of Friday.

The life sciences department is considering issues of safety and research integrity when deciding how to use the space, Steven Schweitzer, the associate dean for finance and administration for UCLA Life Sciences, said in an emailed statement.

“We balance these responsibilities with our commitment to providing meaningful opportunities for students and continue to review this matter within this context,” he said in the statement.

The Botanical Club began restoring the greenhouse in 2024 after a former greenhouse manager gave them verbal permission, Burger said.

“A lot of the facilities and capabilities of the greenhouse were in disrepair,” she said. “The ventilation system wasn’t working, the irrigation system wasn’t working, there were issues with the humidity control in the greenhouse.”

The greenhouse gives the club a space to host weekly meetings for students interested in plant care, Wurts said.

Wurts, a rising fourth-year ecology student, added that the space also allows the club to bring plants to larger campus events, including the JazzReggae Festival and the Clarkia Flower Festival, which is held at the UCLA Mathias Botanical Garden in the spring.

Wurts said she believes UCLA Life Sciences has not been communicative with club members.

“The information wasn’t shared originally with us and the club members,” they said. “That was definitely a little bit shocking.”

Club leaders have largely handled the situation themselves by reaching out to administrators, said Anna Capinpin, the club’s advisor under Student Organizations, Leadership & Engagement.

“Student leaders, a lot that I’ve worked with, they really do take initiative and advocate,” Capinpin said. “As far as this case goes, they’re advocating behind the scenes.”

Burger said she believes the club’s potential displacement reflects a disconnect between the life sciences department and students’ interests.

“We should be allowed to stay,” Wurts said. “It’s an educational greenhouse, and we’re using it just for that.”