Orchid Recovery Program at Illinois College
	Photo: Chris Young

	Mission Statement
	The Mission of the Orchid Recovery Program at Illinois College is to integrate undergraduate student learning with the conservation of North America’s rarest native orchids. The Program seeks to instill in its students an appreciation for our planet’s natural resources, and provide the basic tools for lifelong learning, stewardship, and service. Photo: Larry Richardson Photo: Emily Massey

	The Lab
	Our laboratory is housed in room 132 of the Parker Science building, built in 2002. The lab is equipped with a sterile hood, microscopes, orchid library, computers, and personal desk space for two undergraduate students. Seedlings grown in vitro on Petri plates are cultivated in our building’s Sterile Room and/or in a climate-controlled growth chamber. Deflasked (ex vitro) seedlings are then transferred to the Parker Science greenhouse on the roof of the building, prior to reintroduction in natural habitats. Photo: Chris Young Photo: Chris Young Photo: Chris Young

	Current Projects
	Conservation of Epiphytic Orchids of South Florida Cultivation and Reintroduction of Federally Endangered Hawaiian Endemic, Platanthera holochila Recovery of Mycorrhizal Fungi from the Eastern Prairie Fringed Orchid, Platanthera leucophaea Orchid Conservation in Madagascar with the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew