Six acres of paradise off Oregon State University's main campus, Oak Creek Center for Urban Horticulture is an excellent learning laboratory for sustainable horticultural practices in both rural and peri-urban landscapes.

OCCUH continues to be a hotbed of activity during the summer. There are several areas, individuals, and groups that are using the 6.5 acres of space on the SW corner of campus for research -- as well as just plain fun.

The yearly annual plant trials continue and are simply an explosion of color and texture with most plants being about two weeks ahead of where they would typically be due to the warmer than normal temperatures. The same area sports 20 large containers that are producing both food and flower power for pollinators. Pollinator plants produce both nectar and pollen for a wide array of pollinators from bees to beetles. The green tower likewise is a virtual amorphous undulating orb of vegetables and flowers. This construct has a footprint of 12.5’ stands 6’ tall and creates a planting area of nearly 90 sq. ft. - you just have to see it!

Horticulture Emeritus Professor, Bill Proebsting, has been gracious enough to lend his substantial birding skills to OCCUH since October 2019. He has catalogued 81 species so far. For a list, please visit the eBird site for OCCUH.

Visit us:
843 SW 35th Street 
Corvallis, OR 97331

Contact: 
Alec Kowalewski, OCCUH Manager