I was assigned to volunteer on Thursdays, from 10 am to 1 pm. I have been able to take blocks of time off from the schedule for traveling, particularly during the winter season.
All year I’ve been working closely with a PhD candidate, and undergrad students, along with the greenhouse assistant director who formerly managed landscaping for a local municipality.
Generally, my duties have included weeding, repotting, sweeping, preparing potting mix, etc. I have been allowed to collect and plant seeds in trays, and to transfer small seedlings to larger containers.
On 9/1/2022 I transplanted a euphorbia in room D4 (Diverse Desert), and cleaned and pruned trees and shrubs in room D2 (Mediterranean Scrubland, Australia).
The assistant director has produced a handy list of duties which generally take 15 to 30 minutes to complete. If I'm at a loss for tasks, I can always go to the posted list and find something to do.
In the first year, highlight plants have been:
- Cacti native to Minnesota (south east quad)
- Cacti and other desert plants, repotting in room C4
- Brighamia insignis, native to Hawaii (I pollinated the flowers, then collected the seeds, then transplanted the seedlings to a new plant tray)
- Nesocodon mauritianus seedling transplantation
- Corpse flower blooming
- Vanilla vine, repositioning, blossoming
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