We were sold on the idea of spending 3 days in a greenhouse – what was sure to be a memorable experience! What we didn’t know, was we were being put straight to work and “immersed” in what it is like to be on the greenhouse team. It started out as most days had, a quick meeting to get an overview, a tour, meet with another team member in a different role. The first morning proved to be very informational. We learned about the facilities modifications and management to not only keep it running, but in the most logistically effective and controlled way. Then they shared with us about the pest management system, and we got off topic on discussing all sorts of pests and bugs in general. In the afternoon, we were with a science specialist (not the same ed title) and team lead for herbicides. I got to spend more time with the science guru, photographing plants for phenotyping and scoring.
The next day, we really turned up the heat! Although they have a wonderful air conditioned facility, it felt a little more like a sauna. We were adopted as members of their teams and put to work. The following two days included everything from planting, transplanting, transporting, watering, cleaning, threshing, harvesting, seed counting, and endless conversations and questions. The information they shared as we had on-the-job training will be extremely helpful.
The last day of the week was a little more relaxing, and well deserved. We began to dig into our projects and reflect/connect what we have been learning to our content in the classroom. What a week. Just a 4 day week, but we were exhausted. My thumbs are just a little greener.
