The science making at North Central Michigan College looks an unlikely place for an oasis. Built almost 50 years ago, the brick structure is low and distinctly mid-century. Classrooms, labs and faculty offices for biology, physics, chemistry, astronomy and other subjects occupy the majority of space. But tucked back behind the walls in the classrooms, like a secret garden, is usually a smaller, thriving greenhouse.
“When the biology lessons talk about various ecosystems, they can either come out here or bring samples into your classroom,” explained Life Science Lab associate Susan B. Howard. “We have anything from tropical plants to a cactus collection.”
Howard, 28, is a 1999 graduate of Petoskey High School and also a 2009 graduate of Lyman Briggs College at Michigan State University. With a degree in environmental biology and botany, she began her position on the university inside the fall of 2009. Her work contains assisting with the setup and maintenance with the labs, and managing the greenhouse under the direction of senior faculty member Kathleen Colby.
On a cool spring day, the air inside the greenhouse is as balmy like a Brazilian rain forest. A 20-year-old rubber tree using a trunk that appears capable of supporting a hammock looms from a single corner on the glass enclosure. Its flat, leathery leaves offer a canopy for tables filled which includes a potted range of flowering, prickly and succulent plants.
“The biology college students use the greenhouse for labs and also for propagating seeds and cuttings,” Howard said.
A miniature bog ecosystem consisting of a sphagnum moss base covered with six unique types of carnivorous plants is thriving inside a stony bed, and a spume of water cascades into a modest pond, distorting and dappling the image of a milling school of hefty koi-sized goldfish.
“The goldfish were purchased some years ago as food for the turtles,” stated Charles MacInnis, director of public relations. “They ended up just 50-cent goldfish from the pet store.”
They now outsize the largest red-eared sliders and painted turtles that share the pond. A tortoise, Elvira, has not been sighted for some time and there exists a theory that she may have set out for parts unknown.
Howard reached into the pond and coaxed a mango-sized turtle for the surface.
“This is usually a painted turtle,” she said, displaying the red and yellow striped shell as the turtle’s toenails batted softly at her fingers. “The red-eared sliders are named for your red markings for the sides of their head, in which ears would be.”
A class of microbiology students in blue lab coats swarmed to the greenhouse, kneeling on the pond to test the water for organisms. Manipulating swabs and vials, they collected their samples, previous to heading back again towards the lab.
This greenhouse can be a component in the instructional technique in the school — a surroundings for exotic as well as regional flora and fauna, and an essential resource with the college students and staff.
Aside from her responsibilities within the science building, Howard also teaches non-credit lessons such as planting and pruning by way of the college’s Institute for Business and Industry Training (IBIT) plan.
“IBIT can be an excellent alternative for community education,” Howard stated. “Classes are offered on all sorts of topics.”
“There is really an entire list of non-credit courses for people who are enthusiastic about acquiring a skill — or just for their personal pleasure,” MacInnis additional.
The community and corporate education workshops cover pc technology, digital photography, well being and fitness, and also offer you many on-line lessons. They variety in expense from $20 to $88.
There is certainly a viticulture series for aspiring winemakers with sessions in anything from growing grapes towards legal requirements of operating a winery and designing a label.