Cornell Botanic Gardens

Cornell Botanic Gardens inspires people – through the cultivation of 150 acres of specialty gardens, conservation of plants and 3400 acres of natural areas, and the education of lifelong learners – to understand, appreciate, and nurture plants and the...

[cornellbotanicgardens]

Climate warming is causing Mundy wildflowers to flower earlier

Shown above: Hepatica (H. acutiloba) and bloodroot (Sanguineria canadensis) grow in the Mundy Wildflower Garden.

Three decades of research in the Mundy Wildflower Garden shows some spring plants blooming as much as two weeks earlier today, with serious implications for delicate ecosystems

David Weinstein, Senior Research Associate, Cornell Department of Natural Resources

Since 1985, a dedicated group of volunteers has been recording the date of first flowering for all 503 plant species found in the Mundy Wildflower Garden. These records  detailed observations made each day of the growing season.  This special collection of continuous observation has been rarely duplicated elsewhere. The  data are now playing a major role in uncovering the effect climate change is already having on plants, and helping to unravel the mystery of why some plants are affected, while others are not.

David Weinstein, a researcher in the Department of Natural Resources at Cornell and a member of the Cornell Botanic Garden Advisory Council, has begun documenting how much warmer it is in the wildflower garden now, and identifying which plants are flowering much earlier than they had in previous years, because of the warming trend in climate.  

Since 1970, the average annual temperature at the official Cornell University weather station, located close by the wildflower garden, has increased 1.8°F. The number of growing-degree days (days with an average daily temperature above 40 degrees F) accumulated (starting January 1 each year) triggers spring plants to begin flowering.  In 2017, the number of growing degree days (GDD) on May 1 was nearly double what it had been historically by this date.  We have begun making weather measurements directly in the wildflower garden with the installation of a weather station in 2016.

Because of these climate changes, some early spring ephemeral plants in the wildflower garden, such as skunk cabbage (Symplocarpus foetidus), hepatica (Hepatica acutiloba), and bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis), are flowering 10 days to 2 weeks earlier than they did 30 years ago. Twenty one percent of the plant species in the Mundy Wildflower Garden have had their day of first-flowering significantly changed over the last 15 years.  On average, for every increase of 17 growing degree days, the flowering of each plant species has been advancing one day.

Unfortunately, one of the plants that has moved its date of first flowering earlier in the year most consistently over the past 30 years is  the invasive garlic mustard.  This means that garlic mustard is increasingly able to gather essential resources needed for growth earlier and earlier compared with  other spring plants, making it ever more successful at invading those other plant’s territories.

The earlier flowering of some plants, such as common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) and black-eyed susan (Rudbeckia hirta), could potentially help specialized insects that depend of these plants, but whose populations have been declining, such as monarch butterflies and bumblebees. Unfortunately, there is some evidence that periods of activities of these insects is becoming disconnected from the timing of when the plants are flowering, a trend that could spell disaster for the ecosystems built on the synchrony of plants, insects, birds, and other animals.

We would not have any way of knowing this without the long-term dedicated efforts of the volunteer observers, data collectors, database compilers, and organizers over the last 30 years.  We especially thank Susanne Lorbeer (observer extraordinaire); Rosemarie Parker (magnificent database organizer); Donna Levy, who began this effort; Krissy Boys, through whose careful gardening  these plants thrive; and Betsy Dain.  These efforts demonstrate how citizen scientists, the professional gardening staff, and Cornell researchers can collaborate to use the Botanic Garden collections as a vital resource to help us understand what is happening to our world.

[cornellbotanicgardens]

Heavy Lifting: Preparing the Cascadilla Gorge for Spring Opening

It takes the effort of Natural Areas staff, volunteers, and others to make the gorge safe and clean for visitors

What does it take to open the Cascadilla Gorge Trail each spring? The short answer is 70 hours, two days, and the hard work of 15 people. Before opening the gorge on April 12th, three staff and twelve volunteers removed fallen rocks and other debris from the trail, picked up trash, cleared out drainage conduits, repaired parts of the chain railing, and removed hazardous trees.

Where did they move the debris? Even though staff are permitted to deposit a certain amount of collected natural debris into Cascadilla Creek, staff minimizes the amount they dump in the water by placing the material at the very edge of the creek where the water flow is much slower or nonexistent.  When possible, the team moves the debris to flat areas away from the creek, or on slopes piled with loose rock and soil.

A big “thank you” to our volunteers! The team of volunteers was critical to the trail cleanup.  Our Natural Areas program is fortunate to have weekly volunteers who don’t shy away from strenuous labor.

James Hamilton, a dedicated weekly volunteer, said that although shoveling debris and hauling out wooden palettes from a winter project wasn’t his favorite task, he “enjoyed feeling the mist by the creek.” James also enjoys hiking in the woods in our natural areas while monitoring hemlocks for the invasive pest Hemlock Woolly Adelgid because he feels he is “doing something important to protect the natural areas.”

Jan Hill, also part of the weekly volunteer crew said the Cascadilla Gorge cleanup was “fun but exhausting” and that the gorge was a “beautiful place to work” that day.

In addition to the botanic gardens volunteers, a number of Cornell students who reside at two fraternities adjacent to the gorge donated their time to the cleanup.

[cornellbotanicgardens]

Cascadilla Gorge maintenance is a year-round effort

Maintenance of the Cascadilla Gorge Trail does not stop with the intensive two-day cleanup. Just like the water of Cascadilla Creek consistently flows to carve the gorge to what it is today, our staff and volunteers constantly work to keep the trail safe and passable. Staff walk the gorge trail in the late winter to assess trail conditions. They look for ice or flood damage to railings and staircases or loose rocks on the gorge walls. They check storm water drains for debris build-up and for fallen trees on slopes and any damage around them. This gives time for staff to make a plan to address the damage before opening the trail. Over winter, staff arborists routinely remove hazardous trees or branches. Once the gorge trail is open, staff walk the trail weekly to check for safety issues or damage, and to pick up trash.

Trash removal
 Removing trash from within the gorge is not an easy feat. Each year, we hire skilled staff from Cornell Outdoor Education (COE) to repel the steep gorge walls to collect hard–to-reach plastic beer cups, chairs, an occasional traffic cone, and other trash thrown from the gorge rim. We continue to work with gorge neighbors to find ways to reduce gorge trash through awareness campaigns and installing mesh fencing inside railings.

Natural debris and trash removal, stair and fence repair, and hazardous tree removal are all part of the routine maintenance required throughout the year. Every so often, large flooding events, or just wear and tear over time, require a more substantial and costly gorge repair, such as restoration of a deteriorating bridge abutment or stone staircase.

How you can help When you are on the trail and see damage, please notify Natural Areas Director Todd Bittner at [email protected]. Oftentimes, hikers collect pieces of trash they find along the trail and make a tidy pile at the trailhead. This is a big help!

If you wish to support the Cascadilla Gorge Trail and our maintenance efforts, please help us by making a donation here.

[cornellbotanicgardens]

Rhoda Maurer treks the hills of Kentucky to collect new plants 

Recently, Director of Horticulture Rhoda Maurer participated in a plant-collecting trip to add diversity our collections.  Cornell Botanic Gardens is part of the Plant Collecting Collaborative, a network of public gardens and arboreta that collect wild plants to bring back and grow at their home institutions. Preserving wild plants ex situ (meaning “off site”) serves as an insurance policy against extinction—an important part of a worldwide plant conservation effort. Many of the seeds collected during the trip were also sent to the USDA ARS National Center for Genetic Resources Preservation (NCGRP) in Fort Collins, CO as another method of preserving genetic diversity.

At the end of September, Rhoda joined four other curators on a collection trip to Southeast Kentucky. The group identified 109 plant species they hoped to collect, 38 of which were classified as rare, endangered, threatened, infrequent, or a species of special concern. In the face of climate change, Rhoda was interested in collecting trees that grow in a warmer southern climate to observe over time how successfully they grow in upstate New York.

[cornellbotanicgardens]

During the trip, the group worked long hours. They woke early and ate a quick breakfast, while preparing for the day. When they returned to base camp after dark, they carefully catalogued dozens of seeds and other specimens collected.  A time-consuming but important plant collecting protocol is creating a pressed plant sample of each plant collected for future reference. All of the pressed samples from this trip are now stored at the U.S. National Arboretum and Cornell University’s Bailey Hortorium.

[cornellbotanicgardens]

Rhoda and her colleagues kept detailed journals of their trip. On day four, Rhoda wrote,

 “Everyone was up late last night cleaning, sorting, drying, pressing, and documenting our collections to date. And early mornings are a regular routine for writing summary notes, catching a cup of coffee and a power bar, and getting equipment and people gathered for the day.”

[cornellbotanicgardens]

Spending the daylight hours in the woods of Kentucky required them to be mindful of the wildlife. Rhoda wrote,

“With stories of a week ago stirring around the table where five copperheads were encountered along this same trail, we hoped our early morning start would minimize the activity of any of these locals.”

[cornellbotanicgardens]

Their trip was a big success! After six days of collecting at 16 different sites (no snake bites), the group collected seeds from 102 species of trees, shrubs and herbaceous perennials, which will significantly increase the diversity of each institution’s plant collections. At Cornell Botanic Gardens, some of the seeds are growing in our greenhouse or in outdoor cold frames; others are in cold storage until they are ready for planting by our greenhouse manager Missy Bidwell.  Rhoda’s ultimate goal is to display 32 of the collected species (5 individuals of each), which includes seven species of oak, two species of Rhododendrons and bigleaf magnolia.

 Click here for the full list of species we plan to add to our collections.

[cornellbotanicgardens]

Western conifer species tested as part of US Forest Service research

A collaborative effort led Phil Syphrit, curator of our conifer collection, with staff in the USDA Forest Service (USFS) to the donation of 10 seedlings of western conifer species. Phil Syphrit writes about how this partnership will contribute to important research on declining tree species:

In summer 2015 I went to the American Public Gardens Association (APGA) conference in Minneapolis. I attended a session with a panel of speakers including Gary Man of the USDA Forest Service (USFS). After the session, Gary and I spoke about the whitebark pine, a species of pine tree native to the Rocky Mountains and other areas of western North America.  The whitebark pine’s population is declining steadily due to several environmental and pest problems, and the species has been proposed for listing under the Endangered Species Act.  The USFS is involved in research and replanting efforts to help save this important tree.

Because Cornell Botanic Gardens had only one specimen of whitebark pine in its conifer collection,  I had been trying to find sources for more of them.  Gary put me in contact with people in the USFS who could donate seedlings, and he and I agreed that this was the start of a meaningful collaboration— we would receive new trees to add to our collection and would be able to provide the USFS with data to add to its research. As a botanical garden at a research university, we have the resources to grow and monitor how whitebark pine seedlings perform in our environment, keep records on such data, and educate our visitors about organizations like the USFS and the important work it is doing.

Gary connected me with Emily Boes and Richard Sniezko in Oregon, who work at the USFS’s Dorena Genetic Resource Center.  Emily and Richard have sent us approximately 12-24 seedlings each of several conifer species, not only of whitebark pine, but also limber pine, western white pine, bristlecone pine, and Port-Orford-cedar.  In spring 2017, they plan to send several seedlings of western larch.  These seedlings have all been very generously donated to us from seedling batches Emily, Richard, and their staff have grown for research into plant health and pest and disease resistance. I am very grateful not only for the seedlings themselves, but for the very pleasant correspondence I’ve had with everyone at the USFS in all of these efforts.

There are several practical reasons that I like getting small tree seedlings, either as bare root plants or in the very small tubes in which such seedlings are usually grown.  Small trees are very easy and less expensive to ship or mail.  You can easily fit 40 or so plants into a box about the size of a toaster oven.  I can then grow these trees for a few years in our nursery, and then spread their roots for more healthy development after planting them in our nursery beds.  Too often, larger trees grown in commercial nurseries will have knots for root masses, severe girdling roots, or almost no roots at all!  Properly training seedling trees – although it will take longer for them to grow into a larger plant – will enable them to be much healthier, better structured organisms. 

These very kind donations have also allowed me to continue adding tree species to our conifer collections in the face of a very tight budget. I’ve already planted several of these seedlings on Comstock Knoll and Conifer Slope (pitch pine, shortleaf pine, Virginia pine, loblolly pine, western white pine, limber pine, white spruce; Atlantic white cedar; European larch.   I have several Port-Orford-cedar, red spruce, bristlecone pine, and still more southwestern white pine and limber pine growing in our nursery here at Cornell, many of which should be large enough to plant in spring 2017.

[cornellbotanicgardens]

The Winter Solstice – A Time for Celebration by Kevin Moss, Adult Education Coordinator, Cornell Botanic Gardens

For many cultures around the world, the winter solstice has long been a sacred time of festive celebration. This year, the winter solstice will occur on Wednesday, December 21, at 5:44 a.m., Eastern Standard Time. By modern-day reckoning, the winter solstice marks the beginning of winter in the northern hemisphere, though in some earlier traditions it was considered the middle of winter, or “midwinter”. Similarly, the summer solstice was once considered “midsummer”, as in Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

But why is this time of year considered by many to be the most sacred time of all? To answer that, we need to first understand a little solstice science: the winter solstice itself is an astronomical event resulting from the earth’s 23.4 degree axial tilt, and its relationship to the sun. On the day of the solstice, the northern half of the planet is tilted directly away from the sun, so from our perspective the sun rises and sets in its furthest point south of the equatorial plane, and traces its lowest arc across the daytime sky. This gives us both the shortest day of the year, and the longest night. From that point on, however, the days will gradually grow longer and longer, and the nights shorter and shorter, as the sun slowly returns to the north.

But everything is relative to your position on the Earth: on the same date, December 21, if you’re in the southern hemisphere, you’ll celebrate the first day of summer. Winter for you would begin around June 21, which is the time of the summer solstice for us.

To many ancient peoples—who depended on plants for their survival—winter was a time of hardship and scarcity. People feared that the life-giving sun would not return, and that the world would remain in darkness forever. So the sun needed to be coaxed into returning – and once it did, the resulting gift of life was something to celebrate. It’s not surprising then that winter solstice festivals and celebrations have been around, far and wide, for a very long time indeed. In China and East Asia, the solstice festival of Dongzhi is related to of the Eastern philosophy of yin and yang, representing balance and harmony in the universe: positive energy increases in the world with the return of longer daylight hours. To the Hopi and Zuni Indians of the American southwest, the Soyal ceremony is a time of purification in which the kachinas—sacred spirits— come down from the mountains to put the sun back on its path towards summer, ensuring prosperity and a bountiful harvest later in the year. And the ancient Romans celebrated Saturnalia, a week-long festival honoring Saturn—the god of agriculture, prosperity and renewal—that included feasting, merry-making, school and work holidays, and private gift-giving.  Sound familiar?  

In the modern West, many familiar holiday celebrations have their origins in the ancient pagan cultures of northern Europe, and plants have always been a significant part of those traditions. For example, evergreens were considered sacred because they were the plants that never died – they stayed green all winter long while other plants withered and died back when the sun was the furthest away.  Evergreen wreaths, with their circular shape, were powerful symbols representing the eternal cycle of life, death and rebirth. These concepts remain at the core of many sacred traditions today.

The act of bringing evergreens indoors was believed to ward off misfortune through the winter season. A wonderful Celtic tradition held that bringing evergreens inside would give woodland spirits and faeries a warm place to spend the winter, and in return they would bring you good fortune. However, you had to make sure you didn’t leave the greens inside too long, or they might take up permanent residence—and then you’d have a bunch of mischievous pixies living in your house!  

Christmas trees, ivy, kisses under the mistletoe, Yule logs, and halls decked with boughs of holly are some of the more familiar and beloved holiday traditions – all of which have their origins in ancient plant lore. You can discover the cultural and natural history of these plants at Cornell Botanic Gardens, with our Plants of the Winter Solstice program at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday, December 21. The program will include an indoor presentation followed by a “lantern tour” of the Mullestein Family Winter Garden, to enjoy some of winter’s wonders and learn how plants cope with the cold. We’ll then head back inside to warm up with some hot apple cider (Wassail) and doughnuts. We may even sing a seasonal carol or two. Joining me for this program will be Dr. Peter Davies, Cornell Emeritus Professor of Plant Science, Landscape Designer Irene Lekstutis, and horticulturist Emily Pratt.

Pre-registration for Plants of the Winter Solstice is required as space is limited. The cost is $10 per person ($8 for members of Cornell Botanic Gardens). Please dress warmly and bring an electric lantern or flashlight for the tour.

Of course, you can enjoy the Mullestein Winter Garden throughout the year. Our gardens and grounds are open year-round, sunrise to sunset, seven days a week, no matter how long or short the days are!

On behalf of all of us here at Cornell Botanic Gardens, I send you Season’s Greetings and wish you a very Happy Solstice!

Click here to register.

[cornellbotanicgardens]

Art and Reflection from the Catalpa

A year ago, staff arborists had to remove the iconic Catalpa tree from the Young Flower Garden. It lived well beyond its life expectancy and rotted from the inside. Cornell Botanic Gardens staff took the opportunity to create beauty from what could be left of the tree by suspending a wind chime within a window cut in its trunk.

The garden’s curator, Mitja Stragapede, knew the Catalpa’s removal would greatly change the garden’s character and advocated for leaving a portion of it  in tact and transforming it into something beautiful. Staff arborists Lee Dean and Daniel Weitoish were able to leave a 9 foot high section of the trunk. After exploring several possibilities, a staff team determined that cutting a window into the remaining part of the trunk was a simple, but elegant solution.

Our Botanic Gardens Art Committee, which includes exhibit and youth program coordinator Diane Miske, landscape designer Irene Lekstutis, and graphic designer, Jay Potter, discussed the potential to use the window in intriguing ways. “A window invites a view and this coupled with sound can encourage reflection,” said Jay Potter. He therefore suggested a wind chime be placed within the trunk window and the idea won everyone over.  So he searched for and selected a chime with a tranquil tone and heavy enough to require the occasional strong gust to ring. The result is something quite unique.  So unique that it was described by one visitor as “natural problem solving –  a lovely, tranquil setting complete with a natural garden view.”

Here stood a much beloved, majestic tree, born at about the same time the old Forest Home School building, now known as the Lewis Building. Generations of children played and explored around this tree. Every year, during Cornell’s Reunion weekend, many alumni, some of whom had attended elementary school here, walk around this area of the Botanic Gardens and try to find their bearings – they look for the tree.

Stragapede feels the remaining Catalpa trunk has a striking presence, “and that it should continue to resonate within the material, sensuous world, not merely in the realm of memory.  Each time a gust of wind, with just the right angle and strength, moves the chime an evocative sound is emitted. Without turning, you can picture the tree standing tall exactly where you’d expect it to be. It’s an image of the beauty that was, and in a way, a promise of that which will be.  If all goes well, gardens mature and grow old. There is grace in that.”

Cornell Botanic Gardens staff hope to continue working as a team to create  more artwork throughout the Gardens wherever and whenever opportunities present themselves.

[cornellbotanicgardens]

Top: Lightwave bench in the F. R. Newman Arboretum at Cornell Botanic Gardens

Bottom: Katie and Kurt are founders of After Architecture, a design practice that specializes in creating a sense of place through artistic architectural design. Click here to view their amazing work.

Sit and reflect from the Lightwave bench in the F. R. Newman Arboretum

If you visit the ponds in the F. R. Newman Arboretum, you can now enjoy the scenery from Lightwave—a sculptural bench created by two Cornell graduates. As Cornell Architecture undergraduates, Katie MacDonald (’13) and Kyle Schumann (’13) received funding from the Cornell Council for the Arts in 2013 to build Lightwave, which is made up of 264 black locust posts that were milled, sanded, painted, and assembled into a grid of square timbers that undulate to create a variety of seating alcoves. The design was inspired by the constant motion of water breaking through rock, a characteristic of Cornell’s landscape positioned between two gorges.

After it was created in 2013, Lightwave was displayed in the lawn area across from Milstein Hall. In 2015, staff graphic designer Jay Potter learned that Katie and Kurt were looking for a permanent home for this stunning bench.  Jay consulted staff to identify potential sites that would be appropriate for the bench. When he reached out to Kurt and Katie, they were thrilled that Lightwave would be displayed at Cornell Botanic Gardens and offered to donate it as well as deliver it from Vermont.

Installing the bench was a team effort.

The bench was stored over the winter in our Arboretum Center. Staff Landscape Designer Irene Lekstutis identified the grove of pin oak trees next to Houston Pond as the ideal location for Lightwave. Not only would the oaks protect the bench, but the mulch bed underneath did not require mowing. Irene had always felt the “space and the surrounding landscape invited people to sit and reflect.”  Our construction crew, Tim Stewart and Jay Ohlsten identified a safe and non-intrusive way to secure the bench without disrupting the tree roots.  Before installing, staff arborists Lee Dean and Daniel Weitoish evaluated the placement to ensure no harm to any underlying roots. Next time you visit Cornell Botanic Gardens, be sure to enjoy the landscape from the Lightwave bench.

[cornellbotanicgardens]

Greetings from the IUCN World Congress in Hawai’i. Over the weekend, I took some friends and colleagues to the micropropagation lab at Lyon Arboretum - where I used to be the Director.

They are (left to right): Me, Dr. Tom Lovejoy (Science Advisor to the UN Foundation, and originator of the concept of biodiversity), Her Excellency Sharifa Zein al-Sharaf bint Nasser of Jordan (runs a large NGO), Her Royal Highness Princess Basma bint Ali of Jordan (founder of the Royal Botanic Garden of Jordan; Time "Hero of the Planet" in 1998), and Dr. Tariq Abu Taleb (Director, RBGJ). 

[cornellbotanicgardens]

Dr. Amber Meadow Adams explores the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Creation Story in a lecture at Cornell

Cornell Plantations continues their Fall Lecture Series, Wednesday, September 14 with a lecture by Amber Meadow Adams, Ph.D, a visiting scholar at the Baldy Center for Law and Social Policy, at Buffalo University. The lecture begins at 7:30 p.m. in Statler Auditorium in Statler Hall on Cornell University’s campus.

Dr. Adams’ lecture will focus on the Haudenosaunee story about the creation of Earth and the local biome told for thousands of years. Richly detailing the relationships between many of the indigenous plant species now growing on Cornell Plantations’ grounds and humans, the story richly illustrates the breakdown of these relationships during periods of ecological crisis, and the strategies human beings adopt in response. Dr. Adams’ lecture will describe how the strategies — biological, psycho-social, and economic — presented in this ancient narrative speak to current global approaches to negotiating human responses to climate change.

In addition to this lecture, Cornell Plantations is partnering with Cornell’s American Indian and Indigenous Studies Program to display an earthwork planting; an exhibit in the Nevin Welcome Center that celebrates the 100-year relationship between Cornell researchers and the Haudenosaunee; and finally in October with a tour and interpretation of the “Ah-Theuh-Nyeh-Hah: The Planting Moon exhibit” in the Pounder Garden.

“We are very pleased to partner with Cornell’s American Indian and Indigenous Studies Program once again,” stated Dr. Sonja Skelly, director of education at Cornell Plantations.  “Using our collections in partnership with Cornell’s cultural scholars to show the interconnectedness of cultures and the natural world is at the core of everything we do.”

Thirteen moons planting In June, visual artist and Director of the American Indian and Indigenous Studies Program Jolene Rickard (Tuscarora) created an earthwork planting in thePounder Garden. A planting mound styled in the shape of a turtle is growing plants from Haudenosaunee heritage seeds. The garden, on display now, was planted in a traditional manner and represents the Haudenosaunee story of Earth’s creation. Corn, beans and squash are grown in the “Three Sisters” system of symbiotic intercropping. Heritage tobacco, sunflower and wild strawberry were also planted. Altogether, the 13 mounds represent the Haudenosaunee planting tradition based on the ecological calendar guided by 13 lunar cycles.

Nevin Welcome Center exhibit Following Dr. Adams’ lecture, Plantations’ will host a exhibit in their Nevin Welcome Center lobby celebrating the 100-year relationship between Cornell researchers and the Haudenosaunee that evolved to become the American Indian and Indigenous Studies Program. The exhibit will show how Haudenosaunee communities are reclaiming traditional agricultural practices as a central way of life today. Two display cases will showcase Haudenosaunee artwork reflecting the significance of corn, beans, squash, tobacco, strawberry and sunflower in their culture.

Tour and performance In October, Jolene Rickard, Director of the American Indian and Indigenous Studies Program, will provide a tour and interpretation of the “Ah-Theuh-Nyeh-Hah: The Planting Moon exhibit.” During the program, the Akwesasne Mohawk Women singers will perform traditional planting and harvest songs.

[cornellbotanicgardens]

Forest Health Research at Cornell Plantations

[cornellbotanicgardens]

THE LAST 2016 SUMMER INTERN INTERVIEW

Hi,

My name is Caroline Giles and I am the writer of all the 2016 Intern Interviews that you have been reading over the course of the summer.

Meeting with the Cornell Plantations Interns to collect information for their interview pieces was my favorite job responsibility.

Every intern had a unique drive to create a positive and selfless impact on the world throughout the course of his or her life. They saw their experience as a Cornell Plantations Intern as an opportunity to start gaining the skills and tools they needed to accomplish their visions.

I was the Marketing Intern for Cornell Plantations this summer.  I am a rising senior in Communications with a concentration in Hotel Administration. During the school year, I am involved with Cornell Marketing and Communications, The Cornell Daily Sun, Delta Gamma, and Slope Media.

Over the course of the summer, my primary responsibilities were to brainstorm ways to engage the student body and local community, manage Plantations’ social media accounts, research and write press releases and articles, coordinate advertisements, and design a display to promote Cornell Plantations to the Cornell community

I received a lot of hands-on experience throughout the course of the summer that helped me evaluate what I want to do with my future. I learned what I enjoy doing, what I don’t like doing, and what is important to me in a work environment.  

The people who work at Cornell Plantations appreciated and valued my ideas. I felt listened to. I also felt that I made a positive difference at Cornell. As a 21 year old, feeling this way doesn’t happen often.

So thank you to everyone who interacts with Cornell Plantations, on any level, for making it the magical place it is today for students, Cornell, and the Ithaca Community.

[cornellbotanicgardens]

Intern Rachel

Rachel Liu is a rising junior majoring in Urban and Regional Studies. Rachel is originally from Singapore but came to Cornell because of the excellent reputation of the College of Architecture, Art, and Planning. Unlike most college students, Rachel already has a job after graduation. She will be working for Singapore's Ministry of National Development, involved in planning and managing the urban and green landscapes of the city.

During the school year, Rachel is involved in research with the Rust to Green program, on planning for the social sustainability of immigrant communities. She is a member of the Organization of Urban and Regional Studies (OURS), and the interdisciplinary project team Design Connect that provides design services to communities in Upstate NY. She is on the leadership team of Cornell Faith and Action (CFA) and Campus On A Hill (COAH), and dances and choreographs with BASE Productions. She also loves to cook and have friends over in her spare time!

Rachel took up the position as a Botanical Garden Intern this summer, because it would provide a fresh perspective on Cornell as well as on her career interests. Rachel feels that spending the summer on campus working in the gardens that Cornell is renowned for has given her a stronger relationship with this place. The internship has also provided her with valuable experiences and perspectives that she can apply to her future job as an urban planner.

Her favorite parts of the internship have been getting to know the different gardeners, soaking up the Ithacan summer, Learning Mondays, and our impressive plantern potluck dinners. She has planted, weeded, watered, mulched, pressed flowers, and staked the planting design for a new cultivated bed right outside the Nevin Center - and is most excited about the Magnolia tree ("Pride of Norway") she planted there! Rachel’s long-term goals are to create and sustain healthy relationships between places and people.

Photo credits to Phil, the awesome guy who makes this summer internship run!