Nestled on the campus of Miami University Hamilton is a not-so-secret garden. The Conservatory was a gift from the Richard J. Fitton family to generations of future Miami students and the surrounding communities.
“The Fitton family has a huge love and appreciation of nature,” says Brian Grubb, Manager of the Conservatory. “They wanted it to be a gift to the whole community.”
The facility is a 7,000 square foot space that contains educational facilities, like a classroom and offices, as well as the research room, the tropical room, the desert room, and the horticultural room. Altogether, the Conservatory contains more than 1000 species of plants from all around the world.
Students feel the impact of the Conservatory, whether they stop by during a poetry class for inspiration, draw pictures of plants for art class, or simply visit for a calming homework session among the greenery. However, the newly developed Applied Biology program, which features a track in Environmental Biology, is uniquely situated to benefit.
“We interact with several courses there: field botany, plant propagation, and environmental interpretation, for example,” explains Grubb.
“This is the applied aspect of the new Applied Biology degree,” says Dr. Paul Harding, Chair of Biological Sciences at Miami Regionals. “Our faculty are very good at involving students in research and internship experiences.”
The Applied Biology program, which already has 30 majors, also works closely with employers in the region to ensure that these students have access to the kinds of practical training they need. This includes, for example, a 10-hour OSHA certification in their sophomore year, as well as a required minor, called a “tools requirement,” in a non-biology subject to prepare them for the working world, like commerce or data analytics.
Students who work in the Conservatory, be they Applied Biology majors or other students, find satisfaction in the work.
“I love getting to work outside and getting ready for events,“ says Emma Boggs, a three-year student employee of the Conservatory. “The summers are great.”
Student workers have been responsible for a thriving Instagram account, have received honorable mentions in the All-American Selections (AAS) Landscape Design Challenge, and have hosted a myriad of programs and events. Student interns create comprehensive plant records and labels that combine their research abilities with a skill for marketing and curatorial design.
“I met Brian on a faculty-led study abroad opportunity in the Bahamas, and since I’m a botany major, I asked about a job,” says Bekah Duquette, a student staff member at the Conservatory. “It’s a great place to work; you aren’t just sitting at a desk.”
The Conservatory works to draw in the public; they are open six days a week with free admission. They host visits from a variety of schools in Hamilton and surrounding towns. They also host regular “Learn it At Lunch” talks, where people bring a bag lunch and learn about a topic that is of seasonal relevance and broad interest, from seed propagation to wintertime blooming plants. There are also non-credit programs for those who want to dive deeper.
In the summer and fall, the areas outside the Conservatory are also full of interesting plants, from the vegetable garden down the way to the flowers that surround the Kaleidoscope sculpture in front of the Conservatory. Hamiltonians of all ages can find something to marvel at inside and outside the Conservatory; it can even host weddings!
“This is a huge gem for Butler County,” says Grubb. “There are only two or three botanical conservatories of this size in each state. This is a really unique resource.”
To learn more, visit the Conservatory website http://miamioh.edu/regionals/conservatory/.