According to the AGNR website, there is a total of 39,279 square feet of climate-controlled glass-greenhouse space at the UMD Research Greenhouse Complex, and Mary Eberhard became responsible for helping manage it.
For her Sustainable Agriculture certificate, Eberhard would spend the summer of 2022 working
under Agricultural Technician Supervisor Meghan Holbrook at the Research Greenhouse Complex, which serves to house a variety of scientific plant research projects.
Eberhard started her summer learning to water (described by Holbrook as “one of the most important parts of the greenhouse”) and working on the various irrigation systems that ran through the various rooms. This consisted of cutting and connecting tubing that ran under the garden tables as well as attaching spouts. After this, according to Holbrook, “Once she established herself and her knowledge of the facility, I could trust her to do other things like the programming of the irrigation and scouting for pests.”
Of course, the internship was not without its challenges. Eberhard vividly recounts the time she was forced to rapidly respond to a violently leaking mist system in one of the greenhouses. In a series of what Meghan Holbrook described as “moments of hilarity”, Eberhard quickly switched components from one system to use as a stopgap as the floor flooded around her.
Looking back on the job, Eberhard had only fond memories “I was trusted enough to work alone… it helped me prove that I knew what I was doing and my bosses never underestimated me." Likewise, when asked about Eberhard’s internship, Holbrook praised her intern, explaining “Mary has a fantastic work ethic and is very reliable. She is a joy to be around and I can always depend on her to come up with a solution to a problem.”
Eberhard explained that she not only continues to work at her position at the greenhouse but has gained new insight into her career going forward. In her words, “This internship has completely changed what I want to do. I would love to work in a greenhouse in the future”
