Plant Materials Use Agreement

Plant Production for One-Time or Short-Term Use  

Conservatory staff can grow out seedlings or small plants of various species, to be used for lab exercises and then discarded. 

As part of its mission to inspire and support innovative, immersive educational opportunities for formal and informal exploration of plant biodiversity, the UConn Botanical Conservatory provides plant materials and services to educators at UConn. This document details class usage of the Conservatory, as well as expectations of instructors.

Instructor Responsibilities

  • Confirm with staff that the necessary seed is on hand in sufficient time for planting.
  • Provide seeds of species not stored by the Conservatory.
  • Notify the collections scientist about their plant production needs, and their exact usage dates one month before the beginning of the term
  • Remind staff of seeds that require a longer growth period to reach the desired stage, e.g., seeds of Acacia require four months).
  • Pick up plant materials from the Conservatory.
  • Return used plants and potting materials to the Conservatory at the conclusion of class activities for composting of organic materials and reuse or recycling of pots and labels.
  • Maintain seed supplies for corn, sunflowers (small amounts), squash-fall semesters, beans, peas, castor beans, brassicas-fast plants, and Nasturtiums. 
  • Maintain Coleus plants.
  • Plant and care for seedlings to provide plant material at the specific stage required

Staff Responsibilities

  • Maintain seed supplies for corn, sunflowers (small amounts), squash-fall semesters, beans, peas, castor beans, brassicas-fast plants, and Nasturtiums. 
  • Maintain Coleus plants.
  • Plant and care for seedlings to provide plant material at the specific stage required

Use of Plants from the Permanent Collection   

Plants in the permanent collection offer a remarkable resource for botanical education, but at the same time constitute a highly valuable and sometimes irreplaceable specimen for conservation and research. The policies below are intended to provide flexibility for instructors while at the same time safeguarding the plants.

Instructor Responsibilities 

  • Provide Conservatory staff with dates and times when plants will be borrowed.  
  • Provide Conservatory staff with a list of all plants to be borrowed and the feature of interest 1 month before the beginning of the term to ensure that the features of interest will be available.  
  • Provide Conservatory staff with course number, date, a list of species names, and the room/location and confirm loan with staff before plants leave the Conservatory.  
  • Return borrowed plants to the headhouse in their initial condition.  
  • Return plants to the greenhouses immediately after use.  
  • Water or keep plants in a humidity dome if they are needed for more than one day; consult the Conservatory staff for proper instructions. 
  • Seek Conservatory staff guidance before cutting leaves or stems from plants for class usage.   
  • Notify Conservatory staff if a plant is damaged or lost so that we can start work on rehabilitating or replacing it.

Staff Responsibilities  

  • Assist in locating plants for use and documenting them for borrowing.  
  • Return all plants to the proper room/bench location.   
  • Record course number, date, a list of species names, and the room/location they are taken to before plants are borrowed.

Tours  

The Conservatory’s main greenhouse facility at the Torrey Life Sciences Building is open and available for class tours and other visits. Learn more about hours, admissions, and how to schedule your visit. We also offer virtual tours of our Tropical Greenhouse and our Mediterranean, Desert, and Temperate Greenhouses. 

Instructor Responsibilities 

  • Provide the greenhouse manager with a schedule of all anticipated class visits at the beginning of the semester. 
  • Limit individual groups to 15 students, when possible. 
  • Provide the Conservatory general manager with the specific dates of self-guided assignments. 
  • Instruct students on individual assignments not to approach greenhouse staff for help.  
  • Schedule training tours, at the beginning of the semester, for TAs of large introductory classes, that will visit the Conservatory.  
  • Consult with the Conservatory general manager on possibilities for students of other classes to visit the facilities.  

Staff Responsibilities  

  • Provide training tours for TAs of large introductory classes once a semester per course.  
  • Assist or lead ad hoc tours on pre-arranged dates.