By DELANEY McCARTY The Mitchell Park Horticultural Conservatory, or more commonly referred to as “The Domes,” is an oasis among the concrete desert of Milwaukee. You may be able to see their blue lights glowing at night from Marquette’s campus just beyond Valley Field. The Domes consist of three separate acres of land each covered by an 85-foot-tall glass dome, housing thousands of different plant species. Each dome contains a specific theme that is unique from its city surroundings. The Show Dome, first established in December 1964, transforms into a new theme five times a year. The current theme, Railroad to Wonderland, models the famous story of Alice in Wonderland, with giant mushrooms and a tea party mixed in among colorful flowers. A fun bonus is following four garden-sized trains as you accompany Alice during her journey through Wonderland! This show, just like every theme that is cycled in and out in the Show Dome, takes careful planning and designing to put together a magnificent work of natural art. Hundreds of colorful flowers, like lilies, tulips, poinsettias, and roses are featured depending on the time of year and featured theme. Next, the Tropical Dome, finished February 1966, feels like stepping into a rainforest – birds are calling, toads are croaking, and the air inside is kept humid through an elaborate sprinkler system on the dome’s ceiling. Tropical fruit trees bear star fruit, guava, and plantains. The forest canopy overhead is filled with epiphytes, which are plants that use other plants for physical support. These plants, like bromeliads and vanilla, attach and vine to the tree branches above, creating a sky of green. A koi pond can be found surrounded by orchids, ferns, and a unique flower called Birds of Paradise. The smells inside this dome are simply amazing. You’ll almost forget you’re in Wisconsin! Lastly, the Desert Dome completed the trio in October 1967. The most stunning part of this dome is the number of cacti and succulents thriving throughout the entire area. The Desert Dome contains one of the largest collections native plant species from Madagascar, such as Catharanthus roseus, a pretty little pink flower among the sea of dusty greens and browns. Other featured plants come from Africa, Canary Islands, and South and North America. This dome also contains a pond, called The Oasis, with aquatic papyrus plants sprouting out of the water. By the shore, chili peppers grow and thrive in the hot, arid climate. A winter coat is not needed in this dome. The Mitchell Park Domes are an amazing way to escape the cold while also learning about many different plant species that come from around the world. Just being able to walk around on the trails and enjoy the different climates is a fun getaway from Milwaukee’s snowy streets. Admission is $8 per person, so get some friends together and take a trip to The Domes the next time the snowy blues are getting you down! References: https://milwaukeedomes.org/ Friends of the Domes. “Milwaukee's Mitchell Park Horticultural Conservatory.” Milwaukee's Mitchell Park Domes, Waterford Design Technologies, 2018, milwaukeedomes.org.
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By ANGEL RIVERA I was a senior in high school when I came across an advertisement on Facebook for a program called World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms (WWOOF). To participate in WWOOF, all you have to do is sign up online and pay a one-time application fee of $40. Once that is taken care of, you can select an organic farm where you would work in exchange for room and board, meals, and a fulfilling educational and cultural experience. With a passion for the environment and learning new things, becoming a WWOOFer seemed like the perfect opportunity to pursue my interests on a budget. I have WWOOFed twice now - each time left me wishing I could do it another ten times. My first visit was to a small town near Grand Rapids, Michigan, where a friend and I shared a room in the host's house for a week. It was a dairy farm, so I got a hands-on experience learning about cows and the milking process. I also helped build a chicken coop and sold eggs and milk at the local farmers' market on Sunday mornings. For my second trip, I bought an Amtrak ticket for a little less than $100 and rode solo to a small town near Hannibal, MN for two weeks. This farm was mainly an apiary and vegetable garden. Here I stayed in a log cabin type structure that was cozy. I helped build an electric fence for pigs, worked extensively on a vegetable farm, and messed with a few honeybee hives they had at their location.
Working as a WWOOFer is not your typical farming experience. On these organic farms, we learn about sustainable living, and use natural fertilizers and never use hormones to expedite the process for profit. The whole point of working on an organic farm is to be self-conscious about what you put in your body and what you do to the land you farm on. Sustainable farming really allows natural habitats and all its life to be less threatened. Green farming is no easy task, and the work can push you to your limits at times, but it is truly rewarding work. WWOOFing helped me grow as a person. I learned many valuable lessons that I really cannot summarize into words. I made relationships with other people in different states, played some awesomely weird local games such as street bowling, blew glass, tried different foods, and went on runs and hikes whenever possible. People are different everywhere you go, and immersing yourself in something like that is truly a once in a lifetime thing. If this at all calls your attention in the slightest way, do it. It’s the best way to learn about farming while having an amazing time for an amazing price. Check out their link to learn more > https://wwoofusa.org |