Ed Hassell has already spent a semester working on his bog.

He’s drawn the layout for the small wetland model, keeping in mind expenses and safety. He makes sure the water won’t leak and that visitors won’t ruin the model. Hassell, a senior in horticulture, is working on the bog as part of an internship with Diane Mays, an agricultural research technician in the horticultural department.

Hassell is one of a number of students working in the University’s greenhouses, adjacent to the Fox Science Teaching Labs.

In an effort to attract the local elementary school students, Hassell is filling his bog with aquatic and carnivorous plants.

“Kids love the carnivorous plants,” Hassell said.

Carnivorous plants trap insects and use enzymes to break the bugs down and use them for nutrients.

Other students, such as Rachel Davis, a senior in polymer and color chemistry, and alumna Hong Le are working in the greenhouse on their fall plants to prepare them for sale after they are graded.

The two are part of a Greenhouse Management class and are raising a number of plants, including Christmas-style poinsettias, to be graded and then sold.

Both Le and Davis check their plants nearly every day, they said. They check to make sure they’re spaced out healthy and receiving sunlight. They also remove anything dead.

“The top leaves turn red on a poinsettia and the bottom stay green,” Davis said. “When it starts sending out pollen, it’s ready to be sold.”

While Davis said she hopes to keep growing plants and working in a greenhouse as a hobby, Le said she wants it to be her profession.

“I want to have a greenhouse of my own someday,” Le said. “I just like being around the place and checking in on my plants.”