Zoo InternQuest is a seven-week career exploration program for San Diego County high school juniors and seniors. Students have the unique opportunity to meet professionals working for the San Diego Zoo, Safari Park, and Institute for Conservation Research, to learn about their jobs, and then blog about their experience online. Follow their adventures here on the Zoo’s website!
Ms. Achenbach poses for the camera as she stands in front of the growing orchids in the plant propagation lab. There are approximately ten different species growing in the lab to date, where they will remain for approximately two years, until they are fully grown.
Courtny Achenbach is a horticulturist at the San Diego Zoo where she has worked for the past two years. When she was young, orchids were her hobby, which soon developed into a passion. She had tons of orchid plants at home and she watched Youtube videos to research them. After receiving her first orchid as a gift from one of her friends, she’s been fascinated by them ever since. She first went to school to study linguistics with an emphasis on Spanish and Korean at San Diego State University, but wanted to follow her passion for orchids and transferred to biology since there wasn’t a botany major available. After getting her degree, she found her way to the San Diego Zoo with an entry level position in the Buildings and Grounds department, and after six months she had an opportunity to work with the Horticulture department through a job share program. When the previous orchid horticulturist retired, Ms. Achenbach applied for her dream position and got it! As a horticulturist at the Zoo, she is responsible for germinating orchid and oak plants in the plant propagation lab, as well as maintaining and watering her plants in various greenhouses. In the lab, she uses agar (growth medium) and other nutrients to help promote plant growth. Some of these plants are critically endangered in the wild due to over-collection, so she spends her time taking care of these confiscated plants and restoring certain species.
On the way to the orchid greenhouse, the interns stopped at the carnivorous plant nursery. In winter time, carnivorous plants go dormant in order to save energy. They begin to regrow and digest bugs in the spring.
Ms. Achenbach has a few helpful tips for anyone wishing to pursue a similar career path. She recommends building a love for orchids prior to your college years. If you have this passion for orchids, then find a school that caters to your interest. Many schools have majors revolving around horticulture, either in ecology, botany or even biology. She also recommends joining clubs or talking to professors about the subject in order to cultivate more experience. These interactions with fellow plant enthusiasts can sprout a new love for the field. While in school it’s important to gain a solid grasp of chemistry, as it will be the most important subject for horticulture, along with agricultural subjects. Volunteering is another great way to gain any needed experience, and botanical gardens are great for helping you along your way. Volunteering will also provide more information about your budding love for orchids.
While every orchid is different in their own way, they all have some similar characteristics. They each have three petals and three sepals (which is an internal part of the flower that functions for protection and are commonly mistaken as petals).
Orchids are one of the most diverse organisms you can find in the world with around 25,000 species on all continents but Antarctica. At the Zoo’s orchid greenhouse one can find 640 species. Ms. Achenbach hand waters all the orchids at the greenhouse which can take about four hours. Orchids consist of three sepals, three petals, and a column which contains the pollen and reproductive organs of the plant. There are also three types of orchids based on where they grow. There’s epiphytic (grow on trees), lithophytic (grow on rocks), and terrestrial (grow in soil). Some orchids don’t even have leaves and photosynthesize through their roots! One cool species of orchid is the dracula orchid, which looks like a mushroom as a way to attract fruit flies who do their mating dance on fungi. Once they attract these flies, the plant closes up, which forces pollen to get stuck to the fly before they are released to pollinate other orchids. Orchids support a lot of pollinators in their environment and they are an indicator of a healthy ecosystem.
Unlike the lab, the orchid greenhouse contains 640 species. Every third Friday of each month, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., the orchid house is open for the public to come and enjoy each beautiful orchid located inside.
Ms. Achenbach’s job allows her to partner with The Huntington Botanical Gardens to effectively combat orchid over-collection. People are rapidly uprooting orchids for their beauty, causing multiple species to become critically endangered. Ms. Achenbach stresses the importance of preserving orchid species because they grow and reproduce at an extremely slow pace. Not only that, but orchids support pollinators and are great indicators of whether or not an ecosystem is healthy. If an orchid is present, that means the area has healthy soil and can support a variety of wildlife. Ms. Achenbach encourages everyone to participate in conserving these unique species by becoming informed about their threats and ecological importance. She recommends reading articles on The Huntington Botanical Garden Cryopreservation website or even listening to podcasts. Ms. Achenbach’s favorite is the In Defense of Plants podcast because it is a good source of information. The most helpful thing Ms. Achenbach believes you can do to conserve orchids is knowing where the products you purchase come from. She encourages the purchase of palm oil free products or sustainable palm oil, and even shade grown coffee, both of these being alternatives that are better for the environment and orchid habitats. By paying more attention as a consumer, one can actively participate in the conservation of orchids.
With the buzz and chaos of day-to-day life surrounding us, Ms. Achenbach and her job are like a breath of fresh air. From the lab, where new, baby orchids are grown, to the greenhouses, where older, adult orchids are cared for, Ms. Achenbach has her hands full. She nurtures and educates, and with a delicate touch, waters each of the orchids every morning. Ms. Achenbach offers more than just knowledge about plants – she’s had an array of jobs and life experiences, and has ultimately ended up working on something that she’s passionate about, which is one of her biggest accomplishments yet. Ms. Achenbach’s life and career are in full bloom right now, and it will be exciting to see what she does next.
The interns pose with Ms. Achenbach. Remember, every third Friday of each month you can enjoy spending time with these amazing orchids. Come visit, you won’t regret it!
Week Two
Winter Session 2020
