Visiting Stella at her workplace

Stella, what is your role in the company where you attend your placement?

I am a project manager since I am responsible for my own garden-project.

What are your daily tasks and how do your routine of the day look like?

When I arrive at Greenhouse I get into my working outfit because I work outside. I work with plants and soil; that is why you get dirty very fast. Afterwards there is a group meeting where we discuss what is on that day. Everyday I work from 9 am to 5 pm. At Greenhouse we all depend on daylight. If it is gone we have to return home and start all over again in the next morning.
I am in charge of my own project which is creating a place in Greenhouse where one can relax and calm down. You can call my project a kind of little oasis.

What were the challenges at your workplace and how did you manage them?
What are your plans for the rest of the placement to get the most out of it?

In the very beginning I had some problems because of the barrier of language. I really had to communicate with my hands, feet and with that little bit of English knowledge. However my English skills get better and better every week and I feel a lot more comfortable than before.
Furthermore the responsibility for my own project was big; I had to rethink over and over again about my ideas. A huge problem was the financial difficulties. There is not that much money left for projects like mine.
I definitely would like to have my project completed when I drive back to Germany. On account of this I hope everything will be as I imagined it and my chill place can be used very soon by the staff of Greenhouse and by all of its visitors. On the weekends we have a lot of visitors at Greenhouse. In my opinion they would really love that place.

How is the cooperation with colleagues and management in your placement organization?

First of all I have to say that everyone is very kind and friendly. The work at Greenhouse is voluntary and the whole company is based on donations. None is the boss at all; everyone is equal. We all have lunch together. I think that the concept of Greenhouse is a good one. There is no stress at all and as far as I experienced it the motivation of the staff is unusual high. Work is fun at Greenhouse which is great!

What have you learned so far?

I do really love plants but in my opinion one can loose the beauty of nature soon since you deal with it every single day. I got to know that I want to work outside; I need space and fresh air to breathe. But I do not want to be a gardener.