Over decades, an impressive greenhouse has sprouted at the University of Wisconsin-Superior.

There’s a room for propagating and research, a rainforest room, a space for plants that would live in the desert or more arid climates, and a spot for student research.

“Nothing from native areas. Just about everything in here is from elsewhere. You can go outside and see that native plants,” Kate Borealis said.

Borealis is the greenhouse technician. She says she’s working her dream job, taking over for Robbye Johnson, who managed the plants for more than 40 years.

“Yeah, they pay me to be here. It’s crazy,” Borealis laughed.

Crazy or not, it’s an uplifting place to spend especially the winter months. But it’s focused on education.

“You can learn about plants from a book all day long. But until you get the hands on and see how it works, it’s hard to connect,” Borealis said. “So in here, it’s a lot of representative plant families for the classes to look at and see grow and see their growth patterns.”

Students have experiments going that test watering techniques. Some tiny plants are only drinking Sprite.

“If I were a plant getting Sprite, I think I’d be happy,” Borealis said. “But that’s just me anthropomorphizing a plant.”

Three times a week, she hand-waters everything that’s not part of a class project. The UW-Superior greenhouse also works with the Como Zoo in St. Paul, Minn. on conservation efforts.

“One of the more robust collections is the orchid collection in here,” she said.

And watching the succulents, air plants, cacti, and flowers grow has roots in human nature too.

“You never see a plant actually growing. You only see that it has grown. And so giving yourself time to grow and be able to look back, it’s – there’s a lot of similarities between us and the way plants are,” Borealis said.

That perspective is open to the public. Anyone who needs a little watering is welcome.

“Whenever the door is open, if you can get in, come on in. Because the door’s not there to stop you, it’s there to get you in here.”