GREENHOUSE STAFF
Superintendent: MS. TEDDI BLONIARZ
The retirement of the well-respected greenhouse manager, Ronald Beckwith, after
25 years resulted in some very large shoes to fill. The Biology Department was fortunate,
however, to identify and hire Teddi Bloniarz for this challenging position. Teddi ran her
own commercial greenhouse in western Massachusetts for 14 years, and later spent five
years at Holyoke Community College, managing their Botany lab and greenhouse. Just before
accepting the Biology greenhouse position, she worked for a year as a research assistant
in a neurobiology lab in the Biology Department at UMass. This not only introduced her to
the workings of the university, but gave her the opportunity to meet both students and faculty.
Teddi has an Associate Degree from the Stockbridge School and a Bachelors Degree in Plant and Soil Sciences
from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. While
running her own business, Teddi also designed and installed interiorscapes. This expertise
is now being exploited by the Biology Department as she is being asked to decorate rooms
for seminars and other departmental functions along with her managerial duties.
Teddi officially started her new position in July, 2001 and has
familiarized herself with the
collection
and with the requirements of both faculty and students. One of her first goals was to
institute conditions consistent with the requirements for Integrated Pest Management. She
can be reached by e-mail: teddi@bio.umass.edu or by phone: (413) 545-0417.
Assistant: MS. MONIKA JOHNSON
Monika Johnson has been the full-time greenhouse assistant since 1989. A native of Augsburg, Germany,
she immigrated to the United States over 30 years ago, making her home in western
Massachusetts. Monika worked at a commercial greenhouse in Chicopee, Mass. for eight
years prior to joining the greenhouse staff. Since arriving at UMass, she has learned
the demanding requirements of working in a greenhouse dedicated to teaching and research.
Following the retirement in 2000 of the previous greenhouse superintendent, Ronald
Beckwith, Monika was thrust into the role of acting superintendent while continuing
to conduct many of the duties of assistant. Her juggling of these roles and effective
management enabled the greenhouse operation to continue successfully during a
period of several months. Since returning to her role as full-time greenhouse
assistant, Monika remained a valuable asset to the greenhouse as well as to faculty
and staff. Monika can be reached by email:
monikaj@bio.umass.edu or by
phone: (413) 545-0417.
Other staff:
The full-time staff is supplemented by four to six part-time workers who are hired
by Teddi Bloniarz and trained by Monika Johnson. These added staff members include
mostly work-study students. They are responsible for weekend/holiday watering,
general clean-up, and other routine but essential chores.
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