During the cold winter months, the fresh green foliage of the tropical plants in the Biodiversity Education and Research Greenhouses are a welcome sight.

Earlier this week, Kaleigh Rusgrove, a graduate student in the MFA program, took students in her Intermediate Photography class to the greenhouses to photograph some of the many varied species there. The class is offered each semester.

Rusgrove says she encourages her students to find opportunities to hone their photography skills on campus. “I always hope it might change their mindset about how they approach shooting, as many students feel they need to go off campus or seek out destinations, often forgetting we have amazing opportunities right in Storrs.”

The Biodiversity Greenhouse collection includes about 3,000 species from around the world, and generally there are a bunch that are in bloom at any one time. To find out what’s currently in flower, go to the greenhouse website.

The greenhouses, located behind the Biology/Physics Building, are open to the public this spring Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-4 p.m., and Saturday, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.