Faces of Green Spring
by Ivy Sinaiko
Laura Strecker. (Photo credit: Kevin Navia)I have not known Laura Strecker long (she started working at Green Spring in October 2019), but my impression of her has been vivid—she is friendly and energetic. Before the pandemic, when I worked at the Horticulture Center front desk, I often chatted with her. She seemed a person with places to go and people to see but always had time to have a cheerful conversation with a volunteer. Debbie Waugh suggested that she might be an interesting interviewee for this space. She definitely was. Thanks, Debbie. (Laura and I talked on the phone, as personal interviews are difficult under current conditions.)
Laura is Green Spring’s Adult Education Program Assistant. In normal times she worked with Susan Eggerton on adult programs—researching and contacting speakers, facilitating and promoting programs, publishing the Program & Events bulletin, etc. Because of current unique conditions, however, her main job has been to look for ways to keep Green Spring Gardens on people’s minds during the pandemic and highlight what’s going on with the gardens. Each week she has been documenting and photographing what’s in bloom, both for the upcoming “What’s in Bloom” web page and also to share on the FROGS and FCPA social media and web sites. She is also responsible for updating the plant list for the Garden Gate Plant Shop and providing promotional photos and content. Lately she has been supporting Debbie in the creation of a virtual tour, and she has started working on a project to create short educational videos highlighting various aspects of Green Spring. Laura has had to switch gears and learn everything quickly, and she seems very capable of doing that and enthusiastic about the challenges facing her.
Laura was born and raised in Colombia, South America. In 2001 her family moved to the United States, and Laura enrolled in George Mason University, where she majored in modern languages. After college, she worked at the non-profit Society for Health and Physical Educators, where she eventually became managing editor of two professional journals and a newsletter. (I requested that she be gentle when she reviewed this article!)
When I asked her to name her favorite part of her current job, she replied that she loves that her work setting is a garden. This setting allows her to indulge her creative side—gardening, design, drawing, painting. It also gives her many opportunities to use her exceptional photographic skills.
Photography is also one of the activities she enjoys most in her leisure time. She has a good time cooking (and, she says, eating). She and her husband enjoy travelling and hiking.
Laura seems a perfect person for the times at Green Spring—enthusiastic and not averse to getting into new and somewhat uncharted waters. We are lucky to have her, and I enjoyed learning more about her.
