Pruning a future out of nature

Mike Beck is the director of the Huntington Museum of Art's conservatory, the only conservatory in the state of West Virginia.

He started working at the Huntington Museum of Art on December 4, 2000.  He was born in Dayton, Ohio but left for college and came back to visit only once in a while.  Between school and work he lived in six different states. Beck has four sons, James, Aaron, Daniel and David who range in ages from 24 to 30 and live in different states. Beck lives in Huntington.

"Dr. Mike Beck is a great Huntington Museum of Art employee.  He works very hard to make the C. Fred Edwards Conservatory a beautiful and educational place for our visitors," said John Gillispie, the Huntington Museum of Art's public relations director.  "Mike cares for dozens and dozens of orchids in our greenhouse on the grounds and brings orchids in bloom into the conservatory where he creates a display for visitors."

The C. Fred Edwards Conservatory opened in 1996 and is West Virginia's only plant conservatory, according to the Huntington Museum of Art's Web site.  "It features tropical and subtropical plants.  The plants in our collection fall into four categories: Orchids, agriculturally important, fragrant and unusual."

   Beck has been interested in nature since he can remember and wanted to make a career out of it as a child.

"When I was about 10 years old, I took classes about reptiles and insects at the Dayton Museum of Natural History in Ohio and knew I wanted to be a biologist," Beck said.  "I was too young to get on the staff, so I volunteered to care for the live animals they had on display.  It was like a small native animal zoo.  A zoologist at the museum, Dr. Walters, nurtured my interest in nature."

The variety of jobs that can be done at the conservatory is so diverse that Beck has a hard time deciding what he loves to do the most.

"One minute I can be repotting plants and the next minute I can be designing educational displays," Beck said. "The plants themselves are constantly changing.  As the year progresses different plants are in bloom, so the fragrance of the conservatory changes over the year.  Some orchids smell absolutely wonderful.  It is enjoyable for me to see the chocolate and cashew fruits develop on the trees.  Many of these things you can't experience anywhere else within 100 miles of the Tri-State."

Beck is not the only living thing working to keep the conservatory under control and in good condition.  With the help of predatory insects, free-range frogs and Tokay geckos Beck is able to maintain the Conservatory as a miniature ecosystem.

According to HMA's Web site, the plants and sculptures in the conservatory can be viewed at any time during regular museum hours.  The museum is a member of the American Orchid Society, the American Public Garden Association and the OFA – An Association of Floriculture Professionals.  

Gillispie said that Beck is a great part of the museum and enjoys being able to work with him.

"For a few years now, Mike has been taking orchids to the Interstate 64 Rest Stop between the Fifth Street exit and Hal Greer exit for the West Virginia Day celebration in June,"  Gillispie said.  The staff at the welcome center love to has the orchids on display during West Virginia Day and for few additional days.  It's also a great promotion for the conservatory and the museum."

Beck encourages people to visit the museum and visit.  Anyone is welcome to help with the conservatory as well.

"You'll get to see plants that you've never seen before," Beck said.  "You've eaten chocolate but have you ever seen the plant on which is grows?  What about cashew nuts?  Have you seen that tree?  What about an ant plant?  We have over 300 orchid plants in our collection, and as they bloom I put them in the conservatory for people to see.

Beck said having people come to the conservatory is his "raison d'être", his reason for being.  He keeps the plants alive so people can see and experience them.  His greatest passion involving wildlife is to be sharing his knowledge with other people and teaching.  "Seeing other people get excited about the plants at the conservatory has encourages him to put more effort into the conservatory, and it is a joy to see people connect with nature," Beck said.

"Mike is a great guy.  He's also very intelligent and has a good sense of humor.  He is always willing to help me out when it comes to promoting the museum and the conservatory," Gillispie said.

The staff at the museum is working with Beck to develop a butterfly garden, a new addition to the Huntington Museum of Art.

"I can't imagine not doing my job so I don't intend.  I intend to do it until I can't lift a 50-pound bag of potting soil," Beck said  

John Yeingst can be contacted at yeingst@marshall.edu.