Just in time for Memorial Day 2013, Humphrey’s HBI students and their instructor worked on the installation of the Water Gardens at the Como Conservatory. Water gardening gives these students a unique training as part of their landscaping training requirements. The Victoria water platters, first discovered in the Amazon over 100 years ago, float on the surface of these heated pools and produce huge beautiful blooms. The students and conservatory staff moved over a ton of rock in preparation for planting the seeds in the pool. As always, the students’ labors were rewarded with a technical training tour. This time they were given a tour of the huge boiler inside the Conservatory and learned about the mechanical combustion process from the fire box and Morrison tube through the fire tubes. They also learned the finer points of the chiller and the water conduits that are part of the climate controls. This partnership with the non-profit Conservatory provides a unique work-based learning.