The University of Northern Colorado (UNC) just got a little bit greener thanks to the psychology department.
The sixth annual House Plant Sale was hosted in the McKee basement on Mar. 6.
The event was organized by Dr. Melissa Lea, an academic advisor for the school of psychological sciences.
Students were able to peruse a wide variety of greenery, such as spider plants, aloe vera, and many members of the pothos genus.
“I have a couple other types of pothos, but not this one at home yet,” said an excited student who was present at the sale.
The majority of the plants were propagated by Dr. Lea and Dr. Joanna Lewis, but other plants came from donations.
“I have donations from Happy Life Gardens, a nursery in Evans,” Lea said. “I have donations from faculty across the campus, and other students. So they kind of come from everywhere.”
Dr. Lea is an avid gardener and has spent the past year cultivating a collection to share with the community.
There are several deeply rooted health benefits to owning plants as well, which is why the psychology department sells plants instead of traditional fundraising methods.
“When you nurture or take care of something, oxytocin is one of the neurochemicals released, and you actually start to feel happier,” Lea said. “There’s dopamine and serotonin release also.”
All plant sales will be directly funding the psychology club on campus, allowing them to continue operations.
Dr. Lea is accepting donations year-round, starting in the spring semester, encouraging more students and faculty to contribute to the cause.
“I think these [plants] are fun because they keep giving and giving and giving and giving,” Lea said.
Much like the plants themselves, the psychology department continues to keep giving and giving back to the UNC community.
