"Working at the greenhouse is like going to Florida every day," Matt Strazzula says with a smile. Matt has been volunteering three days a week since February. Much of the work at the greenhouse in the winter involves transplanting seedlings initially grown in trays into their own individual pots and this is something Matt has done over and over and over again. "It's almost like Zen, very calming, it's almost prayerful," he explains. Now that spring is here he is more often found popping pansies out of their pots, preparing them for planting out on the cemetery grounds, or pulling dead leaves off geraniums and checking for insects.

Like the others who work at the greenhouse, he's not bothered by the fact that he is also working in a cemetery, "we're all going to end up someplace," he says. This is particularly poignant in Matt's case because, although he is only 46 years old, he is struggling with a terminal illness. Being at this particular cemetery is comforting, he says, because the dead are remembered so well here. His work at the greenhouse also helps him cope with his illness since "dealing with plants is connected with life." He hopes that at some point the greenhouse will hire him, saying "I'm looking forward to working with plants for the rest of my life."