Volunteer Spotlight: Sean Meyercheck

By Heather Poling

Phipps is well-known for our beautiful gardens, seasonal flower shows, pioneering sustainability initiatives, informative educational programs and community outreach. None of our work, however, would be possible without the knowledge and dedication of our volunteers. In this series of profiles, we meet some of the people who give their time to make Phipps possible.

Sean Meyercheck grew up in Pittsburgh and after attending college at Penn State, he decided to return to raise his family in his hometown. He and his wife of 18 years have two children and he says he is, “pre-tired and enjoying having the space to volunteer with organizations he believes in as well as driving his kids to their many activities.”

Sean’s interest in plants started at a young age. His grandfather was a farmer; Sean has fond memories of visiting the family farm during growing seasons. After college he managed the garden center of a big box store for several years where he worked alongside a Master Gardener and was amazed at his wealth of knowledge on all things plant related!

His passion for plants was re-energized during the pandemic and he says, “The inside of my house quickly turned into a jungle of indoor plants that has quickly spread from one windowsill in my living room, to taking over the living and dining rooms, even installing a temporary greenhouse in my dining room during seed-starting season.” During a visit to the Conservatory with his family Sean saw that Phipps offers the Master Gardener Program and it was a no brainer. He applied, got accepted into the program last year and has been volunteering at Phipps since!

His first volunteer project with Phipps was to help refurbish the greenhouse at Phipps Garden Center. One of his favorite experiences was working the May Market event because he loved helping customers pick out the right plants for their own gardens. Sean spends most of the summer months volunteering at the Homewood-Brushton YMCA where they have a community farm. He is able to use the wide array of skills and knowledge he has gained at Phipps in the wider Pittsburgh community. 

When asked what he enjoys most about volunteering Sean said, “I really enjoy the people at Phipps. Everyone I have worked with has been so gracious with their botany knowledge, and I’ve grown so much in my plant knowledge over this past year, thanks to both the staff and the Master Gardener classes. Overall, I enjoy the sense of camaraderie and acceptance I have felt being a small part of Phipps.”