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At Merit Medical, we’re proud to work with the best.
This month, we interviewed Miguel López, Merit Garden Coordinator, to learn more about the important work he does and how he strives for the highest of standards, improving employee health and wellness.
“I’ve been working at Merit since March of last year,” Miguel said. “My main roles include managing the campus greenhouse and caring for the employee garden.”
Miguel makes this sound easy, but these are no small tasks.
In addition to a greenhouse, the Merit Employee Garden covers a 1-acre parcel of land that comprises 82 employee garden boxes, a small orchard of fruit trees, and a separate area to grow produce for the Merit Cafés. Everything grown in the garden is by sustainable-farming standards, and no commercial pesticides are used; only OMRI-listed products are permitted.
Not only is Miguel responsible for starting new plants and ensuring they thrive, he cares for mature plants by monitoring pests, pruning and fertilizing, weeding, keeping the greenhouse temperature and watering system in check, and so on. Maintaining a constant inventory is also his responsibility, recording and reporting stock and supplies as needed.
“Although I love caring for plants, my favorite part of my job is being of service to the employees who visit the garden,” Miguel told us. “I enjoy seeing their joy, excitement, and satisfaction when they harvest the produce they carefully grew in their garden boxes.”
In addition, Miguel helps instill a sense of community at the garden by facilitating the Upick program, where employees tend to plants side-by-side and in exchange take home produce to their families. “I work a lot with people who don’t speak English,” Miguel explained. “I translate all the information about the activities and workshops that take place at the Merit Garden.”
To share his culture with fellow employees, Miguel took and passed the necessary course to receive a Utah Food Handlers Permit. “This allowed me to make Mexican salsa for the Merit cafeteria to sell,” described Miguel. “I make it with tomatoes and jalapeño peppers grown in the Merit Garden—it’s delicious.”
Although Miguel is an expert in the garden, expanding his knowledge is on his personal to-do list. “I want to learn more about plant pests and diseases as well as ways to combat and prevent them,” he said. “I’m very interested in experimenting with new crops in the greenhouse for the coming winter.” Miguel also gives much credit to his Merit Medical Garden team, who are very important to him. “I have wonderful colleagues, and together we learn more every day how to improve the employee garden space.”
In all that Miguel achieves in his day-to-day, we had to know what inspires him most. “I see how wonderful God is,” he explains. “From a tiny seed, a plant grows that will produce abundant fruits. That’s why I work—to magnify our Creator and Savior Jesus Christ, who blesses us so much every day.”
Watch the Merit Employee Garden in action and learn more about how it fulfills our company Vision and Values to care for employee health and well-being.