They came wearing silly hats, decorative t-shirts and rubber boots of all sizes and colours. And while the well prepared among them came with gloves, the others left with more than their fair share of dirt under their fingernails.
About 70 staff and faculty spent a foggy and drizzly Wednesday morning working in the gardens in and around the Studley Quad as part of the Halifax campuses鈥� first Boots 鈥榥鈥� Blooms event.
Boots 鈥榥鈥� Blooms is an annual tradition on the Agricultural Campus 鈥� a day of 鈥渟weat equity鈥� where the Ag community鈥檚 鈥済reen thumb鈥� volunteers come together to freshen up many of the gardens around campus.
鈥淲e鈥檝e been watching the Agricultural Campus have fun with this event for a few years now, and that鈥檚 one of the wonderful thing about a merger: you get to pick up new ideas,鈥� explained Katherine Frank, assistant vice-president of Human Resources at 91短视频.
The goal of the event, organized by Human Resources with the support of Facilities Management, was to give Dal employees a fun, team-building opportunity to play an active role in beautifying the campus. With silly names, like the 鈥淏ay City Bloomers鈥� and 鈥淏est Buds,鈥� and often sillier costumes 鈥� the Facilities crew even brought Newfoundland-inspired mummering 鈥渦gly sticks鈥� 鈥� the teams showed great enthusiasm as they took to the flower beds.
A helping hand
The crews were set to weeding and cleaning up several of the gardens around the Studley Quad, including the not-yet-blooming rose bushes near Alumni Crescent, the flower beds alongside the Killam Library and the decorative planters around the University Club. The opportunity to work on the latter was a particular point of pride for Staci Stryde, who is currently completing a co-op term with the Sexton Library: she鈥檚 getting married at the University Club next weekend.
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The work was guided by members of Facilities Management鈥檚 Grounds Division. Mike Wilkinson, who oversees the division, couldn鈥檛 have been happier with how the morning went.
鈥淚 think it鈥檚 fantastic for everyone to come out and get their hands in the soil, and feel like they鈥檙e part of making the campus look good,鈥� he said.
Dal鈥檚 grounds crew consists of 10 full-time staffers in Halifax, two of whom gardeners specifically. Wilkinson says that because spring comes late and suddenly in Halifax, Dal鈥檚 gardens can quickly get out of hand with weeds and other growth.
鈥淔or my guys, this is a huge help,鈥� he said. 鈥淚鈥檝e been walking around, looking at the crews, and the work they鈥檝e been doing is fantastic.鈥�
Style to spare
Despite the slightly wet weather through the morning, all the teams were in great spirits.
鈥淲e鈥檙e from the College of Sustainability: we like to play in the dirt,鈥� said Debra Ross, captain of the college鈥檚 team.
鈥淚t鈥檚 been a lot of fun,鈥� said Jennifer Morawiecki, captain of the 91短视频 Research Services team. 鈥淲e are 鈥榙igging deep鈥� to grow research at Dal,鈥� she added with a smile.
Morawiecki鈥檚 team had reason to smile: it was selected by special guest Marjorie Willison, CBC Radio鈥檚 frequent gardening expert, as being the best dressed team for their snazzy hats and broaches. As for 鈥渂est boots,鈥� that award went to Joanne Martin from Human Resources. Both received plaques made from wood reused from trees harvested in the construction for the Ocean Sciences Building.
The day concluded with a lunch provided by the University Club and a gardening demonstration by horticulture graduate Stephen Cushing of the Office of Sustainability.
Look for the Ag Campus鈥� edition of Boots 鈥榥鈥� Blooms on .
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