Our quiz this month is the letter "B." How many of these Arboretum residents can you identify? The answers are at the bottom of the newsletter.

by Ric Jordan

At The Arboretum we are very fortunate to have a core of supporters who have come to understand not only what we do but what we want to do to fulfill our mission of education, research and outreach. Some support our collections through undesignated donations and we are most grateful for those funds as it gives us leeway to use in areas where as a staff we know require work which obviously entails costs. Others direct their donations towards specific endowments where the expendable portion is used for costs associated with that project. An example of this would be the OAC’56 Park in the Garden Endowment. Approximately two years ago the Gazebo, part of the ’56 class project, on the west lawn incurred some damage due to vandalism. Monies accrued in this endowment allowed us to fund the repair without an impact our planned operating budget.

More recently we have also had individuals/families come forth with significant donations to fund internships at The Arboretum. Some have been in the area of our interpretive programs while others have been directed to horticultural related work. Elsewhere in the newsletter is an article by Polly Samland on her work term as a Horticultural Intern. Not only does this type of sponsorship allow us to accomplish some extra tasks in a professional manner but it allows a recent grad to gain training and experience in the field of their choice.

Like one’s home there is always an opportunity to make improvements or additions to The Arb and at a recent staff retreat many were identified. Now the real work begins as we schedule meetings to sort out priorities that match our dollars and where we want to go with them. Without the ongoing support of many of you some of our activities would need to be slowed, put on hiatus or even cancelled and that we do not wish to do.

Our collections are growing physically as is our reputation for quality in the collections and all our programs. To maintain this level of competency requires tremendous effort from our staff and of course this requires funds from a variety of sources. To our donors and volunteers I know I can speak on behalf of staff to say a large THANK YOU!

PS: For those of you preparing for spring by planning your garden you might want to take in Guelph Seedy Saturday on March 29th at St. George's Churchy in downtown Guelph.  The Arboretum will be taking part, along with many other seed vendors, horticultural organizations and community groups.  This annual event is always a wonderful way to start the gardening season.  For more information check out the poster link.

by Ranee Paraajasingham

Hello, I am the new Volunteer Co-ordinator at the Arboretum, and am delighted to be a part of the Arboretum team! At the Arboretum I co-ordinate volunteer activities and assist with the organization and facilitation of various workshops. I also work as an office assistant. The Arboretum staff members are a pleasure to work with and I look forward to working with the volunteers in the near future! I have only been here for two months, and it already feels like home. I would like to thank Shelley Hunt, the Arboretum Director and Ric Jordan, the Manager of the Arboretum for providing me with this great opportunity!
I am originally from Sri Lanka, where I obtained a B.Sc in Agriculture, then completed an M.Sc in Agronomy from the Pennsylvania State University and then moved to Guelph with my family in 1987. I worked at Land Resource Science/School of Environmental Sciences at the University of Guelph as a Research Technician/Associate from 1989 until June 2013. In this position, I worked on research projects on Soil, Plant and Water Relations, which was a rewarding role and a great learning experience! In my leisure time I enjoy sewing, reading and walking. I live with my husband and our cat. We have two grown daughters and a new baby grandson who is 4 months old!
The Arboretum is a unique and wonderful place to work and I truly enjoy working in such a beautiful environment!

                                    
                                        Ranee

by Polly Samland

One may think of a well-tended green space, free to the public, crossed with trails and dotted with well-placed benches, and consider it to be a park. The Arboretum has all of these features, yet they represent a fraction of its full role. In recounting the projects and duties of my past year as a Horticultural Intern, I hope to show how daily activities can relate to the fundamental goals of the Arboretum as an institution –public involvement, education, research, and conservation. Much of my time is spent in general labour: weeding beds, planting nursery rows, watering seedlings, pruning out dead wood, and digging holes. To distinguish this from a basic janitorial upkeep, I will need to explain how larger objectives frame and motivate our daily work.

As a ‘living library’ the Arboretum is intended to be a resource, whether it be for a person scouting out an appropriate plant for their yard or to a researcher studying pollination. This requires multiple stages of documentation to occur, from the source of seed planted in the greenhouse to the label hammered in beside a specimen. The database used for curatorial record keeping was transferred to a new software system (IRIS BG) in Jan 2013, and during the cold weather months it has been a priority to bring this system up-to-date, so that it can be accessed via a new website platform. For me, this involves a review of our inventory, collection by collection. Working closely with the GIS technician, a new map of the grounds has been created, and we are excited about the adoption in the coming months of new mobile technologies that will allow us to update the status of collections in the field.  Read more.

  

The Arboretum’s grounds are the perfect setting for group tours. Our knowledgeable docents (trained volunteer guides) give pre-arranged 1 ½ hour tours of the Arboretum’s grounds, gardens, collections and other points of interest. The tours can be focused on the areas that are seasonally appropriate and / or that are of interest to you and your group. Tours should be booked a minimum of 2 weeks in advance. The cost is $5 per person, with a minimum charge of $60. Tours provide an excellent break for a meeting group. For further information on tours or to make a reservation please contact Barb Watson – Ash at [log in to unmask] or 519-824-4120 ext. 54110.

The Pruning and Gardening Fundamentals workshops are approaching. The dates and registration deadlines can be found in our Coming Events Listing in the column on the left side of this newsletter. A detailed description of each course is available on our website. Help us promote our programs … please forward this e-mail on to your friends and colleagues who may be interested. The more participants we have, the more programs we can offer.

Registration is available on-line which will allow you to register for our programs at anytime, not just during our regular business hours. A secure link is provided on our web-site for this easy registration process.

If you do not have internet access registration can still be made by phone or in person at 519-824-4120 ext. 52358 as in the past . Please note that a decision is made on the registration deadline as to whether the workshop will run or not, based on the minimum number of required registrants. You may still register after the deadline as long as the workshop is running and there is space.

We are still in the grip of winter but we are seeing the first real signs of spring. The sun is stronger and Black-capped Chickadees are starting to sing regularly. And, by evidence of his tracks, one night was warm enough for a male skunk to leave his warm burrow in search of sleeping female skunks to mate with (yes, folks, that is how it is done in the skunk world!). While we have had American Robins here all winter, it is now time to watch for the first Red-winged Blackbirds to really welcome spring.

  
Chickadee                                        Skunk Tracks

                       
                         West Lawn

Be a part of the BetterPlanet Project by donating on-line:

Your donation can be directed to The Arboretum online through the secure University of Guelph donation page: http://uofg.convio.net/arboretum

If you prefer not to make an online donation, there are several other ways to provide your financial support. You can choose to donate by telephone, mail, fax, or in person:

UNIVERSITY OF GUELPH Attention Alumni Affairs 50 Stone Road East Guelph, Ontario, Canada N1G 2W1 Tel: 1-888-266-3108 ext. 56934 Tel: 519-824-4120 ext. 56934 Fax: 519-822-2670 Email: [log in to unmask]

If you would like information on bequests and planned giving to The Arboretum please contact:

Ross Butler
Director, Gift Planning
at (519) 824-4120 ext. 56196 or by e-mail at [log in to unmask]