by Chris Earley

With all of our wacky weather this winter, I thought we could do a quiz on things you can see in the sky. Can you identify any of these? Remember to never look directly at the sun! The answers are at the bottom of the newsletter.

By Ric Jordan

Year to Come
Last month I briefly recapped 2013 and now I’ll try to briefly outline some plans for 2014. First on the list is announcing a new Volunteer Co-ordinator and Office Assistant, Ranee Pararajasingham, who I’m sure will introduce herself more fully in next month’s newsletter. We are looking forward to having Ranee on board for the vital role of working with our volunteers. In the past our Co-ordinator was only in 1 day a week but Ranee has agreed to work 4 afternoons a week to give us better coverage and this will allow her to take on some extra office responsibilities.
Another activity, unplanned and unwelcomed, will be the clean-up after the year end ice storm. What we assessed as high priority we took care of before returning in the new year and then the crew followed up by opening up trails on our return. The snowfall and subsequent melt and then freeze have made it most difficult, impossible in some cases, to get into some collections to chip downed branches. It will be spring before all the ground clean up can be accomplished and even then there will some aerial work that will need attention cleaning up tears and breaks. Even though substantial damage was sustained it was not as much as I feared. Damage was most severe in soft woods, some fast-growing species and those with bad crotches. Many of our native species did well, in some cases bending but not breaking. As the snow and ice have melted off many have straightened again and those that don’t will be memorials to the ice storm of December 2013. Nature has a way of shaping the environment beyond our capabilities.
Spring will also see us moving closer to the completion of the interpretive signage as the next group of signs are installed in the Native Trees of Ontario Collection. This is being sponsored by funds from an endowment set up by the estate of Beryl Ivey, a wonderful legacy will continue to support The Arboretum in perpetuity. The Italian Garden will see some new perennials in two of the beds as we move towards completion of that display, also supported by funds from an endowment. Although the timing is not exact spring will also see a new entrance structure being put in place at the Gosling Wildlife Gardens. This will be a joint venture with Pollination Guelph and is a fitting place as once through the arbor one is in the Hummingbird, Butterfly and Moth Garden.
Some of you may have heard that this past year the Canadian government designated the Friday before Father’s Day as Canada’s National Garden Day. Last year it came and went and apart from publicizing we were caught flat footed with no events planned. This year will be different as we are working with individuals from campus and planning an afternoon of guided talks and walks of not only Arboretum gardens but also the Trial Garden at the Turf Grass Institute, the Conservancy Garden and Branion Plaza on campus and the Organic Market which is situated in The Arboretum. More info will be coming out as the date draws closer.
Despite the unco-operative weather work has been proceeding on the new roof for the Hales McKay Shelter and once it is complete we are looking forward to working on the installation of the new interpretive and informative display which will be housed inside the structure. We also plan to launch our on-line maps mid-year. Dealing with the data required for this venture seems like a never ending journey however it is a front loaded endeavour, once up to date then only changes will be required so it should be manageable.
And last but by no means least do check out our website for new educational programs or the link to our Flickr website which has some wonderful photos taken on the grounds.
There will be other activities and initiatives that arise as the year progresses so watch for news here. If you have any questions or suggestions re The Arboretum please don’t hesitate to contact me. Slainte

Congratulations to all of you that were engaged over the Holiday Season! If you or someone you know is looking for a space for your wedding ceremony and / or reception please contact Barb Watson – Ash at 519-824-4120 ext. 54110 or [log in to unmask]. Further information on our unique reception facilities and outdoor ceremony sites can be found on our website.

 
West Lawn                                       Auditorium

The Owl, Animal Tracking, Photographing Winter Landscapes and Owl Prowl 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 held our 35th annual winter bird count last weekend and the birds were not as visible as normal. We did manage to find a few hard-to-find species such as Great Horned Owl, Ruffed Grouse, Pileated Woodpecker and Brown Creeper, but missed many common species such as Mourning Dove, Blue Jay and Cedar Waxwing. We ended up with 18 species but only 127 individual birds. We also found a porcupine by following its tracks to the tree it was sitting in.

     
Porcupine                                           Gavan, Alan, Chris, Kyle
                                                         at the Annual Bird Count

                                  
                                   Brown Creeper

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]