News Articles
From the President
In the Midst of Natural Beauty
Editor's note: President Alastair Summerlee welcomes comments on his column at president@uoguelph.ca or via his blog at www.uoguelph.ca/president/blog.
Recently I had two encounters in the Conservatory Gardens — one ghastly and one uplifting — that reminded me how fortunate we are to be surrounded by so much natural beauty on this campus.
The first chance meeting occurred as I was leaving my office for home one day. I was taking my normal route through the Conservatory Gardens. As usual, my mind was going in a million different directions, so I was on autopilot as I walked to my car.
Out of the corner of my eye I saw a woman, who I now believe was a visitor on campus, picking flowers. I asked her to stop, trying to make light of the situation by saying that although the University gardeners would be delighted to know she admired the flowers so much, they wouldn't want to see their hard work being plucked away.
I expected her to be embarrassed and flustered and to apologize. What I got instead was an earful of profanity. I was shocked — so shocked that I didn't even respond. I just walked away shaking my head. I was both disappointed and angry.
The next day, as I was once again walking hurriedly through the gardens, I passed by two women. One was walking slowly, stopping frequently to admire the plants and flowers, remarking on their colour and beauty.
“You walk in through here every morning?” I heard her say. “How lucky!”
When I got to my office, I thought about what she'd said and remembered my anger from the previous day. I was appalled by the flower-picking woman's behaviour and indignant about her reaction, but I had to question whether my anger was fuelled more by a sense of ownership and an intolerance for wrongdoing than by any actual concern about the flowers themselves.
And as corny as it may sound, I couldn't remember the last time I had stopped to smell the roses.
Few universities in Canada have the natural surroundings that U of G does. We are lucky to have the Conservatory Gardens and the many other mini-oases that are peppered throughout the campus: the trails and gardens in the Arboretum, Johnston Green, the walkways that lead to Lambton Hall, to name just a few.
But like many of us who've been on this campus a long time, I often take the spectacular sights and smells around me for granted, hurrying by without taking time to admire and enjoy.
This also got me wondering how many of us stop to think about what it takes to get our grounds and gardens looking the way they do. It takes many hours of planning, planting, watering, weeding and pruning by a crew of dedicated Grounds employees.
Faced by cutbacks and budget tightening in recent years, Grounds staff were undaunted. They came up with a plan to change some of the gardens so they would require less maintenance. The results are truly spectacular.
We should all take time out of our busy lives to admire and enjoy the beauty that surrounds us in the gardens and wild places on our campus — and in life in general. Yes, I know that's easier said than done, especially at the start of a new academic year when everyone is on the run. Still, I encourage you to take time to get up close and personal with nature on campus — even if it's just for a few minutes on your way into work.
Speaking of football (OK, I wasn't, but this column appears just once a month, so this is my only opportunity to brag about the Homecoming game), wasn't it fabulous that our team trounced Western? It's been 11 years since the Gryphons defeated the Mustangs, and our team has put up with years of heckling about it. The victory felt downright good and left me feeling both joyful and a bit smug.
It almost makes up for being cursed in the Conservatory Gardens.