Lately, a typical lunch break for members of the College of Social and Applied Human Sciences (CSAHS) looks a bit different. Instead of grabbing a quick bite or eating at their desks, staff are going outside and getting their hands dirty in the new community garden.
The garden outside of the MacDonald Institute started as a Wellness@Work Grant application by Alyssa Ahmed, awards and event specialist.
“When my supervisor Sarah Cahill encouraged me to apply to the grant, I got the idea to do a garden and ran with it,” said Alyssa. “Even though CSAHS is one of the largest colleges on campus, our physical presence is very spread out. I thought this would be a cool way to bring people together outside – and give folks a good excuse to actually take their lunch break!”
“Now, when I’m out watering or pulling weeds, I get folks stopping by and asking about the garden or taking photos; a chef even came by and asked what we were growing. It’s proven to be a real conversation starter.”
The team is growing a number of herbs and vegetables, including lavender, cilantro, parsley, basil, chives, bell peppers and hot peppers. To realize the project, Alyssa worked closely with Physical Resources; the grounds crew helped determine a good location and built the raised bed that volunteer gardeners then filled with plants.
The garden aims to support wellness in CSAHS through giving folks a reason to go outside and become grounded with nature, as well as connect with each other through gardening.
"The wellness garden has been a lovely addition to CSAHS,” said Sarah Cahill, associate director, Graduate Studies, strategic planning, & program innovation. “I picked some basil for a book club snack, and on one particularly stressful day, taking a few minutes to water the plants gave me a chance to reset before getting back to work. It was a small moment of pause and stress relief, but one that made a noticeable difference in how I returned to my work that day.”
"It was a bunch of fun working with everyone to bring our wellness garden to life,” said Dev Shah,
administrative assistant to the deans. “Along with the many conversations we share daily, we now have a garden that we can nurture together and enjoy learning from. It's been great hearing about the different dishes colleagues are preparing with the herbs we've grown, helping to create a positive environment in CSAHS. As a first-time gardener, I think my colleagues did an excellent job of compensating for my lack of planting expertise, for which I'm very thankful!"
Want to start your own campus community garden?
Alyssa is happy to chat with any faculty or staff who want to start their own community garden to discuss the CSAHS’ project. You can contact her at aahmed27@uoguelph.ca.
Wellness@Work Grants
Have another idea to support wellness for your team? Consider applying for a Wellness@Work Grant!
Ideas that support physical well-being, psychological well-being, or social well-being can be submitted to the program. Applications for the 2026-2027 year are closed, but it’s not too early to brainstorm an idea for 2027-2028; applications will open in April 2027.