The University of Guelph is creating a new garden on campus to commemorate the former DM Rutherford Conservatory, which will tell the story of the University of Guelph’s agricultural beginnings and the rich student memories made here.  The University recognizes the importance of preserving the spirit of the Conservatory while maintaining a public space open to all community members.

U of G’s landscape architecture students contributed to the garden’s design by submitting their design proposals as a student design competition. There were submissions from each year of the BLA program, and an informal exhibit of the student proposals will be displayed on January 14, 2026, from 5:00-7:00 pm in the Landscape Architecture building.  The winning submissions will be announced on the Conservatory website [1] following the event.