To me, the coolest part of The Arboretum is the diversity of trees and shrubs seen throughout each collection. Plants originating from around the world can be found in just a few acres of land. It is as if you are walking through a living plant museum! Each plant is carefully recorded in our database as it is planted. Species tags are displayed on the tree indicate the tree’s scientific name, the year it was planted and where it originated.
Mowing grass and weeding are just two maintenance duties we spend our weeks completing at The Arboretum. Weeding concentrates on small areas while mowing focuses on large expanses, yet both are deeply satisfying. To look back and see an area of the Arboretum you either uncovered from tall grass or cleared of thistles and garlic mustard is quite rewarding. It's gratifying to see your time and effort have left an impression, however temporary.
With its large leaves and mango-like fruit, the pawpaw (Asimina triloba) is a rare and unusual component of southern Ontario forests.
This past summer, I was hired as an Undergraduate Research Assistant for the University of Guelph’s Arboretum. As a URA, I was tasked with re-designing parts of The Arboretum’s website, completing historical research, and coordinating the 50th Year Celebrations social media campaign. It was an exciting and jam-packed couple of months!
I’ve been working at The Arboretum for a few months now and days go by slow, but the weeks go by fast. It’s already the middle of July! I think we all find that life, with the way it is these days, is very repetitive and slips away faster than ever before. After realizing that this month is nearly over, I have been searching for moments that slow time down to appreciate life and time itself; anything that sparks a thought, a feeling, one simply so beautiful that I count it as a ‘moment’.
Hello, my name is Matteo Pereira, I am a new student employee at the Arboretum this summer. I am studying Environmental Governance at the University of Guelph.
One of the best things about working at The Arboretum is getting to know some of the more unusual collections.
