Weekly summer blog - May 7-11, 2018

Claire H.

Last week was full of new skills, special events, and wildlife in the Gardens at Fanshawe. We kicked-off the week with garden bed maintenance at the front of the school, where we put our newly-learned edging skills to the test.

With the edges looking great, we moved on to the east campus entrance. There, our team member Emily sheared back the tops of dry ornamental grasses to allow the new growth to thrive. After shearing, the rest of the bed could be weeded, raked, and cleaned.

Final debris was blown away with a backpack blower, and we were all definitely ready for a break from the sun. 

Fortunately for us, we were rewarded for our efforts with a free hot dog lunch provided by the Fanshawe Student Union for all summer students!

Although our free lunch was pretty sweet, the highlight of the week was at the end when we walked down to Z Building campus to evaluate its green roofs. On the way, we ran across a pair of Canada Geese with their goslings.

Likewise, Z Building’s green roofs had two goose nests of its own. We were careful not to disturb the nesting geese and will wait to maintain the areas around them until the geese have moved on.

A special project for some of the garden’s summer staff is to spearhead a care plan for the green roofs. After visiting the rooftop sites, we can’t wait to get started on maintaining and improving them!