Wider Horizons

 

 

 

Each autumn, the elm, ash, maple and oak trees on campus erupt in colour, creating vibrant canopies for students and staff on the paths below. Head groundskeeper Gary Harmon (Welding 1985 and Metal Fabrication 1987) says there are more than 2,500 trees and bushes on campus, many of which were planted in the late 1960s and early 1970s and are now being replaced as they reach the end of their lifecycles. From May to August, he works with summer students and other staff members to keep the campus looking lush.

Harmon is only the second groundskeeper in the college’s history. He started working for the college in 1983 and took over from the original groundskeeper, Mike Herrington, about 10 years ago. “The grounds have always been evolving and changing with the times. When Mike gave me the reins, he said, ‘You’ll have to update, because things will be getting to the end of their life, so you have to change,’ which is good. I want to keep planting – taking down the old and putting up the new.”

Wider Horizons
Photo by Gregory Thiessen
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