The secret Arts-Environment garden

With all of the construction on campus, the Arts-Environment garden remains a lush, green sanctuary amongst the concrete and glass. It is one of the best-kept secrets in Arts but work-study student Aneetta Raviraj is doing her best to change that.

"I love planting - it's something I used to do a lot with my dad so this job was the perfect fit." Before her placement, Aneetta didn't know about the garden, but she now spends a lot of her time here identifying plants, removing weeds, watering flowers, and performing general care and maintenance.

Aneetta is hoping to spread the word about the garden through social media (the garden has its own Twitter account!) and other promotional channels on campus. "The team behind the garden really wants to keep native plants on campus and show off this beautiful space. I'm also happy to see a lot of butterflies and bees - we're really helping to prolong the lives of pollinators in the area."

Photos by Aneetta Raviraj

The public garden project was spearheaded in 2010 by two graduate students in Environment, alongside faculty and staff from both faculties, with the goal of creating a peaceful green space for anyone on campus to enjoy. Both faculties were committed to the beautification of campus and using the most natural means to do so.

Arts recently hosted its annual faculty and staff BBQ in the garden, which was a huge success! "It's great to have a green space like this on campus - a place to study, have lunch, and just enjoy nature" says Aneetta.