Arboretum plan to proceed

BY WENDY ELLIOTT

welliott@kentvilleadvertiser.ca

NovaNewsNow.com

Wolfville and the province’s community college system have agreed to proceed with the transformation of the town into an arboretum.

President Joan McArthur-Blair says the project will offer students a real education for real life.

“The concept before you is one that I believe has the potential to impact Wolfville residents and visitors to this town for generations to come.”

She said horticulture students would benefit from the experience of dedicated municipal employees like David Slabotsky and Wolfville will benefit from the dedication of NSCC employees like James Ellison and Tim Amos.

Both McArthur-Blair and Mayor Bob Stead envision large tracts of land becoming living labs where NSCC students can study the diverse natural landscape unique to Wolfville.

“They can document and share their knowledge in the tradition of Robie Tufts, the Wolfville resident who inspired so many of his contemporaries to study and preserve nature,” noted the president.

“Our learners will guide field trips for grade school students. They will contribute to interpretive elements in the arboretum that the entire community could access,” she noted. “This real-time, real-world education will connect young minds and the general public to their natural environment.”

The proposed arboretum will showcase a “one-of-a-kind” collection that would promote sustainable technology, MacArthur-Blair suggested, and make Wolfville the home of horticultural excellence in Atlantic Canada.

Ellison, a horticulture instructor, says the town and Kingstec have had a symbiotic relationship for about a decade since students began preparing street planters and hanging baskets.

In Willow Park, NSCC students have planted over 700 perennials and more are planned for Reservoir Park and the Millennium Trail.

By definition, an arboretum is a place where trees, shrubs and herbaceous plants are cultivated for scientific and educational purposes.