Spring begins in March, but it really comes into its own in April. The sun starts to make its presence felt in April, giving way to young buds and the greening of the trees. It is also a time when our colleagues in Facilities Services Department (FS) put plans in motion for construction, renovation, planting and bringing our campuses to life with colour.
At Glendon, our colleagues have again demonstrated their unparalleled passion and commitment by creating a greenhouse. Using seeds from last years’ flowers, the team has been nurturing the seedlings, soon we will be able to enjoy the blooms in June. This ingenious and sustainable initiative has saved the team at least $5K.
Our colleagues in FS have taken the opportunity during this pandemic to accelerate many projects and I wanted to share some of those undertakings with you. Currently there are 207 capital projects underway for a total value of $270M. The Energy Management team continues to support campus operations onsite and are at present overseeing the replacement of Cooling Tower # 3—a 70’s era wooden structure, as well as the renewal of the electrical system in the Central Utilities Building (CUB).
Other capital projects include the installation of the Lions Stadium dome and artificial turf which began last fall; construction of a new Neuroscience facility; the Markham Campus-with all construction tenders now complete the new campus is on track to open to students in September 2023; the $72M, five story School of Continuing Studies; the revitalization of the front entrance of the Dahdaleh Building; the new stand-alone art gallery —the Joan and Martin Goldfarb Gallery; the Harry Arthurs Common project which when completed, will make the Common more accessible and more visually appealing; you can also look forward to new furniture on the Common this summer. There are improvements taking place on the main corridor of the Glendon campus main building as well as in its residences. The classroom and washroom renovation projects-initially planned as five-year projects, will be completed in three, with 33 classrooms and 55 washrooms renewed.
While a flurry of activity is underway in FS, planning never stops, there are more than 140 projects in various stages of plan-development to the value of over $700M. Some of those projects include Central Square, Engineering and Science, Education, Food Services, Scott Library and LA&PS. From all that is underway and all that is being planned, it is clear that our colleagues in FS have taken a glass half-full approach with the pandemic and are using it to their advantage to accomplish great things on our campuses.
As the pandemic rolls into its second year, many of us have taken the time to reflect on how COVID-19 that didn’t even exist eighteen months ago, has irrevocably changed our lives.
We’ve become painfully aware that health is wealth. Many factors impact our health such as healthy food, a balanced diet, regular exercise, lots of water, good sleep and being kind to yourself. I have found that time away from the rigours of daily life can do wonders for my physical, emotional and mental well-being.
Your body is programmed to handle a certain amount of stress every day. When the body is pushed, it can feel exhausted and emotionally drained. This is where time away helps. The body gets the time to bounce back from the everyday work pressure and recover from chronic stress. I know I feel more rejuvenated and recharged when I take vacation. I recently took some time off to disconnect and spend quality time with my family. I took advantage of the changing of the season, enjoying my long walks through nature, admiring the trees and buds as they spring to life with colour.
You’ve all come to know me as someone who loves animals and nature. What you may not know is that I love travelling and visiting new places. It has been a while since we’ve been able to travel and as we continue to do our part to keep ourselves and our community safe, travelling will not be on the agenda for some time to come. As we continue to forego non-essential travel, we might not be motivated to use our vacation days. However, I recently discovered that I could “travel” without leaving home. I have found virtual tours of incredible landmarks and museums from around the world. I “travelled” from New York to Bangkok to Giza, marvelling at fascinating landmarks and I was able to enjoy amazing outdoor museums and gardens from Brazil to the Philippines. And even though a virtual tour could never replace the exhilaration of being physically there, this virus has given us a multitude of lessons, one of which is that we can still enjoy the beauty and wonder of this world even during the most challenging of times.
So, I encourage you to take some time off, use your vacation days and explore the world around us, where you live and virtually, through wonderful sites like these: Virtual Landmarks; Virtual tours of museums and galleries and Global guided tours.
Happy trails,
Carol