Caring for Dawson’s plants and creatures

Dawson employees care for hundreds of plants in their offices and work areas. This beautiful orchid, pictured, was blooming when the Sustainability Office came by on their plant-care rounds on Friday. The team is ensuring that everyone’s plants are taken care of during the College closure. Any employee who has plants that need care at the College can fill out a Plant & Animal Care form. The first plant-care rounds were done yesterday and Friday.

Here is a message from Chris Adam, Jennifer De Vera and Megan Jutras of Dawson’s Sustainability Office:

We want your plants to greet you upon your return!

Many studies have demonstrated that having plants in a room, and especially caring for plants, contributes to general well-being by creating a sense of calm.

Nurturing living things is stress-reducing and is an opportunity for us to practice compassion in a neutral setting.  For example, we know that a room with a flowering plant is a mood-changer that can contribute to positive conversations for all that enter. These conversations are a healthy break from our daily responsibilities and can be psychologically restorative.

Less stress is related to an increase in creativity, memory and motivation to tackle challenges, consequently our plants are silent facilitators of well-being. We will gladly make sure these hundreds of silent facilitators that are part of our community remain just that!

Some departments have fish in aquariums, breeding beetles in need of food or hundreds of worms turning compost into soil for our vegetable gardens. All will be provided with what they need.

We look forward to hearing about your plant and/or animal care needs so we can bridge the nurturing you have invested with the nurturing you will continue when you return.

Thank you for contributing to Dawson’s Living Campus, where well-being for all, plants and animals alike,  is practiced.