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Commonwealth Honors College Community Observes Tenth Year of Daffodil Planting

By Xavier Aparicio and Sophie Hauck; Photos by Myles Braxton

November 4, 2022 Sustainability

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A group poses as the Daffodil Planting of 2022

On Sunday, October 30, Honors students, faculty, and staff gathered in the Commonwealth Honors College Residential Community (CHCRC) Concourse to participate in the annual Daffodil Planting at UMass Amherst.

The students learned the meaningful history of the tradition from Ann Marie Russell, associate dean of student recruitment, inclusion, and success in the Honors College. This practice was started by the late Honors Dean Priscilla Clarkson. She was a firm proponent of sustainability, and believed that the Daffodil Planting represented the vibrance, life, and growth found in the Honors experience.

Image
Planting daffodils in the ground

"We do this in remembrance of her and in celebration of her and the community that she created for all of us." — Ann Marie Russell

As such, the tradition has continued in her honor and is now celebrating its 10-year anniversary. It continues as an opportunity for the Honors College to come together as a community while engaging with nature.

The event was made possible by Jennifer Konieczny with the UMass Amherst department of landscape management, who has been providing 500 daffodil bulbs each year for the planting. Konieczny instructed participants on how to plant the daffodil bulbs, and provided equipment as well.

Students planting daffodils

Carly LaFrance, a first-year natural resources conservation major, twisted a metal gardening tool into the soil, grateful for an opportunity to get her hands dirty in the Honors College.

LaFrance is interested in environmentalism but has not had the opportunity to learn about sustainability beyond the classroom.

“When I saw this, I signed up right away,” she said. “This is direct, hands-on, and you’re the one actively doing it.”

“I can actually see my window from here,” LaFrance added, pointing to Oak Hall, “Which will also be kind of cool, being able to look out and be like ‘oh yeah, we did that.”

Senior history major Patience Gubisch dug a shovel into the Honors College soil, planting daffodil bulbs in preparation for her final spring at UMass.

She patted the soil back into place, considering what she will accomplish by the time the bulbs bloom.

“I hope to be almost done with my thesis,” said Fubisch, who is researching education during the Civil Rights movement in Los Angeles and Chicago.

After two hours of hard work, the gathering planted the 500 bulbs across the CHCRC. From Maple Hall to the CHCRC Concourse, and all the way to Elm Hall, the Honors community had added more beautiful scenery to look forward to in the spring.

After planting the bulbs, the group went inside for snacks, drinks, and to collect thank-you swag from the college. The event was well-received by students, with one of them saying, “It’s nice to give back to the community that has done so much for me.”

A student planting a daffodil

The celebration will carry into the spring, when the Honors College hosts the annual Daffodil Lecture, which invites an expert on environmentalism to share a message of sustainability with students and faculty. Dr. Hilda Lloréns delivered last year’s lecture and spoke on an environmental justice crisis facing Puerto Rico.

“The Honors College very much believes in justice of all kinds, and in this case, we’re talking about climate justice,” Russell said, looking forward to next year’s lecture, which will be near the start of spring.

“Springtime in the Honors College is New England at its best,” she noted.

“It’s gorgeous colors, it’s the sun starting to stay out a little bit longer, it’s plants, it’s the trees starting to bloom. It just feels like a rebirth," Russell added.

Article posted in Sustainability for Faculty , Prospective students , and Current students

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