Guelph Humber brings back its plant wall

Jan 30, 2023 | Campus News

Guelph-Humber has replanted its landmark plant wall. After several months of the wall being covered with tarps and no plants at all, the school hired a firm to bring the wall back to life.

“We put in over 6,000 new plants and a new data collecting system,” Dylan Robertson Co-founder of New Earth Solutions which is overseeing the wall, told Humber News.

Beginning last November, the project was completed by the end of December. For the plants to grow in a lowlight environment, the company used non-pollinating and lowlight tropicals to help keep people’s allergies at bay.

“The plant wall has been around for nearly 20 years but was hard to keep up with before,” said Robertson.

They put in new data-keeping technology to stay ahead of the plants and keep track of their life cycle so the plants are able to thrive and those taking care of them with always know which plant needs what.

The wall is one of the largest in Canada, reaching a height of 17 metres with a width of nine metres.

“I would estimate that the wall with its size is producing around 701,000 units of clean air,” Robertson said

The clean air provided by the plants is then pushed throughout the building through the HVAC system.

“Most people think the clean air from plants comes from the leaves but it actually comes from the plant’s roots,” said Robertson.

Plants weren’t the only thing that needed to be replaced with the new construction as the wall that supported the plants was corroded and needed work.

“There’s a steel frame bolted up. And that steel, even though it was galvanized, it was rusting and corroding in some spots. So we had to deal with that,” said Spencer Wood, Director of Facilities Management at Humber College.

Students and staff alike told Humber News they’re happy for the campus to see the wall thriving once again after a few months of no plants the main area of the campus is looking lively again.

“I think it’s a vital part of the building, actually, for a number of different reasons. is it’s really the part of the identity of the building,” said Wood.

“As a student, I am thrilled that the plant wall is back and thriving once again. The plant wall is beautiful, vibrant, and fresh and brings a lot of life and energy to the campus,” said Ruth Oudit, a third-year Justice Studies student at the UGH.

“I appreciate that my university is striving to take the necessary steps to improve air quality. Recently, I worked on an assignment with some of my peers, and we had a lovely view of the wall. It was so pleasant to work there because the plant wall brightened the atmosphere and my mood.”