University of Guelph students will help at a tree nursery and a donkey sanctuary this month as they take a break from exam stress and assist their local community through Project Serve 

Led by U of G’s Student Volunteer Connections in the Experiential Learning Hub, Project Serve is an opportunity for U of G students to gain volunteer experience and connections with local service agencies and non-profit organizations.  

For more than 20 years, the initiative has seen more than 6,000 students contribute over 18,000 hours of volunteer work in the Guelph-Wellington area and put the University’s “Improve Life” theme into practice. 

Care for trees with Green Legacy 

The promotional poster for the upcoming Project Serve Days with Green Legacy. The image is of two people digging a hole and putting dirt into a wheelbarrow. The text reads: "Student Volunteer Connections Presents: April 13, 19 & 26, 2022, Come to One, Two or All Three! Project Serve Day Green Legacy." The Experiential Learning Hub logo is in the bottom left corner, and in the bottom right corner is a graphic with the words "Exam stress busters."
Volunteers will help the Green Legacy Programme

On April 13 and 26, Project Serve volunteers will help the Green Legacy Programme with their nursery operations by watering, weeding, seeding or transplanting trees. 

Green Legacy was created in 2004 to plant 150,000 trees to celebrate Wellington County’s 150th birthday. Now, the program will celebrate the planting of more than 3 million trees, reinforcing it as the “largest municipal tree planting program in North America,” all while establishing a healthy forest cover and creating green infrastructure for the county.  

Recognized by the United Nations as part of the Billion Tree Campaign in 2010, and an inspiration for the province-wide tree planting initiative, Green Legacy plants mostly native tree and shrub species, including silver maple, black walnut and Kentucky coffee trees.  

Reopen the Donkey Sanctuary 

The promotional poster for Project Serve Day at the Donkey Sanctuary of Canada. The image is of a volunteer feeding donkeys at the Sanctuary. The text reads "Student Volunteer Connections Presents: April 24, 2022, 11:00 A.M. - 3 P.M. Project Serve Day Donkey Sanctuary." Below the text in the bottom left corner is the Experiential Learning Hub logo.
The promotional poster for Project Serve Day at the Donkey Sanctuary of Canada.

On April 24, volunteers will visit the Donkey Sanctuary of Canada (DSC) in Puslinch, Ont., to help the organization reopen for the summer by cleaning out barns, preparing the fields and trails, and organizing the visitor centre. 

Incorporated in 1992, the DSC homes 222 unwanted, neglected or abused donkeys, mules and hinnies while promoting responsible animal welfare through education. The DSC is modelled after the sanctuary in Great Britain and is an accredited sanctuary with the Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries. 

To learn more about Project Serve or its upcoming events, students are invited to follow U of G Experiential Learning on Instagram and Twitter. Project Serve events are also posted on GryphLife and on the Student Volunteer Connections webpage.