Purchase Mount Royal University: A Work of Art, today!
Don't miss out on this beautiful commemorative art book, telling the story of MRU's first 100 years, using our mural mosaic images. Available at the Mount Royal BookStore until supplies last.
Leave your lasting legacy
Donate to the centennial mural project and receive your own piece of history.
Centennial celebrations grow
One hundred trees to represent life, growth and new beginnings at Mount Royal University is a fitting way to commemorate Mount Royal’s centennial.
A group of staff, students, faculty and alumni will be planting trees to signify the 100 years of classes and memories that have taken place at Mount Royal.
The trees will grow along with the students and the Mount Royal community. And moving forward, a new tree will also be planted for each incoming year.
Idea planted by alumna
The idea came from Mount Royal alumna Chelsey Dawes, a graduate of the Bachelor of Applied Nonprofit Studies program, who was Vice-President of Mount Royal’s Future Alumni Network (FAN Club).
Members of FAN Club were asked to come up with interesting ideas that would help build new traditions at the university and enhance its sense of community.
Dawes immediately starting thinking of ways to encompass students, alumni, faculty and staff into an event everyone would be equally interested in.
“It’s so exciting that my voice was heard out of so many ideas,” says Dawes. “It is also great to see FAN Club as a major driving force behind the idea.”
Dawes inspiration came from her interest in economic justice and environmental initiatives. She thought her idea of planting trees would be an environmentally friendly way of embracing and representing the centennial celebration.
“The thought planting trees to commemorate the centennial is a timeless idea that will last for hundreds of years — it’s not just a one-time event,” says Dawes. “ It also stems back to FAN Club’s mandate to develop a connection between students and alumni and harvest the tradition and community on campus.”
Get your hands dirty
The event — which includes the help of Alumni Relations, FAN Club and the Mount Royal Grounds Department — will take place Sept. 21, during the centennial kick-off week.
Three hundred volunteers are needed to plant trees around campus near the TransCanada Amphitheatre and Convocation lawn area.
Centennial Events Strategist Lara Hamnett encourages people to put together teams of two to three people to plant a tree.
“It will bring everyone together for a good cause and each person can put their personal touch on the centennial celebration,” says Hamnett. “You can play an active role in making the campus beautiful and leave a lasting impression for everyone to enjoy.”
Dawes is anticipating many people will be as excited as she is about the event.
Lasting tribute
“Not only is the tree plant good for the environment — it shows the outside communities that MRU is not a large, impersonal institution,” says Dawes. “It goes along with the positive learning environment students experience while at Mount Royal.
“Above everything, the trees are there to represent people over the years who have taken Mount Royal to where it is today.”
Hamnett agrees: “Generations to come will be able to experience this tangible time capsule planted in honour of Mount Royal’s incredible accomplishments.”
To get involved and receive your own pair of Centennial gardening gloves to mark the occasion, contact Cyndi Cave, coordinator alumni programs and services, Alumni Relations at ccave@mtroyal.ca and celebrate this tremendous accomplishment with Mount Royal University.
— Angela Sengaus, April 16, 2010