Effective June 18, 2012, Melanie Sifton, Director – Humber Arboretum, will be leaving Humber to accept a new position as Vice President – Horticulture and Facilities at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, Brooklyn, New York.

During her three years at Humber, Melanie has been a passionate advocate on behalf of the Arboretum. She has significantly raised the profile of the Arboretum both within Humber and with the external community. Under her direction the Arboretum and the Centre for Urban Ecology have won numerous awards. The Centre for Urban Ecology is the first in Ontario to be awarded a Platinum Certification level from the new provincial EcoCentres program.

Melanie is an avid environmentalist and brought this enthusiasm to everything she did. She pushed the boundaries of sustainability in the Arboretum and ensured it’s participation as one of only two Ontario sites in the pilot project for the U.S. based Sustainable Landscape Initiative (SITES). This commits the Arboretum to a variety or preservation and restoration goals.

Melanie developed several partnerships between the Arboretum and the academic schools, notably with the School of Hospitality, Recreationa and Tourism growing herbs for the Humber Room, and with the School of Health Sciences in the Early Childhood Education program where the arboretum served as a natural play area. The most natural partnership was with the Landscape Technician program, in which Melanie also taught for one year. However Melanie was an advisor and mentor to the students of many programs in the School of Applied Technology, from Interior Design to Sustainable Energy and Building Technology.

We wish Melanie well on her future endeavors, and are proud of the contribution she has made to Humber and the School of Applied Technology.

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