Discovering Nature on Campus

We showcase a wonder of Nature that occupies our urban landscape at Dawson or introduces a College community member with a special Nature-related talent. Enjoy and discover the flora and fauna that is being invited back to the campus or was already there!



1000’s of Worm Castings Found on Dawson Grounds

With warming soils and no foot traffic on the lawns of Dawson, thousands of small 1-2 cm raised “hills” of earth can be spotted everywhere. This is evidence of earthworms, introduced from Europe hundreds of years ago, that have been eating rotting vegetation like grass and leaves. They pass the vegetation and pieces of soil...

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470 Million Year-old Fossils at Dawson College

This photo of fossils was taken on one of the many limestone blocks making up the Dawson College foundation on the D wing. The rocks are approximately 470 million years old and were formed before there were dinosaurs or even many plants on land. Present–day Montreal was a warm shallow sea closer to the equator then. These fossilized shells were branchiopods, now extinct but very common animals of the past. These brachiopods were...

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Caring For Dawson’s Plants and Creatures

Dawson employees care for hundreds of plants in their offices and work areas. This beautiful orchid, pictured, was blooming when the Sustainability Office came by on their plant-care rounds on Friday. The team is ensuring that everyone’s plants are taken care of during the College closure. Any employee who has plants that need care at...

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Making Mason Bee Homes

About Mason Bees Mason bees are solitary insects that are efficient pollinators. Unlike honeybees, they do not live in colonies. Females look for a small hole in a tree to lay their eggs. They collect pollen and nectar from flowers to put in the hole, lay an egg and then plug the hole with mud....

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Nurse Log Protected on Campus

110+ year old Ash tree on the Sherbrooke Street side of Dawson was infested with the emerald ash borer, a beetle introduced from Asia, that has killed 10’s of millions of ash trees in Eastern North America. These marks are left by the feeding larvae. Dawson College is leaving this tree standing as part of its a micro-habitat...

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Last Modified: May 4, 2020