Driving up to Spruce Meadows, you immediately get a sense of the history and importance of the place. It is elegant, perfectly manicured, and even on a day without crowds or jumping horses, there is is still an aura in the stillness.
I imagined it to be like driving up Magnolia Lane at Augusta, or to step through the gates of Wimbledon. Spruce Meadows is to show jumping what Wimbledon is to tennis and Augusta is to golf. It is a legendary place of greatness, but where those other sporting places are exclusive, Spruce Meadows exists for the community.
Spruce Meadows hosts 500,000 visitors 365 days of the year. It is an all-season facility with conventions, markets, wedding, oh, and .. show-jumping and dressage events. It is a wonderful facility that is completely accessible to the public.
So to spend an hour filling the flower beds at this beautiful place, felt like a great way to give back to my community, and to Canada. I joined #TeamTELUS members to give an hour (or two) of our time to make Canada a brighter place.
It was just an hour. But it felt so good to be with 2 dozen other people digging in, getting dirty, cleaning up, and making one of my community’s favourite places a little brighter.
Oh, and I learned a few things about gardening too. Don’t be afraid to space things out, put the taller plants at the back, and put creepers in the front to cascade over the ledges and fill in the beds.
We planted blue eyed beauty, salvia, cosmos, verbena bonariensis, and tidal wave cherry. I made sure to take pictures of the layouts and the plant labels to try and recreate the magic at home.
To celebrate Canadas’ 150th birthday, TELUS team members across Canada are embarking on a commemorative journey to give one #MillionHours in volunteer time and TELUS is challenging all Canadians to join in making a positive difference and help inspire the #Next150 years of giving.
To participate, just make a pledge to give one hour of time volunteering in your own community and encourage others to join using the #MillionHours hashtag in social media.
You can pledge their support by visiting telus.com/millionhours.
This post is sponsored by TELUS
Did you know?
o TELUS believes in the symbiotic relationship between business success and the welfare of our communities, which is why we are committed to giving back in the communities where we live, work and serve.
o Over the years, TELUS team members have been inspired to volunteer in support of causes close to their hearts.
o Since 2000, TELUS has contributed nearly $500 million and volunteered more than 7.7 million volunteer hours within our local communities.
o TELUS donated more than $42 million dollars to local communities across Canada and volunteered more than 870,000 hours in 2016 alone.
Dad. Broadcaster. Writer.
Three time Guinness World Record Holder.
I run the world for Team Diabetes.