From “a jewel in the crown” of the university to a costly repair bill
The D.M. Rutherford Conservatory has been the focal point of the Conservatory Gardens on the University of Guelph campus since 1930.
What was once a tropical greenhouse lush with greenery and flowers is now a greenhouse in need of repair, with plants having been left without care for several months.
The conservatory is one of the last pagoda-style greenhouses in North America. It is currently listed under heritage designation. In 2025, every building on the heritage designation will be removed and unable to be redesignated for another five years.
By 1998, the conservatory had fallen into a state of disrepair. It was restored in the same year, thanks in part to a donation by OAC alumnus Don Rutherford. When the conservatory reopened in June 1999, it was renamed the D.M. Rutherford Conservatory. A 1999 news release from the University of Guelph called the conservatory “a jewel in the crown.”
Last year, the conservatory was closed off to the public due to badly needed repairs.
The Ontarion reached out to the University of Guelph to learn more about the conservatory during this time of uncertainty.
The Ontarion requested information about whether or not the university will oppose renewing the conservatory’s heritage designation, if the university consulted community members about the conservatory, if the university has plans to tear down the greenhouse and why the plants in the greenhouse were being left to die.
“The University has informed community members connected to the conservatory of its current status,” said Jessamine Luck, Manager of Stakeholder Communications for the University of Guelph, in an email to The Ontarion.
“We are still investigating the best next steps for the conservatory. Clippings from plants inside the conservatory were taken and are being cared for in U of G’s other greenhouses.”
No other details were provided in the University’s response.
This is an ongoing story and may be updated in future editions of The Ontarion.