Ask an Expert: Grounds Department Manager Kristen Spirl
Ask an Expert is PULSE’s advice column featuring the perspectives of Chatham faculty, staff, and community members. In each column, our resident experts tackle new conundrums that they’re uniquely qualified to solve…or at least provide insight on. In this edition, Grounds Department Manager Kristen Spirl shares tips for enjoying the natural world, while still observing COVID-19 precautions.
How can we connect with nature right now?
Kristen Spirl participating in Pittsburgh Shade Tree Commission’s “#pghtreehuggers” challenge this Arbor Day.
Take yourself or a furry friend out on a walk
Hike
Go on a run
Explore the Arboretum trees with our map and identification plaques
Practice yoga or stretching
Read outdoors
Write or sketch in a journal
Do nothing! Lie down, sit, watch, listen, breathe
How can we stay safe while social distancing, especially if we’re on campus?
Image provided by Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy
Make sure you avoid any activity that has contact to a shared object or another player, like soccer, lacrosse, frisbee, or hide and seek. Follow physical distancing and other personal health recommendations from the State & local authorities, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and World Health Organization.
If you decide to use Shadyside or Eden Hall Campus to exercise, practice the principles of “Leave No Trace.” Please clean up after yourself, your guests, and your furry friends. Make sure you plan ahead and prepare; you may not have access to restrooms or water. Dispose of waste properly, but please avoid using our litter receptacles if possible since we are operating with a minimum team. Leave what you find. Please do not pick the flowers or trees!
Take care to respect wildlife. Please do not feed the ducks at Shadyside Campus’ pond bread, but if you’d like to feed them, oatmeal & unsalted peanuts, mealworms, and chicken food are all fine. Please be quiet and do not shout. Don’t allow your dogs to jump into the pond or bark at the ducks!
What are some suggestions you have for bringing a little nature into your home or backyard?
There are lots of great options for indoor plants. Do your research and make sure what you’re growing is pet friendly:
Flowering kalanchoe
Cactus
Succulents
Air plants
Mother-in-law tongue
Venus fly traps
Hanging pitcher plants
Aloe
Snake plants
Spider plants
Philodendrons
If you have a yard or community garden you may want to grow something delicious. Pittsburgh is in agricultural zone 6b so that will play a part in what you grow. Let your tastes guide the way! You can plant:
A serviceberry shrub or tree
Different varieties of blueberry
Nasturtium
Strawberries
Peppers
Tomatoes
Beans
If you don’t have much space you can plant things like:
Herbs
Blueberry
Raspberry shrubs
Tomato plants
Peppers
Or if you have a bit more space, you can try:
Figs
Lemon or lime trees
Nasturtium
What are you doing to stay grounded and sane right now?
Personally, I love digging earth and planting trees and plants, feeling my fingers and hands in the earth removing unwanted plants, tending to plants as they grow by tying and pruning. I love photographing plants and how they interact with bugs and animals. I love sitting in the grass, or under a tree and gazing at the sky. Being in nature, whether being still or active, brings me peace.
For more information about the Chatham Arboretum, as well as tree guides and walking maps, visit the our Arboretum page. Check out our article on the Arboretum here, or read a Chatham Community Profile piece we did on Kristen Spirl.