January 2026

Eagle Heights Garden Committee Minutes

January 14 , 2026 7 PM

Remote Meeting

Jolene, Alex, Jessica, Ann, Ric, Ron, Pam, Lily and Karen.

Jessica started the meeting.

Minutes With a motion by Lily and seconded by Ann the November 2025 minutes were approved.

Registrar Update

So far this season there have been 187 renewals and 18 new applications . New applications are a bit low. The financial assistance program has been very successful, with a lot of generous donations. We may consider not accepting aid next year or suggesting a small donation amount. Many people receiving aid are residents. Lily added a note to the Apartments newsletter about the assistance program which stated that names of recipients and donors are confidential. A couple of things to note: People applying for assistance should be asked to omit payment with their initial applications since the amount will likely change. Lily is reserving funds for new applicants in the order they applied, along with renewing applicants so they are still eligible on the same first-come, first-served basis.

Jolene has had a button for the Gardens added to the Foundation website. This is the only tax-deductible way to donate to the gardens, so we will make it available to anyone who is interested.

Budget review: Due to a system upgrade, no financial reports have been available since June, 2025. Lily has reviewed the budget to provide the best estimate she can of where we stand. We probably entered the current fiscal year with about $28,000 in the account and we will likely come out in line with the budget. The financial assistance funds are tracked separately and subtracted from the budget.

Garden Expo: A staff member at Eagle's Wing has asked if we would like to share a table at the Garden Expo on Feb 13th. Lily will go and bring along some applications. We will also donate some non-viable seeds for a craft activity.

Garden Worker Report

Pam says there is nothing to report given the time of year.

Additional topics

Hiring

Jolene reminded everyone that TE positions must now have an end date. Pam and Lily are returning next season, but Nick and Zach are not. This means we have two positions to fill. We could recruit and/or do a direct hire. Ron may know someone, and will look into it. The transition to the new system has also slowed down hiring. Jolene will put in a request for a recruitment tomorrow.


Ric asked about water system plans for next year

We need to consult a plumber about water pressure before adding a second line to the main path. Ron has some experience with this and volunteered to help. Lily will email Ron and Pam about the project.

Lily and Pam left the meeting before the wage plan was discussed

A 3% wage increase for returning employees would be in line with Campus. Discussion ensued. A 4% raise was approved for current employees.

The meeting ended at 7:24

Submitted by Karen, subject to correction by the Garden Committee

November 2025

Eagle Heights Garden Committee Minutes

November 12 , 2025 7 PM

Remote Meeting

Alex, Ann, Ric, Barb A, Lily and Karen.


Minutes With a motion by An and seconded by Barb A the October 2025 minutes were approved.


Registrar Update

Lily has been making seed donation requests. Some companies are now using third party websites to handle their donation processes and it is more difficult to qualify or be accepted than previously. However, we've already received some nice seeds and expect some more. The bulk seed purchasing and repackaging went very well last year. The seeds from Fedco were good quality and gardeners liked them. We should purchase more this January when the new catalog comes out. Lily will take inventory of the seeds we have left from last year's purchase and plan another order. Broccoli and Kale are always popular and run out quickly. We will also purchase small seed envelopes for the repackaging. A budget of $400 was approved for this.


Lily has placed the work order for the mulberry tree pruning per the three-year thinning out plan. This will happen in the fall or winter.


Swap accepted most of the items we wanted to get rid of today.


The Seed Fair will be on Saturday, April 11th.


We will plan on regular, scheduled path weed whacking to solve the problem of people planting outside of borders. Gardeners will be notified about this. It was noted that many gardeners try to dig up comfrey. It would be good to share more information with gardeners about comfrey. The tap roots are so deep that digging it up is pretty futile. It makes a great mulch though, and gardeners can be encouraged to use the leaves for this.


The Eagle Scout that originally wanted to build Leopold benches for the gardens didn't get back the Preserve about the project. However, a new Eagle Scout reached out to the Preserve about building four. The scout would like to add memorial plaques to the benches for family members. A couple of years ago, the Garden Committee looked into putting up our own benches with memorial plaques for long time gardeners that had passed away. We were told that any request would have to go through the University and memorial benches are $10,000 each, so we were not able to proceed. The Committee decided that although it is a nice idea, we could not accept the benches from the scout with plaques since we aren't able to have plaques for gardeners. We will let the student know that we would be happy to have the benches if they are still interested but understand if they are not.


Garden Worker Report

No garden workers were able to attend the meeting, but there is not much happening at this time of year. The tools and carts will be put away before we have heavy snowfall.


Additional topics

Ric noted that the rabbit population was very large this year. Everyone has really struggled with rabbit predation on plants of all kinds. The only really protection is chicken wire or other rabbit-proof fencing around plants.


There will be no meeting in December this year. We will meet next in January.


Motion by Lily and seconded by Barb A to adjourn which passed.


Submitted by Karen, subject to correction by the Garden Committee