The NC community has co-op students to thank for keeping the Welland Campus looking beautiful, polished, and well-maintained.
“We could not achieve what we do without our student co-op workers,” said Jeff Collee, Associate Director, Facilities Management Services. “Their hard work, alongside the FMS team, keeps our grounds looking as beautiful as they do, and they’re valued members of our team.”
While many students in the School of Environment and Horticulture support the work to maintain and beautify the Daniel J. Patterson Campus in Niagara-on-the-Lake, the FMS team is responsible for this work at the Welland Campus.
“FMS employs students from all different departments and programs, through which many have found a passion for this work,” said Collee.
Paid co-op helps Landscape Technician student grow her skills
One of those team members is Jaime Lyn Pick, a second-year Landscape Technician program student from Tillsonburg, Ontario. Pick has worked at the Welland Campus for her co-op since May 2026.
“The experience overall was absolutely life changing,” said Pick who returned to school to pursue landscaping after over a decade in floral design, having previously studied Interior Design.
In spring, Pick focused on preparing garden beds for new growth. Her work included clearing leaves and fallen branches, cutting back plants, pulling weeds, trimming and mowing the grass.
“I feel the freedom of the outdoors, the fruits of my labor in front of me growing…I love being on the campus, I love being outside, and I love keeping up with the seasons and discovering more about the campus.”
During the summer, Pick’s responsibilities shifted to removing bulbs and planting seasonal annuals and ornamental foliage plants, including SunPatiens, geraniums, ornamental kale, cordyline and sweet alyssum. She also helped water and fertilize the gardens, spending much of her day operating a tractor to maintain the extensive campus grounds.
“Training on the Kubota fleet was so exciting,” said Pick. “The tractor was the most exciting. Learning to use all the equipment professionally is an amazing transferrable skill.”
More than equipment, Pick says she learned a lot from the FMS team.
“I really have to thank my supervisors and managers for trusting all of us students with building our confidence, making mistakes, learning from them to be able to achieve the success the NC grounds achieved this summer.”
Pick’s co-op continues until December alongside a new crop of co-op students.
“The weather doesn’t bother me, and I’ll see you outside.”
NC co-op helps student find his “true calling” as a landscaper
For Welland native and alum Nathan Sousa (Graphic Design, 2024; Landscape Technician Co-op, 2026) a summer co-op at NC’s Welland Campus in 2023 sparked an unexpected career change while he was studying Graphic Design.
After his mother, Lucy Sousa, who retired from her role at NC in 2025, spotted an advertisement for a summer position with the FMS team, Sousa landed the job and quickly discovered a passion for working outdoors.
“I remember thinking to myself at multiple points throughout my first summer working that ‘how could I ever work in an office when I could be doing this instead?'”
After his first summer, Sousa stayed on as a student worker, using the opportunity to explore his next steps with his supervisors.
The FMS Team when alum Nathan Sousa (third from the left) was a student.
Sousa initially enrolled in the Horticulture Technician program before transferring to Landscape Technician his second year where he could focus more on machine literacy and the practical, installation side of landscaping.
“This proved to be a good decision… because I am now working for a private company where I do a plethora of landscape tasks daily, including machine work,” said Sousa, who works at GGS Landscaping Niagara in Niagara Falls, owned by fellow NC alum Graham Boaretti (Landscape Technician Co-op, 2013).
Sousa credits the FMS team for their mentorship.
“The advice and perspective I received while working on the grounds shaped how I work in the industry and the techniques I learned I use daily.”
Sousa says the opportunity to work with the FMS team helped him find his “true calling as a landscaper.”
“The opportunity given to me by NC to work on the FMS Team opened a door I never would’ve knocked on and with the guidance of the people above me while working there, I was able to see that continuing my education was the right move for my career.”
The Grounds Working Group is exploring opportunities to expand student experiences across both NC campuses, with their diverse ecological environments offering unique learning opportunities. The group, co-chaired by Evan DiValentino, Dean, Business & Environment, and Bill Rainey, Senior Director, Facilities Management, Planning, Sustainability and Capital Projects, is in early discussions with academic areas to explore future opportunities.
Students who wish to apply can visit its.niagaracollege.ca/job-opportunities/ ahead of the start of each academic term.
