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Janice Gabrysiak Is a Seasoned Gardening Specialist

A recent article on the first tradeswoman in Facilities Management and Services might have left the wrong impression that painter Darcy Nelson is the only woman who works in FMS. Janice Gabrysiak, FMS gardening specialist, takes umbrage with that suggestion, as well she should.

Gabrysiak moved to Chico in 1977, graduated from CSU, Chico in 1978 with a degree in physical education, and went to work full time for FMS in July 1980. Since then, she has been working, with skill and an intuitive sense of plants, to create beauty in her assigned area -- from Colusa to the Physical Sciences Building.

Gabrysiak's mother was a biologist who used to take her on nature walks; she remembers gathering and pressing leaves in the fall. She has taken pruning classes and plant identification classes, but mostly she relies on her connection to nature, watching the plants through the seasons, letting them tell her when it is time to prune, for example.

Her gardening aesthetic is "clear and natural." She just completed a project where she removed some old overgrown bushes from behind Kendall in pursuit of a cleaner look. She always tries to get as much color into her area as she can.

The best part of her job? Working outside, of course. There are many people who like to visit with her, and she is free with her gardening advice. The worst part: believing that gardeners aren't given the credit they are due for keeping the campus beautiful. "What is the first thing people comment on when they come to campus?" she asked. "The beauty of the grounds."

She also wants people to know that there are several female custodians on campus, and that they are also an important part of the FMS crew.

Kathleen McPartland