UBC Continuing Studies meets YouTube with Random Acts of Creativity

A passer-by (Don Burnett) uses greenery to turn a drab bench into a warm and inviting reading space (avid reader played by Elaine Crebo MacLeod).

Well-known Okanagan garden expert Don Burnett is now an online video star. The certified arborist, columnist and radio host teaches a series of UBC Continuing Studies courses this spring, and plays a lead role in Random Acts of Creativity -- UBC's Continuing Studies video showcase of spring programs.

"Our spring programs are all about creativity," says Elaine Crebo MacLeod, program leader for Continuing Studies. "We wanted to do something entertaining to bring attention to this, so we have featured our creative and fun-loving instructors in short and entertaining vignettes."

The videos highlight Green Thumb courses in horticulture with instructor Burnett, wine pairing with instructors Mathew Morazain and Barbara Hall, and courses in many kinds of painting, clay modelling, and drawing with Elizabeth Dykosky.

The videos were produced by UBCO.TV and the Media Centre at UBC's Okanagan campus and have been posted on the video-sharing site YouTube so the world can see them.

• In the Green Thumb video, a man (green-thumbed Burnett) walking his dog notices the bleak ambience in which a woman sits reading a book. Inspired, he sets out to create a warm environment with trees, bushes and plants. The beautification sequence ends with a flourish -- as he offers a red rose to the woman.

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UVh8n0CwD2E

• In the Wine Pairing feature, a young man (played by Aramark Executive Chef Mathew Morazain) goes grocery shopping in search of the finest ingredients... which he finds in other shoppers' carts. When he spots the perfect wine to accompany the dish he has in mind, he's inspired to share his food and wine-paired feast with his fellow shoppers.

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rrQNIFKSnmE

• In The Arts, a mom (played by instructor Elizabeth Dykosky) takes her daughter to school and when she walks her into the classroom, notices that an art class is in progress. Inspired to try her hand at painting, she brandishes her brush like a maestro and voila, a masterpiece!

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CehRAYLIeO4

The videos can be viewed on the Continuing Studies channel on YouTube: www.youtube.com/user/UBCOkanaganCS.

A complete list of Continuing Studies courses offered at UBC's Okanagan campus can be found online at www.ubc.ca/okanagan/continuingstudies.