The science of UBC's secret garden

Tucked away at the end of the Endowment lands on Main Mall is UBC’s best kept secret — the Botanical Garden. Operating as an extension of the faculty of science, the Garden has called the West Point Grey campus home since 1916. It currently houses some of the world’s most comprehensive collections of plant life. It also has a national and international reputation as a must-see botanical garden.

The Garden has a simple mission — “to assemble, curate and maintain a documented collection of temperate plants for the purposes of research, conservation, education, community outreach and public display.” Simply, the Garden wishes to bridge the world community to the university and vice versa, in a friendly, relaxed, unpretentious environment.

Research in the Garden

The Garden works with the UBC’s faculty of science and Centre for Plant Research, contributing to research studies on a graduate level, with instructors Quentin Cronk, Sean Graham and Keith Adams at the helm. The Garden has also collaborated with many other individual researchers in expeditions, where collections of specimens are brought back to the gardens. These are then researched and added to the garden’s diversity. From 2004–2014, these research expeditions have recovered 600 seeds, 1,600 herbarium vouchers, 150 DNA samples and extensive data collection, field notes and photographic images.

The most recent expedition was to the Hoang Lien Son region of Northern Vietnam in 2014. The mission was to collect “biodiversity forest surveys of Magnolia and Acer for [the] Global Trees Campaign,” assisting in the conservation of endangered and rare trees. This trip took a specialized team of researchers from UBC and other universities to the 3,143 metre peak of Mt. Fansipan, where they spent two weeks “locating, identifying, vouchering and photographing” vanishing species. They even field-tested a drone for collecting specimens in high elevations and hard to reach areas.

In addition to its plant collections, the Garden has expert horticultural and botanical staff, a plant nursery, resident faunal and floral biodiversity, and a mission to promote plant research, according to their website.

Most importantly, the gardens within are not just for students of the faculty of science. With free admission for staff, faculty and all students, the Garden encourages anyone and everyone to visit for a unique opportunity to engage with plant life and nature, offering a little peace and quiet only moments away from busy campus life.

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“Most people would think it’s mostly science students or maybe forestry, but we actually have students from all faculties,” said Daniel Mosquin, the Garden's research and biodiversity informatics manager. “There’s a lot of students' class projects who come through. For example, we’ve had students in engineering … propose changes to the structure of the Botanical Garden in order to make it better for the public. We [also] have poetry students come for poems in the gardens, so it really bridges all faculties.”

With six learning spaces available to instructors, a few UBC courses already run field trips and include coursework that involve the Garden.

The Garden has an open invitation to students of all faculties and year levels to contact them for resources and/or collections that could be of use.

“If students want to do something from a classroom project or they want to interact with something in the garden, they usually can go through me and I’ll help them use the garden in the right way,” said Mosquin.

Public education

The gardens are not only an academic space, but are also a widely visited and celebrated public space. “It is a bridge between the university and the general public,” said Mosquin. “It’s a place the public can approach the university or the university can approach the public through us.”

With a trove of information available on the website, visitors can read up on the rich history and story behind the Botanical Garden, ask questions on forums to learn about how to take care of their own plants at home, and even how to get involved and volunteer. The Garden's focus is to educate the public in order to bring awareness to nature and biodiversity as a whole.

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As for visiting the gardens in person, tours are provided on the Greenheart TreeWalk hourly and Segway or group tours can be booked in advance. Public workshops are also offered monthly with changing topics, available on the web.

In addition to education, the gardens draw hundreds of people to the grounds with many events year round. This year will be its 25th Annual Apple Festival, held on October 15 and 16 on the main grounds of the Botanical Garden. This event gives the public an opportunity to learn about the types of apples grown in the province of BC, as well as sampling and buying.

A walk in the woods

Being in the gardens provides an experience like no other on the UBC campus. It’s so easy to leave the stress of student life whilst standing between the trees in the Asian Garden. You’ll be greeted by the sounds of birds tweeting and fluttering about in the leaves. The lushness of the gardens is mesmerizing, with ferns and mosses covering the forest floors met by hundred year old tree trunks standing proudly everywhere you turn. There has to be at least a thousand different shades of green — coloured by changing red and yellow leaves — and distinct, delicate flowers in reds, whites and pinks.

The North Gardens are a more traditional gardens in the sense that they appear to be more man made and meticulously maintained. Manicured lawns, pretty trees and flowers in every direction, with trellises covered in vines, the North Gardens are drastically different but equally worth seeing. The Food Garden is also located on this side of the lands, where there are over 100 varieties of fruits and veggies neatly planted in rows. When ripe, all the food is picked and donated to local charities.

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The many benches across the entire grounds make it easy to take a seat, take a deep breath of fresh air, smell the pines, allowing for peaceful meditation and clearing the mind. Psychological studies have shown this helps to reduce anxiety, and can contribute to overall psychological well-being and decision-making skills.

Anyone is encouraged to stay and paint, take photos, write, read and more whilst visiting the gardens. All the paths are well maintained by staff and dedicated volunteers, but as a visitor, you’ll still feel as if you’re exploring the unknown with every twist and turn.

One of the must-experience features of the Garden is the Greenheart TreeWalk. Although it is not included in the entrance fee, it is worth the nine-something dollars after taxes. The TreeWalk spans 310 metres of walkway, suspending you up to 20 metres off the forest floor.This experience gives individuals a chance to view the gardens from a different angle, as well as raising you into the hundred year old Douglas Fir trees. It might sound rickety and make your stomach churn in the beginning as you grasp onto the ropes and balance your way through, but each bridge gets your higher and higher into the dark green canopy. The vertigo quickly dissipates once you reach the midpoint, climb a flight of stairs and bask in the wonder that is Mother Nature. It is completely quiet at the top and you can stay as long as you'd like.

This secret garden isn't going to be a secret much longer and is definitely a UBC student’s bucket-list item. The entire garden is something that begs to be experienced first hand and can be considered a mini-getaway from the hectic sights and sounds of crazy campus life.