It is with a sense of both pleasure and surprise that I realize I am well into a third year as the director of the Botanical Garden. The joy I felt when first asked to take up this position has not diminished: this is a wonderful place to work.

My last letter began with an acknowledgement that 2010 was an eventful year for the Garden. At the risk of seeming repetitious, 2011 has been equally eventful. In the past 12 months the Garden left its home of many years, the Faculty of Land and Food Systems, to join the Faculty of Science. The move prompted the creation of a new administrative unit, the UBC Biodiversity Collections, bringing together the Garden and Beaty Biodiversity Museum under my leadership. Interestingly, the Museum’s Herbarium collection (now nearly 900,000 specimens) and the Botanical Garden (currently about 7000 accessions) were both established by John Davidson, British Columbia’s first provincial botanist, almost a century ago.

Already this new structure has led to the development of joint educational programming that will begin to roll out early in 2012. The coming year will also see the Garden make use of the Museum’s auditorium and indoor spaces for public outreach and education.

At the same time as creating the Biodiversity Collections, the University Executive increased the Garden’s annual budget to correct a structural deficit that had challenged the Garden since the late 1980s. (It is important for our many friends to know that each unit maintains its own budget and that funds directed toward the Garden are and will always be used in the Garden.)

Equally significant for the Garden is the University’s support for a nine-month Horticulture Foundation Program (HFP) to be offered in the Garden starting next September. The Garden is widely recognized as an ideal venue for horticultural training. Our staff have many years of experience and expertise in sustainable garden and landscape management, landscape construction, pruning, ornamental crop production and organic food production, and other areas of specialization. The HFP will accept 15 students in its first year.

The Garden’s most important annual fundraising event—the FOG organized Apple Festival was again a success. This year’s event brought over 17,000 people to the Garden in just two days. An incredible 2,400 slices of apple pie and almost 40,000 pounds of apples were sold on a beautiful October weeked. Funds raised contribute significantly to our important education, conservation, research, and public outreach work. Newly themed plant sales in the spring and fall also got off to good starts.

On behalf of all of the Garden staff, the Friends of the Garden, our volunteers, and the Faculty of Science, I wish you a wonderful holiday season and a healthy and happy 2012.
 
As always, I look forward to seeing you in the Garden.

Sincerely,
Patrick Lewis
Director,
UBC Biodiversity Collections
UBC Botanical Garden and Beaty Biodiversity Museum

photo: Daniel Mosquin