UBC Botanical Garden Blog

On April 22nd, 2007, the UBC Botanical Garden held its first Free Community Earth Day Celebration. This event included garden tours, a BBQ, “pollination street” kids education and activities, a sustainable magic show by the Solar Power Roadshow, and an indoor and outdoor information expo that included the following exhibitors:

• The Bug Factory
• Greenheart Conservation Company
• Ener-Guide Consultant
• Your Local Farmers Market Society
• UBC Sustainability Office
• UBC Waste Management
• The Land Conservancy
• The Greater Vancouver Invasive Plant Council
• My Living Canvas Organic Gardening
• Bring Your Own Bag
• The Vancouver Area Cycling Coalition
• TransLink
• The Cooperative Auto Network
• Segway BC
• UBC Supermileage Team
• The AMS Bike Coop
• The Renaissance Bicycling Company

This event was proudly sponsored by:

• UBC Campus and Community Planning – to build cohesiveness in University Town and the community
• UBC Food Services – as part of its commitment to sustainability and social responsibility
• UBC Botanical Garden and Centre for Plant Research – as part of its mission in education and conservation

The event was a great success, as 676 citizens (adult and children) from various parts of Vancouver and the Lower Mainland attended the event. We've also received some great feedback about the event, including:

• “Earth day was wonderful : really well done and lots of fun for the kids.”
• “With respect to the Earth Day Celebration, I thought this event went very well. My daughter, 3 1/2 years old, enjoyed the activities very much. She particularly enjoyed making the masks, pollinating the flowers and learning how to make the pine cone bird feeder. We had a wonderful time and found the day and the activities both fun and educational.”
• “I completed the scavenger hunt with my friends, even though we are all adults. I liked the fact that there was an adult prize and a children's prize at the end. I also was pleased to see a place where you could become a Garden member and took the opportunity to join. The highlight of the whole event was having a ride on the battery powered bikes and the segway. That was awesome! One item that particularly stood out was the concept of “food miles” and the notion that sometimes it is better to buy local even if it is not organic.”

The Garden staff and volunteers look forward to offering this Earth Day event in subsequent years!!

A special thank-you to the volunteers that included: UBC employees, Garden staff and UBC students!