1. A note from CBCN Executive Director
2. Message from Ahmed Djoghlaf
3. Plant conservation in a changing world
4. Preparing to Launch the North American Botanic Gardens Conservation Strategy
5. Biodiversity, climate change, and cultural diversity
6. The urgent need for biodiversity information
7. Adapting to a Changing World
8. The Canadian University Biodiversity Consortium and a new biodiversity center at the Montréal Botanical Garden
9. Stopping the Green Invasion! Memorial University of Newfoundland Botanical Garden Takes Aim at Invasive Alien Species
10. What's Coming Up at CITES CoP 14
11. Letter from Wuhan: A report on the Third Global Botanic Gardens Congress
12. The Montréal Botanical Garden Formally Reinforces its Commitment to Biodiversity Conservation, and hosts a Wollemi Pine
13. Meeting of the Canadian Pollination Protection Initiative
14. Summer is around the corner. Make it count!
15. First Sustainability Camp: a Success
16. Earth Day Celebration at UBC Botanical Garden

Subscription information

If you would like to subscribe, have any questions or if would like to contribute a news item, please contact Yann Vergriete, newsletter editor or David Gailbraith, CBCN executive director:

yannvergriete@fastmail.fm
(514) 872-5420

dgalbraith@rbg.ca
(905) 527-1158 ext. 309

16. Earth Day Celebration at UBC Botanical Garden, Nadine Diner, UBC Botanical Garden

Photo: UBC Botanical Garden

The UBC Botanical Garden is Canada's oldest continuously operating university botanical garden, established in 1916 under the directorship of John Davidson. The original mission of the garden was research into the native flora of British Columbia. Since its inception, the mission of the Garden has broadened. Our collections now include over 8000 different plants from around the globe in 12 000 separate accessions. Many of these plants are wild-collected. Our mandate has also broadened to include the use of our collections for the purposes of research, conservation, teaching and public display. We find opportunities in all Garden initiatives to connect these themes.

The Garden’s recent Community Earth Day Celebration provides one example of these thematic connections. The free event included an environmental exposition to showcase green services, information and retail options; Pollination Street kids crafts and educational activities; garden tours; and the Solar Power Roadshow Sustainable Magic Show. The event provided an opportunity to invite the community for the spring opening of the Garden while educating the public about our mandates; most notably conservation and biodiversity were highlighted.

Conservation and biodiversity were discussed throughout the Earth Day Celebration. At the indoor environmental exposition, a Garden staff member was available to discuss conservation at the garden in the form of our contributions to the Canadian national seed bank, our living collections of wild-sourced rare plants, and our studies of evolution and biodiversity at the Centre for Plant Research. This staff member also distributed information such as ‘A Plant Conservation Checklist For Gardeners’ from Botanic Gardens Conservation International.

Other exhibitors at the exposition included The Greater Vancouver Invasive Plant Council and The Land Conservancy. The Greater Vancouver Invasive Plant Council discussed how invasive plants threaten ecosystems and reduce biodiversity, and that citizens can combat this problem by removing invasive species to be replaced with native plants. The Land Conservancy motivated the public regarding the protection of habitats for plants, animals and natural communities. They also shared success stories of locations they’ve protected and are currently working to save (West Creek Wetlands, Thwaytes Landing).

Conservation and biodiversity were also the topic of garden tours, and the Pollination Street kids activities. On garden tours, the public enjoyed the opportunity to view first-hand our collections as living examples of our commitment to conservation, while being guided by the Horticultural Manager and the Associate Director of the Garden. On Pollination Street, the children learned how pollinators (bats, birds, bees and butterflies) can be perfectly suited for the characteristics of certain flowers, how humans benefit from pollination, and how to protect pollinators by providing natural environments with appropriate food sources and shelter.

By all accounts, the event was a success. A reported 676 participants attended the Earth Day Celebration from the Lower Mainland of British Columbia. This opportunity to educate the public on the need for a global understanding and respect for plants, their diversity and significance in our lives, and the urgent need for conservation of natural habitats and green spaces was warmly welcomed by the attendees. We received some wonderful feedback from the community, which has fuelled our interest to make this a yearly event at the Garden.

Earth Day Comments
“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 pinecone 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.