Glendale Gardens 30th Anniversary Speeches

In case you weren’t able to attend the Glendale Gardens 30th anniversary celebration, here are the speaking notes from both Roger Charles (Executive Director) and Joanna Drewry (President).

Roger Charles (Executive Director, The Horticulture Centre of the Pacific)

Ladies and Gentlemen,

12 months ago I had never heard of the Horticulture Centre of the Pacific or the Glendale Gardens even though I have  been coming to Victoria for over 50 years.

When I became aware of the HCP, what struck me most was the Vision Statement, to wit,

Glendale Gardens and Woodland will be a beautiful, locally treasured garden and internationally recognized centre for horticulture education, celebrating the importance of plants in a sustainable world.

To me this vision is the essence of what differentiates the HCP from Abkhazi Gardens, Butchart Gardens as well as our sister post secondary institutions. We are a garden and we are an education centre.

And if you look back to the original visionaries, they planned as phase two a Pacific School of Horticulture which would, and I quote “ have the development of vocational training programs, with a curriculum emphasizing a combination of practical garden experience with formal classroom learning  leading to an international recognized diploma in horticulture.”

This vision has been realized.

They went on, “The school will provide the unusual atmosphere of a small institution, encouraging intimate contact and exchange of ideas and horticulture techniques among students and faculty drawn from Canada and the Pacific Rim countries.

This vision has been realized.

And so where to now?

We are not satisfied with our student numbers so we need to build them up. A new website is to be launched for the college alone and we are reaching out to employers, to partnering institutions and to individuals who are seeking a true understanding of nature and its productive forces.

We need to develop an applied research function so we are in talks with the University of Victoria and the Plant Research Centre.

This is a propitious time to be the Horticulture Centre of the Pacific. The global  zeitgeist is organic, sustainable, 100 mile diets. That is what we are. That is what we offer to you our honoured guests and our loyal members.

But most importantly of all, that is what we offer to the younger generations and to future generations. We have the people, we have the skills and we have the gardens. Today’s young people now have the desire. Our primary goal now is to let the young know there is a scientifically sustainable way to provide food for the future.

With the financial support of Telus and TD Bank and the sweat and intelligence of our students, we are building an urban garden that incorporates all the latest knowledge on environmental sustainability matched with food production.

The urban garden is being built to the highest principles of environmental sustainability focusing on energy, water and soil. Energy will be generated by solar panels to heat a greenhouse and pump water. A pond created by irrigation run off will provide the water and algae growing on the water will provide nutrients for the soil. Staff and students are working on the concepts even as I speak.

This urban garden is surrounded by all the other gardens lovingly and passionately maintained by our volunteers and the conservation area which is so central to our future development.

I want to thank the volunteers for the passionate commitment to these gardens as well as the support of the Municipality of Saanich and BC government without which we would not be here today.

We have a dynamic vision for the future that is based on what all these people and institutions have constructed and supported so tirelessly over the past 30 years.

Thank You

Joanna Drewry (President, Horticulture Centre of the Pacific Society)

Speaking notes for 30th Anniversary Celebration – July 18, 2009

Welcome to our Education Fair – our celebration of this 30th Anniversary of the Horticulture Centre of the Pacific.  We are delighted that representatives of the federal government, provincial government, and the Municipality of Saanich and several other municipalities have all kindly agreed to be with us today to participate in this special occasion.  Particular thanks to the Hon. Murray Coell who has taken time from his busy schedule to be our keynote speaker.

This event really is a celebration for those who created this wonderful garden and college.  Since 1979 there have been hundreds of people who have volunteered their labour, time, love, money and dedicated support to building this organization.  They ensured that it continued and thrived.  Many of you are here today and to you a warm THANK YOU.

This 42 hectare (103 acre) site was provided by the Province of British Columbia. The province drew up the lease with the Horticulture Centre of the Pacific Society in 1979.  Thank you to the Province of British Columbia for making it possible for this Centre to be created.  Mel Couvelier, today’s Honorary Chair, was Mayor of Saanich when the Centre started and Saanich  has, since that time, provided  the Centre with substantial support each year.  Thanks to Mayor Leonard and the Saanich Muncipal Council. That ongoing support for the Centre has enabled it to become what it is today.

The creative energy that started this Centre is as strong today as it was 30 years ago.  Today we are announcing the creation of an Urban Garden, a garden that will be a huge draw for young and old alike who want to learn more about growing their own food.  It is possible through a generous $10K donation received from TD Bank and Telus to help the Centre  increase its focus on youth.  The students of the Pacific Horticulture College are building the Urban Garden as their group project.  With the addition of this garden we will have more than 30 demonstration gardens.

This beautiful place which today we know as Glendale Gardens began as a dream more than 30 years ago when leaders in the community agreed that a major horticulture centre showcasing gardens from Pacific Rim countries would be ideally sited in the Victoria area.  A major part of that dream was to create a Pacific Horticulture College.  It is the College that is at the core of our vision for the future here.

Our College is unique.  It is sited in this beautiful teaching garden where practical skills are taught by highly qualified instructors.  We have sought out the most knowledgeable instructors in a wide range of disciplines for both practical skills and academic training.  Today we have more  than 400 alumni working in every aspect of the landscape industry.  Employment for our graduates is a guarantee. We tell our students that they will all be working within 3 to 4 months of graduation.  Those who start their own landscaping businesses are turning work away within the first year after graduation.

Today we are increasing the reach of the Pacific Horticulture College by giving more community education programs and additional courses for the horticulture industry.  This is a teaching garden – a place where gardeners come to learn more about gardening in our lush sub-Mediterranean climate.   We offer dozens of community education courses throughout the year.  Want to learn to garden in Victoria?  This is the place.

Since the first class graduated in 1986, our Pacific Horticulture College has become a distinguished accredited college whose graduates enjoy careers in every aspect of horticulture.

Today we are expanding our reach, seeking to draw students nationally and internationally.  We are expanding our programs and anticipate increased demand for our courses.  Several of our graduates are with us today – and several of them have come to love these gardens so much that they now work here as volunteers.

We are the training site for the Victoria Master Gardener Association, we provide training courses here for the horticultural industry and we offer on-going learning experiences for the hundreds of volunteers who come here every week to work in the gardens.

Please take time to enjoy the Educational Fair, with some of our community partners that we have invited to be with us for today’s celebration.  Go down and look at Cob House building, the Bonsai Club’s display, the  Dry Stone Wall building display and chat with the Master Gardeners.

On behalf of myself and the current Board, a heartfelt thanks to all of you who are here today who have made this wonderful place what it has become.  And to those visitors who are new to Glendale Gardens, please take time to explore and enjoy.  We would love to welcome you back as Students, Members or Volunteers.   Enjoy this beautiful day!

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