Milner House is framed by glorious spring flowers and foliage. For a tranquil escape with a seaside view, visit the gardens Thursdays through Sundays from 11 am to 4:30 pm.
Milner Gardens aims to be a botanic garden and woodlands of discovery, learning and transformative experiences.
A new chapter is blooming at Milner Gardens & Woodland with the launch of a strategic plan to guide activities at the site over the next five years.
With support from volunteers, donors and visitor revenue, this plan will allow the botanical garden to grow, thrive and contribute to the wider community.
“This new plan lays out the direction to further enrich what Milner Gardens offers our communities and students,” said Geoff Ball, Executive Director of Milner Gardens & Woodland.
The plan
Key goals for Milner Gardens over the next five years include developing respectful and reciprocal partnerships with Indigenous communities and organizations and working with them to incorporate Indigenous histories, language and current information in the signage, programming and through art and activities on-site. The plan aims at expanding research and student learning opportunities on-site. The garden will also strive to obtain Botanic Garden accreditation through Botanic Garden Conservation International.
“The site is well known for its natural beauty, gardens and social history of the last 90 years, but there is little to no recognition of the much deeper history and we hope to work with our Indigenous partners to change that,” said Ball.
This plan enhances the site’s cherished experiential feel that people love. Milner fosters connections with nature that support health and well-being. The plan will strengthen that relationship by improving accessibility and functionality through infrastructure upgrades.
Milner Gardens & Woodland is a seaside garden in Qualicum Beach on the east coast of Vancouver Island and is comprised of 28 hectares perched on the edge of an oceanside bluff overlooking the Strait of Georgia. It is located on the unceded lands of Qualicum First Nation. Members of the Nation are the original occupants of this site and the surrounding territories. The property was donated to Vancouver Island University in 1996 thanks to Veronica Milner and Margaret McKenzie, and the university opened the gardens and surrounding woodland to the public in May 2001. Since that time, it has been a place that engages with the community, supports experiential education for students, and stewards the environment and history of the site.
Learn more about Milner Gardens & Woodland’s strategic plan.
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Media Contact:
Jenn McGarrigle, Communications Manager, Vancouver Island University
C: 250.619.6860 l E: Jenn.McGarrigle@viu.ca| W: news.viu.ca
The VIU community acknowledges and thanks the Snuneymuxw, Quw’utsun, Tla’amin, Snaw-naw-as and Qualicum First Nation on whose traditional lands we teach, learn, research, live and share knowledge.
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